Small mammals are particularly dependent on owner-provided housing and husbandry yet are frequently kept in conditions that do not meet their welfare needs. This study used the COM-B model (Capability, Opportunity, Motivation = Behaviour) to identify behavioural drivers influencing housing provision among 723 UK small mammal pet owners. This model of human behaviour proposes that behaviour occurs when individuals have the capability, opportunity, and motivation to act. Owners of the eight most commonly kept small mammal species were surveyed: rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus), guinea pigs (Cavia porcellus), hamsters (Cricetinae), gerbils (Gerbillinae), rats (Rattus norvegicus), mice (Mus musculus), chinchillas (Chinchilla lanigera), and degus (Octodon degus). Opportunity, particularly the availability of suitable enclosures, emerged as the primary barrier, while Capability and Motivation were identified as facilitators, with most pet owners willing and able to provide good levels of welfare. Owner approaches to assessing health and welfare at home were examined through qualitative word frequency analysis, with responses mapped to the Five Domains model. This analysis focused on rabbits, guinea pigs, rats, and hamsters due to limited data availability for other species. Overall, behavioural indicators were most commonly used to identify positive health and welfare, while nutritional and physical signs were cited most frequently for negative states. Changes in eating behaviour were the most frequently cited indicators of ill health or poor welfare across all four species, suggesting this may serve as a practical health and welfare indicator for owners. Improving access to suitable housing and further exploring eating behaviour as an early health and welfare indicator may together support better husbandry for small mammal pets.

Lagostonema ecasiense is a bursate nematode parasite of Lagostomus maximus in Argentina. New morphological data, geographical distribution, ecological data, molecular characterization and exploratory phylogenetic analysis are provided. The general morphology and measurements agree with the original description with minimal discrepancies. The geographical distribution of Lagostonema is expanded with 3 new provinces and 9 new departments in Argentina. The molecular characterization constitutes the first molecular contribution for the genus Lagostonema. The analysis of genetic distances and phylogenetic exploration allow considering L. ecasiense as a nominal species, confirming its nomenclatural taxonomic identity. Likewise, although morphological studies allow the identification of specimens from all populations as L. ecasiense, molecular studies show a major genetic distance in the population from Santiago del Estero Province concerning the rest of the populations. Consequently, the haplotypes are mentioned as Lagostonema sp. with the possibility that these specimens belong to a new species. This study is valuable because it contributes to the ratification of a nominal species described decades ago, adding new morphological aspects and providing an understanding of their value as a marker of host populations.

Leptospirosis in NZ has historically been associated with male workers in livestock industries; however, the disease epidemiology is changing. This study identified risk factors amid these shifts. Participants (95 cases:300 controls) were recruited nationwide between 22 July 2019 and 31 January 2022, and controls were frequency-matched by sex (90% male) and rurality (65% rural). Multivariable logistic regression models, adjusted for sex, rurality, age, and season—with one model additionally including occupational sector—identified risk factors including contact with dairy cattle (aOR 2.5; CI: 1.0–6.0), activities with beef cattle (aOR 3.0; 95% CI: 1.1–8.2), cleaning urine/faeces from yard surfaces (aOR 3.9; 95% CI: 1.5–10.3), uncovered cuts/scratches (aOR 4.6; 95% CI: 1.9–11.7), evidence of rodents (aOR 2.2; 95% CI: 1.0–5.0), and work water supply from multiple sources—especially creeks/streams (aOR 7.8; 95% CI: 1.5–45.1) or roof-collected rainwater (aOR 6.6; 95% CI: 1.4–33.7). When adjusted for occupational sector, risk factors remained significant except for contact with dairy cattle, and slaughter without gloves emerged as a risk (aOR 3.3; 95% CI: 0.9–12.9). This study highlights novel behavioural factors, such as uncovered cuts and inconsistent glove use, alongside environmental risks from rodents and natural water sources.

