HOW IS EVOLUTION IN URBAN
RATS A RISK TO HUMAN
POPULATIONS?
Alyazya Alkhyeli (11/51)
Stimulus Material
Urban
Evolution: How species
adapt to survive in cities
How is evolution in urban
animals a risk to
human
populations?
The Dark
Side of Resilience
World
urbanization
prospects.
(2014). Statistic
al Papers United Nations.
Series a,
Population and
Vital Statistics
Report. https://
doi.org/10.1835
6/527e5125-en
56 %
Urban areas
Urbanization Effects
Physical environment
Ecosystem Processes
Ecology of the
organisms
Resilience
noun
the ability to adapt and bounce back
Why should we care?
It can lead to
improved human
health
Leads to a healthy
and sustainable
urban ecosystem
for humans
Help maintain
urban pests and
diseases
Brown Rats
House Mice
Black Rats
The Risks of rats
Destroying urban infrastructure
Spreading many diseases
Water and Soil Contamination
They developed genetic
resistance to the
rodenticides making it
ineffective
resistance to
rodenticides
Due to rats physical
resilience
Developed
anticoagulant
rodenticides
1930
Modlinska, K., & Pisula, W. (2020). The Norway rat, from an obnoxious pest to a
laboratory pet. eLife, 9. https://doi.org/10.7554/elife.50651
1940
1950
Pesticide resistance
2
generations suffice to
observe significant
evolutionary change
Repeated application
of pesticides
600
Species reported having
presticide resistance
Offspring with the
same resistance
genes
HealTh
Risks
HealTh Risks:
"We found that rats act as this magnificent pathogen
sponge. They can go into an environment and absorb
human pathogens and give them back to us”
- Dr. Chelsea Himsworth
HealTh risks:
Salmonella
-
Salmonella bacteria are carried by rats
-
Infection can be caused my consuming
rodent feces
Plague
-
Transmitted to humans by flea bites,
contaminated animals or infectious
particles
-
There are three types of plague:
bubonic plague, septicemic plague, and
pneumonic plague.
Economic
Risks
Economic risks:
ProperTy damage
-
Destroy crops, chew on electricity
wires, and bite into stacks of food bags
-
Rodents damage at least 1% of the
world's cereal harvests each year and
create $6 billion in structural damage.
EnvironmenTal
Risks
EnvironmenTal risks:
Increased use of
pesTicides
-
Pesticide use has increased dramatically
in recent years, causing environmental
damage, particularly water and soil
contamination.
-
In 2019, the global pesticide
consumption was roughly 4.19 million
metric tons,
Solution:
Trapping !
Limitations:
RaT Traps require more
work
may be less successful in
locations with high rat
populations or in difficult-toreach areas.
learn to escape traps
ImplicaTIons:
decreasing the
number of
rodenticide-resistant
rat populations
save money by reducing the need
for frequent rodenticide
applications
good environmental impact
by lowering the amount of
hazardous chemicals
discharged into the
environment.
Thank You
References:
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●
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Abercrombie, J., & Abercrombie, J. (2023). The $19 Billion Threat: The Economic
Impact of Rodents on the U.S. Humane Solutions
Inc. https://humanesolutions.ca/the-19-billion-threat-the-economic-impact-ofrodents-on-the-u-s/
Bender, E. (2022). Urban evolution: How species adapt to survive in
cities. Knowable Magazine. https://doi.org/10.1146/knowable-031822-1
Chamorro-Premuzic, T. (2021, September 17). The Dark Side of Resilience.
Harvard Business Review. https://hbr.org/2017/08/the-dark-side-of-resilience
Diagne, C., Ballesteros-Mejia, L., Cuthbert, R. N., Bodey, T. W., Fantle-Lepczyk,
J., Angulo, E., Bang, A., Dobigny, G., & Courchamp, F. (2023). Economic costs of
invasive rodents worldwide: the tip of the iceberg. PeerJ, 11,
e14935. https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.14935
References:
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●
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Ecology and transmission of plague | CDC. (2019, July 31). Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention. https://www.cdc.gov/plague/transmission/index.html
Harpak, A., Garud, N. R., Rosenberg, N., Petrov, D. A., Combs, M., Pennings, P.
S., & Munshi-South, J. (2021). Genetic Adaptation in New York City
Rats. Genome Biology and Evolution, 13(1). https://doi.org/10.1093/gbe/evaa247
Insecticide Resistance: Causes and Action. (47
B.C.E.). https://www.nifa.usda.gov/sites/default/files/resources/Insecticide%20resi
stance.pdf
References:
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Introduction to Pesticide Resistance – Pesticide Environmental Stewardship.
(n.d.). https://pesticidestewardship.org/resistance/
Johnson, M. T. J., & Munshi-South, J. (2017). Evolution of life in urban
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eaam8327. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aam8327
Leptospirosis - NYC Health. (n.d.). https://www.nyc.gov/site/doh/health/healthtopics/leptospirosis.page
Lowe, S. W., Browne, M., Boudjelas, S., & De Poorter, M. (2019). 100 of the
World’s Worst Invasive Alien Species: A Selection From The Global Invasive
Species Database. In University of California Press eBooks (pp. 715–716).
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References:
●
●
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Modlinska, K., & Pisula, W. (2020). The Norway rat, from an obnoxious pest to a
laboratory pet. eLife, 9. https://doi.org/10.7554/elife.50651
Pathak, V. K., Verma, V. K., Rawat, B., Kaur, B., Babu, N., Sharma, A., Dewali,
S. K., Yadav, M., Kumari, R., Singh, S., Mohapatra, A., Pandey, V., Rana, N., &
Cunill, J. M. (2022). Current status of pesticide effects on environment, human
health and it’s eco-friendly management as bioremediation: A comprehensive
review. Frontiers in Microbiology, 13. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2022.962619
Reported Cases of Hantavirus Disease | Hantavirus | DHCPP | CDC.
(n.d.). https://www.cdc.gov/hantavirus/surveillance/index.html
References:
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Rising urban rat population pose health risks to humans, says researcher | CBC
Radio. (2016, June 14). CBC. https://www.cbc.ca/radio/thecurrent/the-current-forjune-14-2016-1.3634082/rising-urban-rat-population-pose-health-risks-to-humanssays-researcher-1.3634124
Rodent-Borne Diseases | Rentokil.
(n.d.). https://www.rentokil.co.uk/rodents/rodent-bornediseases/?_its=JTdCJTIydmlkJTIyJTNBJTIyZjRjYjgyNjItODlhNC00ODk1LThiO
GYtNWE3MTc4MTcxZWFmJTIyJTJDJTIyc3RhdGUlMjIlM0ElMjJybHR%2BM
TY4MjQzNjg4OH5sYW5kfjJfNzk3Nzhfc2VvXzc0ZjM3NDMwMGY0ZGQzYjFj
MjUxM2Q5MDdjOWExNWNhJTIyJTJDJTIyc2l0ZUlkJTIyJTNBMTAzODUlN0
Q%3D
References:
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Soh, S., Chua, C., Griffiths, J., Oh, P. H. Y., Chow, J. W., Chan, Q., Tan, J., & Aik,
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World urbanization prospects. (2014). Statistical Papers - United Nations. Series a,
Population and Vital Statistics Report. https://doi.org/10.18356/527e5125-en