Video Surveillance of Rat (Rattus norvegicus) Movement and Activity in Agricultural Landscape in United Kingdom

Abstract

Rats’ activity level was monitored for 57 days continuously using a monochrome video camera with wide angle lens sensitive to infra red light. A time-lapse video cassette recorder was connected to the video camera and set at a recording resolution of 2 frames per second. Video monitoring of a single trap system provided evidence that rats are active during both day and night. Early dusk and midnight was the peak of diel activity. A comparison of the rate activity based on number of rat sightings per hour, showed there was no significant difference among time periods (ANOVA, F3,164 = 2.20, p = 0.09). The level of activity was relatively low in this study with an average of 5 sightings per day. Their direction of movement was not consistent and trapping appeared not to change rat behaviour.