| caecal size and function in the rock elephant shrew elephantulus myurus (insectivora, macroscelididae) and the namaqua rock mouse aethomys namaquensis (rodentia, muridae). | 1. the relative size of the digestive organs and the function of the caeca of an insectivorous elephant shrew elephantulus myurus (macroscelididae) and of a herbivorous rodent aethomys namaquensis (muridae) were compared. 2. both species had similar body mass but a. namaquensis had a significantly heavier total digestive tract, full stomach, and caecum and a longer large intestine and caecum than e. myurus. 3. both species had similar total volatile fatty acid (vfa) concentration and vfa % compo ... | 1987 | 2886272 |
| rift valley fever virus: a seroepidemiologic study of small terrestrial vertebrates in south africa. | epizootics of rift valley fever (rvf) are often associated with periods of heavy rainfall, which are favorable for mosquito vectors. however, in seasons with normal or low rainfall, enzootic circulation occurs, suggesting the existence of a natural host that can act as a cryptic carrier during interepizootic periods. to confirm the role of heavy rainfall in epizootic circulation, and to identify a possible natural host of rvf virus, serum samples from small terrestrial mammals in the free state ... | 1997 | 9430529 |
| could bats act as reservoir hosts for rift valley fever virus? | the inter-epizootic reservoir host of rift valley fever virus (rvfv) remains unknown, although the namaqua rock rat, aethomys namaquensis, as well as bats have been implicated. bats can be asymptomatically infected with rabies, as well as several arboviruses; the possibility that they can act as host for rvfv therefore exists. to examine this possibility, 350 different samples (brain, liver, salivary glands and brown fat) obtained from 150 bats (comprising seven species) were tested for rvfv ant ... | 1999 | 10396763 |
| sugar preferences and xylose metabolism of a mammal pollinator, the namaqua rock mouse (aethomys namaquensis). | the sugar preferences of 10 namaqua rock mice, aethomys namaquensis, were assessed using pairwise combinations of 30% (w/w) solutions of sucrose, glucose, fructose, xylose, and a mixture of equal parts of glucose and fructose. the tests were designed to control for side biases that were apparent in preliminary experiments. the mice preferred sucrose to fructose and glucose. xylose, although the least preferred sugar, was willingly consumed by the rodents (up to 5.8 ml in 24 h). this contrasts wi ... | 1999 | 10438681 |
| xylose as a nectar sugar: from biochemistry to ecology. | studies of nectar sugar composition in the proteaceae, an ancient southern hemisphere plant family, have demonstrated that xylose comprises up to 39% of nectar sugar in two genera, protea and faurea, and may therefore represent a substantial fraction of the energy available to pollinators of these plants. although insect and bird pollinators of protea species are averse to xylose, mice (aethomys namaquensis) will drink pure xylose, which is metabolized either by gut bacteria or by the mouse tiss ... | 2002 | 11923077 |
| the effect of different oral antibiotics on the gastrointestinal microflora of a wild rodent (aethomys namaquensis). | gut sterilization via the oral administration of antibiotics facilitates physiological studies of the nutritionally important relationship between intestinal microflora and the host. however, the composition of gut flora is extremely variable, and as a result, the efficacy of antibiotics in achieving gut sterilization varies considerably between species. we tested the effectiveness of three antibiotic cocktails in sterilizing the gut of a rodent pollinator, the namaqua rock mouse (aethomys namaq ... | 2004 | 15369837 |
| small mammals as hosts of immature ixodid ticks. | two hundred and twenty-five small mammals belonging to 16 species were examined for ticks in free state, mpumalanga and limpopo provinces, south africa, and 18 ixodid tick species, of which two could only be identified to genus level, were recovered. scrub hares, lepus saxatilis, and cape hares, lepus capensis, harboured the largest number of tick species. in free state province namaqua rock mice, aethomys namaquensis, and four-striped grass mice, rhabdomys pumilio, were good hosts of the immatu ... | 2005 | 16300195 |
| nectar xylose metabolism in a rodent pollinator (aethomys namaquensis): defining the role of gastrointestinal microflora using 14c-labeled xylose. | the namaqua rock mouse aethomys namaquensis, a rodent pollinator of certain geoflorous protea species, consumes nectar containing xylose. xylose is not known to be efficiently utilized by mammals. however, it is fermented by certain bacteria, yeasts, and fungi, particularly gastrointestinal bacteria. the end products of microbial fermentation are utilized by the host in oxidative metabolism. here we investigate the degree to which intestinal bacteria of a. namaquensis contribute to xylose metabo ... | 2006 | 16380937 |
