Feeding behavbior and harming mechanism in commensal rodents

Abstract

Idiscussed the relati 〔mships between harming mechanisms and feed− ing behavior such as commensalism ， food habits， water requirements and responses to starvation inRattus rαttus， R，norvegicus ， R．exutans and 〜 lfus musculus ．Because of their commensahsm they seasonally migrate between houses and the outdoors ， and accidentally bring pathogens into houses．R． norvegicus isomnivorous and the others are basically herbivorous Howevcr ， ． they show unusua 正food habits and ， for ex − ample ， R rattus eats bark and an excessive amount of insects when starving ．Renal functions and food habits provc that R， non ／egicus isthe most prone to thirst ， where − as ル正musculus thrives in dry habitats．Feeding behavior is peculiar to rodent spe − cies and has characteristic relationship with harming mechanisms ．Therefore， feed− ing behavior of involved species is key a factor to solve harming mechanisms ．