Bartonella is a widely distributed Gram-negative bacterium that includes species that are capable of causing illness in humans. Rodents represent one of the main reservoirs of zoonotic pathogens, and monitoring their populations can provide valuable insights into human health. We conducted a surveillance study of rodents from two north-western states of Mexico (Baja California and Chihuahua) to investigate the prevalence and genetic diversity of Bartonella by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification and sequencing of the citrate synthase (gltA) gene. A total of 586 rodents belonging to 28 species were captured, and 408 were tested for Bartonella spp. The overall Bartonella spp. prevalence was 39.71%. The prevalence found in Chihuahua was higher (42.80%) than in Baja California (32.52%), and rodents such as Neotoma albigula, Neotoma mexicana, Peromyscus boylii, and Chaetodipus baileyi had the highest prevalence. The gltA sequences revealed seven genetic variants, some of which were obtained from Peromyscus and Dipodomys rodents and were associated with Bartonella species of human health concern, such as B. grahamii and B. vinsonii subsp. arupensis. In addition, a sequence obtained from a Peromyscus maniculatus was clustered with Candidatus Bartonella rudakovii, a previously unreported association. This study provides valuable data and new insight into the Bartonella-hosts interactions in rodent species in north-western Mexico.

We describe a new species of the genus Alippistrongylus (Nematoda: Trichostrongylina) in the small intestine of Delomys dorsalis (Rodentia: Sigmodontinae) found in Itatiaia National Park (Parque Nacional do Itatiaia, PNI), state of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The new species can be distinguished between the other two species previously described by the following morphological characteristics: pattern of the rays from the caudal bursa rays in males and the spherical-shaped appendage in the female. Additionally, we provide molecular genetic data from the new species. The discovery of Alippistrongylus itatiaiaensis sp. n. expands our understanding of nematode diversity and underscores the importance of parasite studies in biodiversity conservation. Its occurrence in a preserved area like the PNI emphasises the role of such habitats in maintaining unique ecological interactions.

Protozoa are well-known inhabitants of the mammalian gut and so of the gut microbiome. While there has been extensive study of a number of species of gut protozoa in laboratory animals, particularly rodents, the biology of the gut protozoa of wild rodents is much less well-known. Here we have systematically searched the published literature to describe the gut protozoa of wild rodents, in total finding records of 44 genera of protozoa infecting 228 rodent host species. We then undertook meta-analyses that estimated the overall prevalence of gut protozoa in wild rodents to be 24%, with significant variation in prevalence among some host species. We investigated how host traits may affect protozoa prevalence, finding that for some host lifestyles some protozoa differed in their prevalence. This synthesis of existing data on wild rodent gut protozoa provides a better understanding of the biology of these common gut inhabitants and suggests directions for their future study.

Rodents and shrews are major reservoirs of various pathogens that are related to zoonotic infectious diseases. The purpose of this study was to investigate co-infections of zoonotic pathogens in rodents and shrews trapped in four provinces of China. We sampled different rodent and shrew communities within and around human settlements in four provinces of China and characterised several important zoonotic viral, bacterial, and parasitic pathogens by PCR methods and phylogenetic analysis. A total of 864 rodents and shrews belonging to 24 and 13 species from RODENTIA and EULIPOTYPHLA orders were captured, respectively. For viral pathogens, two species of hantavirus (Hantaan orthohantavirus and Caobang orthohantavirus) were identified in 3.47% of rodents and shrews. The overall prevalence of Bartonella spp., Anaplasmataceae, Babesia spp., Leptospira spp., Spotted fever group Rickettsiae, Borrelia spp., and Coxiella burnetii were 31.25%, 8.91%, 4.17%, 3.94%, 3.59%, 3.47%, and 0.58%, respectively. Furthermore, the highest co-infection status of three pathogens was observed among Bartonella spp., Leptospira spp., and Anaplasmataceae with a co-infection rate of 0.46%. Our results suggested that species distribution and co-infections of zoonotic pathogens were prevalent in rodents and shrews, highlighting the necessity of active surveillance for zoonotic pathogens in wild mammals in wider regions.

The distress experienced by animals during the induction of unconsciousness remains one of the most important and yet overlooked aspects of effective methods of anaesthesia and euthanasia. Here we show that considerable differences exist in the aversive responses elicited by 12 common methods of inhalational anaesthesia and euthanasia in laboratory rats and mice. Carbon dioxide, either alone or in combination with oxygen or argon, was found to be highly aversive to both species. The least aversive agents were halothane in rats and enflurane in mice. Exposing these animals to carbon dioxide in any form, either for anaesthesia or for euthanasia, is likely to cause considerable pain and distress and is therefore unacceptable when efficient and more humane alternatives are readily available.