| xylose utilization and short-chain fatty acid production by selected components of the intestinal microflora of a rodent pollinator (aethomys namaquensis). | namaqua rock mice (aethomys namaquensis) consume nectar xylose when visiting protea flowers. whole-animal metabolism studies suggest that the gastrointestinal microflora plays an important role in xylose metabolism in a. namaquensis. we collected caecal contents under anaerobic conditions, cultured caecal microflora both aerobically and anaerobically, and assessed caecal microbial xylose utilization using a (14)c-xylose incubation assay. all four mice sampled hosted culturable caecal micro-organ ... | 2006 | 16676189 |
| bioregion heterogeneity correlates with extensive mitochondrial dna diversity in the namaqua rock mouse, micaelamys namaquensis (rodentia: muridae) from southern africa--evidence for a species complex. | intraspecific variation within the diverse southern african murine rodents has not been extensively investigated, yet cryptic diversity is evident in several taxa studied to date. the namaqua rock mouse, micaelamys namaquensis smith, 1834 is a widespread endemic murine rodent from the subregion. currently, a single species with four subspecies is recognised, but in the past up to 16 subspecies were described. thus, this species is a good candidate for the investigation of patterns and processes ... | 2010 | 20942924 |
| bartonellae of the namaqua rock mouse, micaelamys namaquensis (rodentia: muridae) from south africa. | the aim of this study was to determine bartonella prevalence and diversity in namaqua rock mice, micaelamys namaquensis, a species endemic to south africa, which can attain pest status. a total of 100 heart samples collected monthly from march to december were screened for bartonella genome presence using three primer sets targeting the citrate synthase (glta) gene, the nadh dehydrogenase gamma subunit (nuog) gene and the rna polymerase β-subunit-encoding gene (rpob). an overall prevalence of 44 ... | 2011 | 22204791 |
| the namaqua rock mouse (micaelamys namaquensis) as a potential reservoir and host of arthropod vectors of diseases of medical and veterinary importance in south africa. | the role of endemic murid rodents as hosts of arthropod vectors of diseases of medical and veterinary significance is well established in the northern hemisphere. in contrast, endemic murids are comparatively understudied as vector hosts in africa, particularly in south africa. considering the great rodent diversity in south africa, many of which may occur as human commensals, this is unwarranted. | 2014 | 25127720 |
| habitat-specific shaping of proliferation and neuronal differentiation in adult hippocampal neurogenesis of wild rodents. | daily life of wild mammals is characterized by a multitude of attractive and aversive stimuli. the hippocampus processes complex polymodal information associated with such stimuli and mediates adequate behavioral responses. how newly generated hippocampal neurons in wild animals contribute to hippocampal function is still a subject of debate. here, we test the relationship between adult hippocampal neurogenesis (ahn) and habitat types. to this end, we compare wild muridae species of southern afr ... | 2013 | 23616743 |
| natural hosts of the larvae of nuttalliella sp. (n. namaqua?) (acari: nuttalliellidae). | the first collection of unengorged and fully engorged larvae of nuttalliella sp. (n. namaqua?) from the murid rodents micaelamys namaquensis, aethomys chrysophilus and acomys spinosissimus in limpopo province and from m. namaquensis in the northern cape province, south africa, is documented. a total of nine larvae were collected from two m. namaquensis in the soutpansberg mountain range in the limpopo province during april 2009. during the last week of september 2011, 221 larvae were collected f ... | 2012 | 23327328 |
| foraging in space and time structure an african small mammal community. | we used live-trapping and foraging to test for the effect of habitat selection and diet on structuring a community of six small mammals and one bird within the soutpansberg, south africa. we established grids that straddled adjacent habitats: woodland, rocky hillside, and grassland. trapping and foraging were used to estimate abundance, habitat use, and species-specific foraging costs. the species with the highest abundance and foraging activity in a habitat, activity time, or food was considere ... | 2014 | 24648024 |
