STUDIES ON THE ROLE OF SOCIODEMOGRAPHIC FACTORS IN THE DISTRIBUTION OF RODENTS IN A SEMIARID AREA OF RAJASTHAN

Socio-demographic factors affect the distribution of rodents, viz., Ra ttus rattus and Mus musculus. In 38 selected villages of Jaipur distri ct of Rajasthan, type of family (P <0.05), mode of animal-keeping (P < 0.01) and income of family (P <0.01) played significant role in their distribution. The difference among type of houses was not statisticall y significant. The role of education of head of family was found to be inversely proportional. Income-wise, medium income groups had higher number of houses positive for rodents. Animal-keeping inside the human -dwellings adversely affected the rodent distribution.