VMM - Rat control occurrences in Flanders, Belgium

Data Records

The data in this occurrence resource has been published as a Darwin Core Archive (DwC-A), which is a standardized format for sharing biodiversity data as a set of one or more data tables. The core data table contains 38,757 records.

This IPT archives the data and thus serves as the data repository. The data and resource metadata are available for download in the downloads section. The versions table lists other versions of the resource that have been made publicly available and allows tracking changes made to the resource over time.

Versions

The table below shows only published versions of the resource that are publicly accessible.

How to cite

Researchers should cite this work as follows:

Slootmaekers D, Gevens F, Reyserhove L, Oldoni D, Desmet P (2025). VMM - Rat control occurrences in Flanders, Belgium. Version 1.154. Flanders Environment Agency (VMM). Occurrence dataset. https://ipt.inbo.be/resource?r=vmm-rattenapp-occurrences&v=1.154

Rights

Researchers should respect the following rights statement:

The publisher and rights holder of this work is Flanders Environment Agency (VMM). This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY 4.0) License.

GBIF Registration

This resource has been registered with GBIF, and assigned the following GBIF UUID: ddd51fa5-97ce-48ff-9a58-a09d7e76b103.  Flanders Environment Agency (VMM) publishes this resource, and is itself registered in GBIF as a data publisher endorsed by Belgian Biodiversity Platform.

Keywords

Occurrence; Observation; Flemish Environment Agency; VMM; damage prevention; animal damage; pest control‚ invasive alien species; muskrat; public awareness campaign

Contacts

Geographic Coverage

Flanders, Belgium

Taxonomic Coverage

The main species included are muskrat (Ondatra zibethicus, 45%), brown rat (Rattus norvegicus, 15%) and Eurasion beaver (Castor fiber, 10%). The dataset also includes records of water primrose (Ludwigia grandiflora), floating pennywort (Hydrocotyle ranunculoides) and several other animal and plant pest species.

Temporal Coverage

Project Data

The spread of invasive alien species (IAS) is not hampered by administrative borders. Aquatic IAS, in particular, spread rapidly through the hydrographic network. To effectively control such species requires coordinated management at higher spatial scales. LIFE RIPARIAS (Reaching Integrated and Prompt Action in Response to Invasive Alien Species) aims to achieve such coordination across regional borders in Belgium, supported by open data and open infrastructure for early warning and management reporting. LIFE RIPARIAS aims at improving decision making on IAS management, early warning systems and management reporting tools. To this end, it develops an evidence-based workflow, translating national management objectives into concrete actions in an efficient manner. Ultimately the project aims at increasing the conservation status of aquatic and riparian habitats. More information on LIFE RIPARIAS is available at the project homepage: https://www.riparias.be/. You can also follow LIFE RIPARIAS on Twitter (@LIFEriparias) and Facebook (LIFE Riparias)

The personnel involved in the project:

Sampling Methods

Trappers of the VMM will prospect all streams and water bodies at least twice every year for signs of muskrat or coypu activity. Regions with higher population densities are prospected more frequently. Upon detection of either species, traps are deployed according to the management protocol for muskrat in Flanders (beheerregeling muskusrat in Vlaanderen). Every trapping site is registered by the trapper through the use of a mobile gps application. Per trapping site the trapper will deploy one or multiple traps, all of which are registered in the application. The traps are checked frequently, preferably daily. Both catches and bycatches are registered for each individual visit to a trapping site. As soon as all muskrats/coypu have been caught at a location or whenever no new signs of rat activity are noticed, the trapper will remove the traps. For plants, water bodies and streams are visually screened by boat or from the river bank, at least on an annual basis. All records are recorded and/or exterminated.

Method step description:

1. The source data for this standardized dataset is managed by the Flanders Environment Agency (VMM).
2. An SQL script was developed to transform the data to Darwin Core. This mapping script was uploaded to a GitHub repository https://github.com/riparias/vmm-rattenapp-occurrences/tree/main/sql and includes the following steps:
3. Perform some basic data cleaning of the raw data.
4. Generate stable and unique identifiers for each occurrence (occurrenceID).
5. Create a occurrence core file (https://rs.gbif.org/core/dwc_occurrence_2022-02-02.xml).

Additional Metadata