| how important is the relationship between protea humiflora (proteaceae) and its non-flying mammal pollinators? | the interaction between protea humiflora and its non-flying mammal pollinators was investigated with the aim of quantifying the relationship for both the plants and mammals involved. we manipulated flower density by inflorescence removal and determined the effect upon mammal captures, and excluded mammals to determine their effect upon seed set. of three mammal species captured frequently, the smallest, acomys subspinosus (18±4 sd g, rodentia: muridae), demonstrated the strongest relationship wi ... | 2002 | 28547413 |
| evidence of cryptic speciation in mesostigmatid mites from south africa. | laelaps giganteus and laelaps muricola (mesostigmata; laelapidae) are widespread and locally abundant host generalists on small mammals in southern africa. the large host range and complex life history of these ectoparasites may allude to possible intraspecific cryptic diversity in these taxa. to assess genetic and morphological diversity in l. giganteus and l. muricola, we sampled 228 rodents at eight localities in south africa. this sample included nine previously recorded host species and on ... | 2014 | 24923552 |
| dental microwear of sympatric rodent species sampled across habitats in southern africa: implications for environmental influence. | dental microwear textures have proven to be a valuable tool for reconstructing the diets of a wide assortment of fossil vertebrates. nevertheless, some studies have recently questioned the efficacy of this approach, suggesting that aspects of habitat unrelated to food preference, especially environmental grit load, might have a confounding effect on microwear patterning that obscures the diet signal. here we evaluate this hypothesis by examining microwear textures of 3 extant sympatric rodent sp ... | 2016 | 26748948 |
| evidence for eight tandem and five centric fusions in the evolution of the karyotype of aethomys namaquensis a. smith (rodentia: muridae). | g- and c-banded chromosomes of aethomys namaquensis (2n = 24), a. chrysophilus (2n = 44), and praomys coucha (2n = 36) are compared and contrasted with published material on australian muridae and north american sigmodontidae. direction and types of chromosomal rearrangements are established using cladistic methodology. an acrocentric morphology for chromosomes 5, 14, 15 and 20 (numbering system from peromyscus) are proposed as primitive for the common ancestor of the muridae and sigmodontidae r ... | 1988 | 3234763 |
| effects of photophase illuminance on locomotor activity, urine production and urinary 6-sulfatoxymelatonin in nocturnal and diurnal south african rodents. | effects of photophase illuminance (1, 10, 100 and 330 lx of white incandescent lighting) on daily rhythms of locomotor activity, urine production and 6-sulfatoxymelatonin (6-smt; 10 versus 330 lx) were studied in nocturnal namaqua rock mice (micaelamys namaquensis) and diurnal four-striped field mice (rhabdomys pumilio). micaelamys namaquensis was consistently nocturnal (∼90-94% nocturnal activity), whereas considerable individual variation marked activity profiles in r. pumilio, but with activi ... | 2017 | 28209805 |
| differential feeding success of two paralysis-inducing ticks, rhipicephalus warburtoni and ixodes rubicundus on sympatric small mammal species, elephantulus myurus and micaelamys namaquensis. | rodents are recognised as important hosts of ixodid ticks and as reservoirs of tick-borne pathogens across the world. sympatric insectivores are usually inconspicuous and often overlooked as hosts of ticks and reservoirs of disease. elephant shrews or sengis of the order macroscelidea are small insectivores that often occur in sympatry with rodents in southern africa. sengis are invariably parasitised by large numbers of immature ticks while sympatric rodents are infested with very few. the reas ... | 2012 | 22521977 |
| locomotor activity in field captured crepuscular four-striped field mice, rhabdomys dilectus and nocturnal namaqua rock mice, micaelamys namaquensis during a simulated heat wave. | activity of animals is influenced by ambient temperature and increasing temperatures brought about by climate change may impose a heat stress risk. previous studies investigating the effect of heat waves on activity usually measure animals at different, but constant temperatures, however, rarely are they studied under a natural temperature cycle. general activity, behavioural flexibility and frequency of water drinking counts during a normal day, hot day and a simulated heat wave temperature cyc ... | 2020 | 32001021 |
