Was the mystery ever solved? It looks like some sort of egg cluster, but January would be a weird time for many things to be breeding in Connecticut. Was is unseasonably warm and wet?

Opinion | This centuries-old pest is thriving like never before A rat census is the first step in combatting them.

Rats have plagued humans for centuries, but as cities expand, these creatures are thriving like never before, @jrichardson44.bsky.social writes.

"Local governments are struggling to control that swell, and there’s an essential first step they need to undertake."

Opinion | The essential first step to winning the war on rats This pest is thriving like never before.

Rat numbers are going up. More urbanization & warming contribute to the increase. The solutions aren't a mystery, but are challenging to accomplish. The 1st step is to start collecting better data on rat numbers & track progress. Here's a gift link to an op-ed I wrote for the WaPo: wapo.st/46p7FAe

The “problem” with vaccines? They so effective at preventing deaths that they create generations of people that question whether disease was a problem in the first place because they have never experienced the horrors of a world without vaccines.

Destroying endangered species' habitat wouldn't count as 'harm' under proposed Trump rule The Trump administration is reinterpreting a key word in the Endangered Species Act that could have big consequences for the habitats of species at risk.

Fwiw, he also says: it is best to actually go online and comment on the federal register rather than call your rep. Communications said that a comment was worth more because people will actually review your comment.

Heres the article:

www.npr.org/2025/04/17/n...

Yksi maa teki silleen tyhmästi, että tappoi omat majavansa ja toi Ameriikasta eri majavia tilalle (ja me ne ammumme, kun yrittävät tänne takaisin)

cartographymaster.eu/studentwork/...

Looks like a porcupine, with non-prominent quills until it's very back area

We've been getting a ton of press for our study about urban rats and climate change, but I think a career highlight for me is getting featured on Atlas Obscura! @jrichardson44.bsky.social @atlasobscura.com

#rats #climatechange #urbanecology

This project was a wonderful collaboration b/w 19 academics, city officials, researchers, & students. We're only going to make progress if we put our collective heads together and share ideas, data, successes, failures, & overall experiences from our varied roles in urban rat management. 🐀

We were shocked that it was as hard as it was to find suitable long-term rat numbers for even 16 cities. There are a lot of productive areas for collaboration b/w academics, city rodent control teams, pest management firms, & residents. B/c ideally we're all working towards the same goal.

3) Cities need to start collecting systematic data on rat activity & abundance, & not rely on public complaint data. This information is critical for shifting from reactive to PROACTIVE rat management b/c cities need to know current baselines to track how effective their programs are going forward.

2) Cities & pest control staff will need to focus much less on rodenticide poisons (that only deal with current infestations, not prevention), & re-gear their teams to focus on eliminating "conducive conditions" for rats (i.e., remove food waste access for rats; clear debris & clutter they hide in)

But what can cities AND residents (b/c this needs to be a team effort) do about these rats? 1) Cities that are serious about tackling the issue will have to provide more funding & staff to the departments tasked with rodent control. This is a big problem that requires more resources.

Drawing insights from lab rats, warmer temps can improve reproduction. And as cities warm, rats may be able to be active & foraging longer into the winter or earlier in the spring. More foraging may allow them to squeeze out another litter or 2 around the cold winter months (... so population grows)

This is important b/c rats carry 50+ zoonotic pathogens, impact our mental health, & cause A LOT of economic damages. In our study we found that most cities are seeing growing rat numbers. And cities that are warming fastest & are heavily urbanized have the sharpest upward trends in rats. Ok, why?

Increasing rat numbers in cities are linked to climate warming, urbanization, and human population Most cities are seeing increases in rat numbers, linked to climate warming, urbanization, and human population densities.

Our study looking at global trends in urban rat numbers is out now in @science.org Advances. This project started b/c we were frustrated that there were lots of media reports about rat increases, but not backed by solid data. Here, we tried to provide that data: www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

Hotter cities? Here come the rats Well, rats. A study of 16 cities shows that higher ambient temperatures and loss of green space are associated with increasing rodent complaints.

Well RATS.

Climate change might mean more of them. A new paper from @jrichardson44.bsky.social shows that cities with increasing temps and more urbanization ended up with more rat complaints over time. www.sciencenews.org/article/rats...

Our last field lab of Aquatic Ecology each semester is a wetlands survey. It's been so dry that the vernal pool has no water, but the female marbled salamander is waiting w/ her eggs. The other wetland had some water, & Lord Ganesha was exposed by the dropping water levels:

World Antimicrobial Resistance Awareness Week #WAAW

My mom is living with cancer for >10 years. Her treatment regimens wiped out her immune system. She took precautionary antiviral, antibacterial, and antifungal. Many areas of healthcare rely on antimicrobials to prevent infection.

After submitting my NIH grant (on rodent-borne zoonotic disease risk mapping) this afternoon, I get to sit back and... catch up on grading & letter of rec. writing, while wondering if NIH really will have to pause infectious disease research for 4 years

I added this to my Urban Wildlife course this week (RIP previously used paper). I couched it in terms of what urban niche space is when native species are mostly gone. Are niches stable & waiting for occupants, or pliable & only relevant with an occupant? When does "control" enter the conversation?

An Entirely Synthetic Fish An award-winning journalist, aquatic ecologist, and lifelong fisherman tells for the first time the surprising story of the rainbow trout, a revered icon for...

For your reading list, in case you haven't seen this one yet. By a fellow F&ES grad: yalebooks.yale.edu/book/9780300...

Enjoyed my 1st PestWorld meeting in Denver recently - this NPMA meeting was great for interacting w/ stakeholders in pest management that I wouldn't typically have a chance to share our lab's work with (and to learn from). At least 1 new project in the works now, based on remote rat "capture" data.

I'm on a @NIH webinar (which is generally informative), & as so often happens, the speakers entirely overlooked PUI researchers. They listed funding options people apply for during their careers & R15 was not listed in an otherwise exhaustive list. A LOT of valuable research/training happens @ PUIs!

Damn. I can't argue with AI inference, which I know you are a strong proponent of. I concede that it's a Chicka-destroyer

Losers!

I've often thought of your as the modern-day Walt Disney of kindergarten-quality animal schematics

You're getting it wrong. It's "Life is full of tradeoffs" (TM JR 2014)

You better copyright that before I get tempted to use the image!

??? Did you take an edible 60-180 minutes ago?