In the USA, as many as 20 % of recruits sustain stress fractures during basic training. In addition, approximately one-third of female recruits develop Fe deficiency upon completion of training. Fe is a cofactor in bone collagen formation and vitamin D activation, thus we hypothesised Fe deficiency may be contributing to altered bone microarchitecture and mechanics during 12-weeks of increased mechanical loading. Three-week old female Sprague Dawley rats were assigned to one of four groups: Fe-adequate sedentary, Fe-deficient sedentary, Fe-adequate exercise and Fe-deficient exercise. Exercise consisted of high-intensity treadmill running (54 min 3×/week). After 12-weeks, serum bone turnover markers, femoral geometry and microarchitecture, mechanical properties and fracture toughness and tibiae mineral composition and morphometry were measured. Fe deficiency increased the bone resorption markers C-terminal telopeptide type I collagen and tartate-resistant acid phosphatase 5b (TRAcP 5b). In exercised rats, Fe deficiency further increased bone TRAcP 5b, while in Fe-adequate rats, exercise increased the bone formation marker procollagen type I N-terminal propeptide. In the femur, exercise increased cortical thickness and maximum load. In the tibia, Fe deficiency increased the rate of bone formation, mineral apposition and Zn content. These data show that the femur and tibia structure and mechanical properties are not negatively impacted by Fe deficiency despite a decrease in tibiae Fe content and increase in serum bone resorption markers during 12-weeks of high-intensity running in young growing female rats.

The cryopreservation of murine ovarian tissue and its transplantation can be a promising technique for the preservation of fertility and an alternative for the future reconstitution of scientific valuable strains of mice. Accordingly, the aim of this study was to describe the entire surgical procedure for ovariectomy and dorsal subcutaneous autotransplantation in mice, and also some data about the efficiency of this procedure. Female C57Bl/6J mice (n = 18) were anaesthetised and bilaterally ovariectomized. After surgery, ovaries were autotransplanted in small subcutaneous pouches in the dorsal region of the forelimbs. The animals were inspected daily and, 23 days after transplantation, euthanasia and recovery of ovarian tissues were performed. Postoperative recovery, oestrous cyclicity, and folliculogenesis progression were evaluated. At 23 days after transplantation, the recovery of the ovaries was feasible, all classes (primordial to antral) of follicles were observed. Additionally, satisfactory efficiency rates were obtained, with 100% of anaesthesia survival rate, survival, graft recovery, folliculogenesis progression and oestrous cyclicity. In general, this short article describes ovarian ectopic autologous transplantation as an effective technique for maintaining rodent oogenesis and endocrine ovarian function. Even more broadly, we can still assume that the application of this technique may reduce the number of breeding matrices and experimental animals in the near future.

Yam (Dioscorea spp.) and its associated extracts have been shown to possess a variety of biological activities and identified as beneficial in the control of glycaemia in patients with type II diabetes mellitus (T2DM). The objective was to conduct a systematic search of the literature to investigate whether yam and its extract can improve glycaemia and whether the consumption of yam could be beneficial for managing T2DM. Using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines and the Population, Invention, Comparison and Outcome framework, three databases (PubMed, Scopus and Web of Science) were searched using a key term strategy. Strict inclusion criteria were employed to identify all relevant and available studies. The quality of these studies was assessed using SYRCLE’s Risk of Bias tool. Ten studies were included, and all studies consisted of findings from rodent models of diabetes, including animals consuming high fat diets or genetic models of diabetes. All ten studies showed that the consumption of yam and/or its extracts (containing dioscin, dioscorin, diosgenin, DA-9801/02 or Chinese yam polysaccharides) improved glycaemia. These included improvements in fasting blood glucose and reductions in glucose and increase in insulin levels following a glucose tolerance test. Furthermore, significant changes in body weight and adiposity were observed in nine studies, these included improvements in lipid biomarkers in four and reductions in inflammatory markers in one. The current work indicates that the consumption of yam or its extracts can be beneficial for improving blood glucose; however, the molecular mechanism for these effects remains largely unknown. Future trials on human subjects are warranted.

