Are Rats Extinct?
WouterThe scientific community has been pondering the question of whether or not rats are the next mass extinction, but no one knows for sure. The ANU team says that the answer could be no. Rats can infiltrate most major landmasses and are currently found in diverse ecosystems around the world. This makes them the most likely animals to survive a mass extinction event.
The researchers compared DNA from extinct species with the genetic information of living species. This allowed them to discover the missing genes in the Christmas Island rat’s genome. These genes were involved in olfaction, which would have rendered the rat ineffective in processing smells. This has left many questions about whether a species could become extinct, and whether the experiments would be ethical.
The Stephens’ kangaroo rat is in particular danger of extinction. Its habitat has become fragmented, and this could lead to a reduction in the population size. Climate change is also likely to lead to an increase in the size of nonnative grasslands. However, this remains a low-level threat to rat populations.
Rats are vulnerable to a wide range of diseases and parasites. Their extinction would affect many other species surrounding them. For example, the loss of a single species could cause the loss of a specialized parasite. The parasites of these species are not as easily eradicated as the host species.
