Black Rat Diet Analysis from 483 Droppings in a Canary Laurel Forest

483 rat droppings were collected from a pristine misty laurel forest on La Palma, Canary Islands. Morphological and DNA-based analyses identified plant and animal contributions to the diet of the invasive black rat (Rattus rattus). The study, authored by Fernando Pomeda‐Gutiérrez, confirms a strong plant-based omnivorous diet, including toxic plants and intact seeds.

Use Cases

• Modeling invasive species diet composition based on morphological and DNA evidence from droppings.
• Identifying plant and invertebrate taxa consumed by rats using DNA barcoding and local reference libraries.
• Analyzing seed dispersal potential based on the presence of intact Rubus seeds found in droppings.
• Studying the consumption of toxic plants by omnivores in island ecosystems.

Strengths

• Dataset is based on 483 collected droppings, providing a substantial sample size.
• Combines morphological examination (stereomicroscope) with DNA-based analyses (barcoding, BLAST) for cross-validation.
• Includes a local DNA reference collection of 58 plant species to improve identification accuracy.
• Reports specific consumption frequencies: plants in 92.4% (morphology) and 97% (DNA) of droppings.

Limitations

• Row count and column-level documentation are unknown, limiting suitability assessment.
• Last update date is unknown; freshness unverified.
• Data may reflect geographic bias inherent to the single study location on La Palma.

Provenance

Source

Fernando Pomeda‐Gutiérrez via paperswithcode.

Collection Method

Morphological examination and DNA sequencing of 483 rat droppings collected from the terrain.

Geography

La Palma, Canary Islands (pristine misty laurel forest).