One of the last things many people expect to see at 2:13 pm is a rat in a tree! Popular belief holds that rodents are nocturnal, but as we see here with this Brown Rat (Rattus norvegicus), they can and will be active during daylight hours.
Brought to the United States by European ships, the Brown Rat is an interesting example of a wildly successful invasive species. In fact, their native range is in Central Asia! This means that the rats successfully settled into Europe and then, by means of ships, traveled to North America. This little rat in a tree in Central Park represents a lineage that has found its way to every continent except Antarctica, a true example of life that thrives in the Anthropocene.
Do you think that urban rodents may be more active during daylight hours when compared to their non-urban conspecifics? Comment to let us know what you think!
References
I am interested in how the anthropocene has swayed the forces of evolution, specifically through understanding urban adaptation and population disease ecology.
I want to be a voice for victims of environmental racism, systemic injustice, and the legacy of colonialism.
We all have our roles to play in life's collective struggle against the universe's call to entropy.
Currently researching: Gray Tree Frogs (Hyla veriscolor) in NYC.
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