Stephenie LivingstonKey Largo woodrats—small rodents found only in the Florida Keys—build their nests in old cars, abandoned jet skis, and tiny plastic “houses” scattered throughout some of the last remaining forest on their namesake island.
The dwellings, covered in feces and urine, seemed potentially risky places to live. Now, a new study suggests the opposite: Not only are the nests free of common rodent diseases, but they are also chock-full of antibiotic-producing bacteria.This may be the first time such bacteria have been found in wild mammal nests, says microbial ecologist Megan Thoemmes, a postdoctoral researcher at the University of California, San Diego, and lead author of a new study.