Telemetry acquisition from rodents is important in biomedical research, where rodent behavior data is used to study disease models. Telemetry devices for such data acquisition require a long-term powering method. Wireless power transfer (WPT) via magnetic resonant coupling can provide continuous power to multiple small telemetric devices. Our loosely coupled WPT (LCWPT) system consists of a stationary primary coil and multiple freely moving secondary coils. Our previous LCWPT system was designed to transfer reasonable power to secondary coils at poor orientations but transfers excessively high amounts of power at favorable orientations. Reasonable power is needed for telemetry and radio electronics, but highly induced voltage on the secondary coil creates excess energy which must be dissipated by previous devices, and caused problems (localized heat damage and variations in component properties) leading to drift in operating frequency. To remedy these two problems, a novel scheme is proposed to automatically tune or detune the resonant frequency of the secondary circuit. Our closed-loop controlled tuning or detuning (CTD) approach can be used to prevent excessive power transfer by detuning, or to improve power transfer by tuning, depending on the need. Furthermore, this novel CTD scheme facilitates the use of multiple telemetric devices.

Nematodes of the genus Physaloptera are globally distributed and more than 100 species are known. Their life cycle involves insects, including beetles, cockroaches and crickets, as intermediate hosts. This study describes a new species of Physaloptera and reports molecular phylogenetic analyses to determine its relationships within the family Physalopteridae. Physaloptera amazonica n. sp. is described from the stomach of the caviomorph rodent Proechimys gardneri collected in the Amazon rainforest in the state of Acre, Brazil. The species is characterized by the male having the first and second pair of sessile papillae asymmetrically placed, lacking a median papilla-like protuberance between the third pairs of sessile papillae, differentiated by size and shape of the spicules, while females have four uterine branches. For both nuclear 18S rRNA and MT-CO1 gene-based phylogenies, we recovered Turgida sequences forming a clade nested within Physaloptera, thus making Physaloptera paraphyletic to the exclusion of Turgida, suggesting that the latter may have evolved from the former monodelphic ancestral state to a derived polydelphic state, or that some species of Physaloptera may belong to different genera. Relationships between most taxa within Physaloptera were poorly resolved in our phylogenies, producing multifurcations or a star phylogeny. The star-like pattern may be attributed to evolutionary processes where past simultaneous species diversification events took place. Physaloptera amazonica n. sp. formed an independent lineage, separately from the other species of Physaloptera, thus supporting the status of a new species. However, all molecular data suggested a closer relationship with other Neotropical species. In conclusion, we added a new species to this already largely diverse genus Physaloptera, bringing new insights to its phylogenetic relationships. Further analyses, adding more species and markers, should provide a better understanding of the evolutionary history of physalopterids.

A small fauna of vertebrates is recorded from the Insect Limestone, Bembridge Marls Member, Bouldnor Formation, late Priabonian, latest Eocene, of the Isle of Wight, UK. The taxa represented are unidentified teleost fishes, lizards including a scincoid, unidentified birds and the theridomyid rodent Isoptychus. The scincoid represents the youngest record of the group in the UK. Of particular note is the taphonomic interpretation based on the preservation of anatomical parts of land-based tetrapods that would have been most likely transported to the site of deposition by wind, namely bird feathers and pieces of shed lizard skin. These comprise the majority of the specimens and suggest that the dominant transport mechanism was wind.

Members of the genus Hepatozoon (Miller, 1908) are blood parasites found in a wide range of host species, including wild rodents; however, information about the life cycle, distribution and Hepatozoon species diversity infecting these mammals are lacking. We studied the parasite stages and DNA sequences of Hepatozoon sp. of 11 naturally infected Akodon montensis. Thin blood smears, tissue samples and whole blood were obtained for morphology, morphometry and molecular analyses. Seven of the 11 rodents had gamonts on the blood smears. Biological and morphological features of the parasite such as tissue tropism, gamonts and meronts size and morphology, as well as the DNA sequence comparison and phylogenetic analysis, indicated that the Hepatozoon sp. detected in this study is distinct from those species previously reported in small rodents. Herein, we propose a new species, named Hepatozoon milleri sp. nov. This is the first description of a new Hepatozoon species from wild small rodents in Brazil, based on morphological and molecular characteristics.

