Rats in a rainforest, will they survive?
I take a steam class called population. In this class we are focusing on living organisms and their taxonomic levels. I am doing the same species as I did before in my previous action project. The common Norway/brown rat. (Rattus norvegicus).
In this unit we learned a lot about the scientific method. In this unit we looked at advantageous traits for the organisms we chose and how it helps them in their environment. As an FE we went to the field museum where my classmates looked at the ancestors of their organisms. I was unable to find the ancestor of a rat since they didn’t evolve that much from the past. Rats have learned to adapt to their environment very very well. I did find a relative of the Norway rat. I also learned that there are many rats that have adapted to their surroundings in areas I didn’t think of.
My species: Norway/Brown rat, (Rattus Norvegicus)
Rats originated in Asia. They started appearing everywhere around the world around the 1700s. They traveled the world by hiding on ships, in food, and traveling over land.
Rats can be found anywhere. Most commonly New York or underground. In barns and really any building. Any large city. These rats can withstand a lot of things. There are many variations of rats. Each one has evolved to fit their environment. For example the roof rat is a variation. There is a big difference between roof rats and Norway rats. Norway rats have brown/grey fur while roof rats have black coats and a pale underside. Norway rats are also bigger than roof rats by about two inches.
Another far relative of the rat is Ord’s kangaroo rat. (Dipodomys Ordii). They are both rodents that have very similar body shapes. They also have similar skeletal structures. They both have really long tails and can jump pretty high. Their front paws are similar.
This rat had partly transparent bones located near its ear. This was helpful in improving sound detection. This specific rat’s bones were helpful to detect snakes on the move. In this environment it’s tail is very long to help regulate body temperature. It also has tan fur to blend in the dry grounds.
This was a photo I took at the field museum. This is Ord’s kangaroo rat’s skeleton.
The Norway rat has a lot of amazing features that are advantageous in its habitat. For example, it can fall from 50 ft and have no injuries. If that isn’t an advantageous trait then I don’t know what is. Another advantageous trait Norway rats have is their intelligence. This is very helpful in the city life environment. In a case where they need to memorize how to make their way around vents their memory really helps them.
Small rodents like rats can very easily overheat. Lucky for them they have a long tail that helps them regulate body temperature. This is helpful during the summer in New York. Rat’s whiskers are more sensitive than human fingertips.
Rat’s whiskers growing really long is an advantageous trait. They use their whiskers for depth perception. This helps them see more than they can with their eyes. This helps the rats court a mate and see if it can fit through certain spaces. They refer to their whiskers for depth perception with shorter distances. If they need to go through a hole of some sort to avoid something they can use their whiskers to see if they can go through it first. This can help them find a faster place to hide.
I had three questions about rats, and then found the answer.
How many rats are in a mischief?
Rat packs can vary greatly. anywhere from 5-10 rats. Although rats can live in pairs of 2 it's typically because they are first starting their colony.
How many babies can a female rat have in a year?
Rats can give a maximum of 86-96 babies per year if they have enough resources. Most commonly they will have about 80 in a year.
How many babies does a female rat produce in one litter?
Female Norway rats can have an average of 8-10 babies per litter.
30-100 is a range of how many babies a female rat can have in a year
This is where I got this information: How Many Litters Do Rats Have a Year? (trulynolen.ca)
This is a data set:
30, 35, 40, 50, 60, 65, 70, 80, 85, 90, 100
30= minimum
40= 1st quartile
65= median
85= 3rd quartile
100= maximum
This is the math I did to find the variance and Standardized Deviation.
What if Norway rats lived in a different environment?
A large humid forest. This forest is lush with green plant life. Rainfall occurs quite often. Close by you can hear frogs croaking and crickets chirping in the night. You can hear small coos and whistles from birds. When you breathe in you can feel the dense heavy humid air. This forest you can tell the forest has been here for a long time. Temperatures range from 91-71 degrees Fahrenheit.
Would a rat survive? This is my hypothesis,
The Norway rat (Rattus norvegicus) would survive in a tropical rainforest. I think it would survive due to its nature. Their tail would be advantageous because it could balance out the temperature. Another trait that would be helpful is being able to drop from 50 feet without having any injuries. Their brain would be very very helpful especially in a new environment. Even if they lived there they can use their intelligence to memorize the environment around them. Rats have really big whiskers that are more sensitive than human fingertips. This is an advantageous trait because they would be able to see/feel better at night.
In conclusion I think that the Norway rats would survive for a small amount of time. Throughout this unit I learned a lot about rats. I learned a lot about taxonomic levels. Taking a trip to the field museum was very helpful for this unit because of the amount of animals we got to see. This was helpful in understanding other animal’s environments and what they would be like in different environments. This Action project was really fun along with this unit.
Sources
“How Many Babies Do Rats Have? Many You Would Not Expect!” Rat Relief, 20 Sep. 2021, https://www.ratrelief.com/how-many-babies-do-rats-have/.
