Pushing the limits: ship rat (Rattus rattus) population dynamics across an elevational gradient in response to mast seeding and supplementary feeding.

ABSTRACT: Understanding marginal habitat use by invasive species is important for predicting how distributions may change under future climates. We investigated the influence of food availability and temperature on ship rat (Rattus rattus) distribution and density across a forested elevational gradient in New Zealand by measuring ship rat demographics following a beech (Nothofagaceae) mass seeding event ('mast') at three elevation bands (20-80, 400-500, 800-900 m asl). We tested whether declining food availability limits rat populations at the highest elevation band post-mast by experimentally increasing food abundance above baseline food availability. When our study started 4 months post-seedfall, rats at mid- and low- elevations were at high densities (11.4-16.5 ha^-1). Rats at hi

SUBMITTER: Carpenter JK 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9166931 | biostudies-literature | 2022

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature