Affection of Improved Dwellings on Rodent Community in the Countryside in Dongting Plain

Data of rodents census shows that their community and density in dwellings of countryside in Dongting Plain have changed remarkably with the improvement of farmhouses from 80s to 1996-2001.The community composes of Rattus norvegicus,Mus musculus and Rattus flavipectus.Trap successes of rodents are much higher in dwellings with clay floor than with concrete floor,which is a key factor in affecting rodent community and density.The main species trapped in rooms with clay floor is R.norvegicus.However,that with concrete floor is mainly M.musculus.The trap successes of rodents in the farmhouses with brick structure are lower than with wood and clay structure.The dominant species in the former is M.musculus while in the latter is R.norvegicus.The results also indicates that the population density of rodent in this area has been decreasing since 80s ,especially the population of R.norvegicus.