“Norway Rats: Control & Prevention Information For Rats.” PestWorld.org Your Partner in Pest Prevention, https://www.pestworld.org/pest-guide/rodents/norway-rats/.
Control, Ideal Pest, and About the author Ideal Pest Control . “Understanding Rat Colonies and How They Spread.” Ideal, 4 Feb. 2019, https://www.idealpestcontrol.net/blog/understanding-rat-colonies-and-how-they-spread.
Shaw, Wesman Todd. “The Brown Rat - Rattus Norvegicus, and How to Rid Yourself of Their Presence.” HubPages, HubPages, 9 Oct. 2021, https://discover.hubpages.com/living/The-Brown-Rat.
Western Pest Services. “Roof Rat vs. Norway Rat: Differences, Appearance & Behavior.” Western Pest Services, 30 Sept. 2021, https://www.westernpest.com/blog/roof-rat-vs-norway-rat/#:~:text=Roof%20rats%20have%20black%20fur%20with%20pale%20underbellies%2C,roof%20rat%20typically%20has%20a%20much%20longer%20tail.
Davies, Tom. “How Many Litters Do Rats Have a Year?” Truly Nolen Canada, 28 Apr. 2021, https://www.trulynolen.ca/how-many-litters-do-rats-have-a-year/.
I had three questions about rats, and then found the answer.
How many rats are in a mischief?
Rat packs can vary greatly. anywhere from 5-10 rats. Although rats can live in pairs of 2 it's typically because they are first starting their colony.
How many babies can a female rat have in a year?
Rats can give a maximum of 86-96 babies per year if they have enough resources. Most commonly they will have about 80 in a year.
How many babies does a female rat produce in one litter?
Female Norway rats can have an average of 8-10 babies per litter.
30-100 is a range of how many babies a female rat can have in a year
This is where I got this information: How Many Litters Do Rats Have a Year? (trulynolen.ca)
This is a data set:
30, 35, 40, 50, 60, 65, 70, 80, 85, 90, 100
30= minimum
40= 1st quartile
65= median
85= 3rd quartile
100= maximum
This is the math I did to find the variance and Standardized Deviation.
What if Norway rats lived in a different environment?
A large humid forest. This forest is lush with green plant life. Rainfall occurs quite often. Close by you can hear frogs croaking and crickets chirping in the night. You can hear small coos and whistles from birds. When you breathe in you can feel the dense heavy humid air. This forest you can tell the forest has been here for a long time. Temperatures range from 91-71 degrees Fahrenheit.
Would a rat survive? This is my hypothesis,
The Norway rat (Rattus norvegicus) would survive in a tropical rainforest. I think it would survive due to its nature. Their tail would be advantageous because it could balance out the temperature. Another trait that would be helpful is being able to drop from 50 feet without having any injuries. Their brain would be very very helpful especially in a new environment. Even if they lived there they can use their intelligence to memorize the environment around them. Rats have really big whiskers that are more sensitive than human fingertips. This is an advantageous trait because they would be able to see/feel better at night.
In conclusion I think that the Norway rats would survive for a small amount of time. Throughout this unit I learned a lot about rats. I learned a lot about taxonomic levels. Taking a trip to the field museum was very helpful for this unit because of the amount of animals we got to see. This was helpful in understanding other animal’s environments and what they would be like in different environments. This Action project was really fun along with this unit.
Sources
“How Many Babies Do Rats Have? Many You Would Not Expect!” Rat Relief, 20 Sep. 2021, https://www.ratrelief.com/how-many-babies-do-rats-have/.
“Norway Rats: Control & Prevention Information For Rats.” PestWorld.org Your Partner in Pest Prevention, https://www.pestworld.org/pest-guide/rodents/norway-rats/.
Control, Ideal Pest, and About the author Ideal Pest Control . “Understanding Rat Colonies and How They Spread.” Ideal, 4 Feb. 2019, https://www.idealpestcontrol.net/blog/understanding-rat-colonies-and-how-they-spread.
Shaw, Wesman Todd. “The Brown Rat - Rattus Norvegicus, and How to Rid Yourself of Their Presence.” HubPages, HubPages, 9 Oct. 2021, https://discover.hubpages.com/living/The-Brown-Rat.
Western Pest Services. “Roof Rat vs. Norway Rat: Differences, Appearance & Behavior.” Western Pest Services, 30 Sept. 2021, https://www.westernpest.com/blog/roof-rat-vs-norway-rat/#:~:text=Roof%20rats%20have%20black%20fur%20with%20pale%20underbellies%2C,roof%20rat%20typically%20has%20a%20much%20longer%20tail.
Davies, Tom. “How Many Litters Do Rats Have a Year?” Truly Nolen Canada, 28 Apr. 2021, https://www.trulynolen.ca/how-many-litters-do-rats-have-a-year/.
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