noImage

Prof. Oh (Department of Biology Education, College of Education) and his team announced that they had secured verifiable genetic evidence that alien house rats were artificially introduced to an uninhabited island in Jeju.

The research team collected samples through field investigations at Sasudo Island in Chuja-myeon, Jeju-si, and identified species through mtDNA (Mitochondrial DNA) cytochrome b gene sequencing analysis. And the team has secured a clue that can identify the artificial introduction of house rats to Sasudo.

Sasudo Island, designated as Natural Monument No. 333, is the largest breeding ground for seabirds (black pigeons and hedgehogs). House mice have been known to be a species that severely disrupts the reproduction of seabirds, such as the population flourishing and digging nests or preying on eggs after being introduced into Sasudo. Prof. Oh said, "Since an island is an isolated ecosystem, the invasion of foreign species directly affects the survival of native species. If this situation becomes serious, active management is needed to quickly cope with invasive species because endemic species might become extinct.“

The study was conducted as a project to remove harmful species from seabird breeding grounds in Sasudo, Jeju by the World Natural Heritage Headquarters of Jeju Special Self-Governing Province. The result of the study was published in SCIE <Bioninvasion Records (March, 2023, first author) Park Seonmi, postdoctoral researcher> under the title of 'Genetic identification of Rattus norvegicus (Berkenhout, 1769).