| effects of the colour of photophase light on locomotor activity in a nocturnal and a diurnal south african rodent. | many physiological and behavioural responses to varying qualities of light, particularly during the night (scotophase), have been well documented in rodents. we used varying wavelengths of day-time (photophase) lighting to assess daily responses in locomotor activity in the nocturnal namaqua rock mouse (micaelamys namaquensis) and diurnal four-striped field mouse (rhabdomys pumilio). animals were exposed to three light-dark cycle regimes: a short-wavelength- (swlc, blue), a medium-wavelength- (m ... | 2019 | 31573427 |
| the topography of rods, cones and intrinsically photosensitive retinal ganglion cells in the retinas of a nocturnal (micaelamys namaquensis) and a diurnal (rhabdomys pumilio) rodent. | we used immunocytochemistry to determine the presence and topographical density distributions of rods, cones, and intrinsically photosensitive retinal ganglion cells (iprgcs) in the four-striped field mouse (rhabdomys pumilio) and the namaqua rock mouse (micaelamys namaquensis). both species possessed duplex retinas that were rod dominated. in r. pumilio, the density of both cones and rods were high (cone to rod ratio: 1:1.23) and reflected the species' fundamentally diurnal, but largely crepusc ... | 2018 | 30092025 |
| two new species of sucking lice (phthiraptera: anoplura: hoplopleuridae and polyplacidae) from grant's rock mouse, micaelamys granti, in south africa. | two new species of sucking lice (phthiraptera: anoplura), hoplopleura granti n. sp. (hoplopleuridae) and polyplax megacephalus n. sp. (polyplacidae), are described from grant's rock mouse, micaelamys granti (wroughton), from northern cape province, south africa. adults of both sexes are illustrated via line drawings and differential interference contrast microscopy images, and are compared with previously described related species that parasitize related hosts: hoplopleura patersoni johnson from ... | 2020 | 32679590 |
| the effect of varying laboratory conditions on the locomotor activity of the nocturnal namaqua rock mouse (micaelamys namaquensis) and the diurnal four-striped grass mouse (rhabdomys dilectus). | rodents are the most common laboratory animals all over the world, however, most studies on the effects of laboratory conditions on the behavior and physiology of the study animals have been performed on traditional laboratory animals. we investigated the effects of environmental enrichment, lighting conditions and ambient temperature cycles on the locomotor activity of wild trapped, nocturnal namaqua rock mice and diurnal four-striped grass mice. when considering the general activity of the two ... | 2020 | 32534363 |
| bartonellae of synanthropic four-striped mice (rhabdomys pumilio) from the western cape province, south africa. | bartonella is a species-rich bacterial genus that infects a wide variety of wild and domestic animals, including rodents. despite high levels of murid rodent diversity in africa, associated bartonella prevalence and diversity remains understudied, particularly within the southern african subregion. to address this, we sampled endemic four-striped mice, rhabdomys pumilio, from three rural and two urban localities in the western cape province, south africa. pcr screening and multilocus sequence an ... | 2019 | 30571537 |
| bartonella diversity and zoonotic potential in indigenous tete veld rats (aethomys ineptus) from south africa. | bartonellosis is a vector-borne disease that is often misdiagnosed due to a broad range of clinical symptoms, compounded by a lack of awareness regarding the prevalence, diversity and public health impacts of regional strains. despite recent pcr-based confirmation of bartonella in 9.7% of non-malarial, acute febrile patients in south africa, data regarding reservoirs of infection are limited. as the majority of bartonella species described to date are associated with rodent species globally, inc ... | 2019 | 31004764 |
| multiple mammarenaviruses circulating in angolan rodents. | rodents are a speciose group of mammals with strong zoonotic potential. some parts of africa are still underexplored for the occurrence of rodent-borne pathogens, despite this high potential. angola is at the convergence of three major biogeographical regions of sub-saharan africa, each harbouring a specific rodent community. this rodent-rich area is, therefore, strategic for studying the diversity and evolution of rodent-borne viruses. in this study we examined 290 small mammals, almost all rod ... | 2021 | 34070551 |