Ecoevolutionary processes affecting hosts, vectors and pathogens are important drivers of zoonotic disease emergence. In this study, we focused on nephropathia epidemica (NE), which is caused by Puumala hantavirus (PUUV) whose natural reservoir is the bank vole, Myodes glareolus. We questioned the possibility of NE emergence in a French region that is considered to be NE-free but that is adjacent to a NE-endemic region. We first confirmed the epidemiology of these two regions and we demonstrated the absence of spatial barriers that could have limited dispersal, and consequently, the spread of PUUV into the NE-free region. We next tested whether regional immunoheterogeneity could impact PUUV chances to circulate and persist in the NE-free region. We showed that bank voles from the NE-free region were sensitive to experimental PUUV infection. We observed high levels of immunoheterogeneity between individuals and also between regions. Antiviral gene expression (Tnf and Mx2) reached higher levels in bank voles from the NE-free region. During experimental infections, anti-PUUV antibody production was higher in bank voles from the NE-endemic region. These results indicated a lower susceptibility to PUUV for bank voles from this NE-free region, which might limit PUUV persistence and therefore, the risk of NE.

Echinococcus multilocularis is the causative agent of alveolar echinococcosis (AE), a potentially fatal zoonotic disease. Large parts of Turkey are considered as endemic for E. multilocularis. The aim of this study was to determine the occurrence of metacestode of E. multilocularis in wild rodents in Erzurum, an endemic region for human AE in Turkey. During the sampling period, a total of 498 rodents were trapped in twenty counties of Erzurum Province. Suspected lesions were observed on the livers of 48 rodents, and then partial fragment of mitochondrial 12S rRNA gene was PCR-amplified. Five liver samples exhibited E. multilocularis infection. The prevalence of E. multilocularis for Microtus spp. was 1·3%. All of the infected rodents had fertile metacestodes. Infected rodents were morphologically and molecularly analysed and were confirmed to be Microtus irani by the mitochondrial cytochrome b gene sequence analysis. This is the first report of the presence of E. multilocularis in rodent intermediate hosts in Turkey. Our findings of infected M. irani with protoscoleces show that this rodent can act as suitable intermediate host for E. multilocularis’ life cycle in Turkey. However, there was a complete lack of data on the infection of carnivores from the country. An extensive survey is recommended to determine the prevalence of E. multilocularis in definitive hosts in this endemic region.

There is still much to learn about pollination ecology in areas of high species diversity, such as the Neotropical region. For example, the role of non-flying mammals in pollination is largely unknown in the Neotropical areas, despite the importance of this group in the pollination of plants in other regions. Here we report evidence for flower visitation by a rodent to Oreocallis grandiflora (Proteaceae) in our study site in the southern Andes of Ecuador. For a period of 241 h, camcorders equipped with infrared lights revealed 22 occurrences of floral visitation by Microryzomys altissimus (Cricetidae) to inflorescences of O. grandiflora. Pollen samples taken from the fur of captured individuals showed that M. altissimus carries pollen of O. grandiflora, indicating a potential pollinator role for the rodent. This is the first record of flower visitation by a rodent in the Neotropical Andes. Pollination interactions between non-flying mammals and Proteaceae have been reported in other southern hemisphere continents. This study underscores the need for more research on pollination interactions in the Neotropics, especially in critical Andean biodiversity hotspots.

Although local prevalence of Echinococcus multilocularis may be high, this zoonotic parasite has an overall low prevalence in foxes and rodents in Sweden. To better understand opportunities for E. multilocularis transmission in the Swedish environment, the aim of this study was to investigate other taeniid cestodes and to relate observed patterns to E. multilocularis. Cestode parasites were examined in fox feces and rodents caught in different habitats from four regions of Sweden. Arvicola amphibius and Microtus agrestis were parasitized with Versteria mustelae, Hydatigera taeniaeformis s. l., and E. multilocularis, whereas Myodes glareolus and Apodemus spp. were parasitized with V. mustelae, Taenia polyacantha, H. taeniaeformis s.l., and Mesocestoides spp. Rodents caught in field habitat (Ar. amphibius, Mi. agrestis) were more likely (OR 10, 95% CI 5–19) to be parasitized than rodents caught in forest habitat (My. glareolus, Apodemus spp.). The parasite preference for each rodent species was present regardless of the type of background contamination from fox feces. These results further support the importance of both ecological barriers and individual species susceptibility in parasite transmission, and indicate that future monitoring for E. multilocularis in the Swedish environment should focus in field habitats where Mi. agrestis and Ar. amphibius are abundant.