Data - Increasing rat numbers in cities are linked to climate warming, urbanization and human population

Document Type

Dataset

Publication Date

2025

Publication Title

Dryad

Abstract

Urban rats are notorious invasive pests that thrive in cities by exploiting the resources accompanying high human population density. Identifying long-term trends in rat numbers and how they are shaped by environmental changes is critical for understanding their ecology, and projecting future vulnerabilities and mitigation needs. Here, we use trend analyses of public complaint and inspection data in 16 cities around the world to estimate trends in commensal rat populations. Eleven of 16 cities (69%) had significant increasing trends in rat numbers, including Washington D.C., New York, and Amsterdam. Just three cities experienced declines. Cities experiencing greater temperature increases over time saw larger increases in rat numbers. Cities with more dense human populations and more urbanization also saw larger increases in rats. Warming temperatures and more people living in cities may be expanding the seasonal activity periods and food resource availability for urban rats. Cities will have to integrate the biological impacts of these variables into any future management strategies.

DOI

10.5061/dryad.3xsj3txrq

Comments

Original Article: https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.ads6782

Rights

CC 0 Public Domain

Link to Full Text

Share

COinS