Brown rats are the undisputed winners of the real rat race.
New research suggests that they crawled off ships arriving in North America earlier than previously thought and out-competed rodent rivals – going on to infuriate and disgust generations of city-dwellers and becoming so ubiquitous that they’re known as common rats, street rats or sewer rats.
It didn’t take long for them to push aside the black rats that had likely arrived with Columbus and thrived in colonial cities.
After first appearing on the continent before 1740, brown rats took over the East Coast from black rats “in only a matter of decades,” said Michael Buckley, one of the authors of a study published Wednesday in the journal Science Advances.
Brown rats are larger and more aggressive than black rats — and they want to be close to human populations, said Matthew Frye, a researcher and community educator with the New York State Integrated Pest Management Program at Cornell University.
Related articles:
Related suggestion:
Migratory birds seen in Qilihai wetland nature reserve in TianjinIn pics: Guangyang Isle in SW China's ChongqingMigrant birds seen at Hailiu reservoir in Hohhot, Inner MongoliaSceneries of Hutuo River after ecological restoration in Shijiazhuang, N ChinaScenery of Zanda county, SW China's TibetMigratory birds seen in Qilihai wetland nature reserve in TianjinMain Olympic railway marks 2nd anniversaryXi Focus: Xi Calls for Making BeijingWater projects to help bolster economyXi Visits City of Cangzhou in North China's Hebei Province
2.9444s , 6516 kb
Copyright © 2024 Powered by How brown rats crawled off ships and conquered North American cities ,Global Grandeur news portal