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Effects of cover reduction on mulgara Dasycercus cristicauda (Marsupialia: Dasyuridae), rodent and invertebrate populations in central Australia: Implications for land management (2003)

Masters, Pip ; Dickman, Chris R. ; Crowther, Mathew

Oxford, UK : Blackwell Science Pty

Austral ecology 28 (2003), S. 0

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ISSN: 1442-9993

Source: Blackwell Publishing Journal Backfiles 1879-2005

Topics: Biology

Notes: Abstract This study investigates the effect of cover reduction on the mulgara, Dasycercus cristicauda, a small marsupial classified as vulnerable to extinction, which occurs in areas of central Australia dominated by hummock grasslands. Loss or degradation of spinifex has been implicated in population declines of this species previously, but the importance of cover in maintaining quality habitat remains speculative. To determine the effect on D. cristicauda of cover reduction, caused by the harvesting of spinifex, we monitored population changes and changes in prey resources (rodents and invertebrates) before and after spinifex harvesting took place at a site near the Ayers Rock Resort, Northern Territory, Australia. Ten plots, each of 8.75 ha, were established and sampled from May 1994 to October 1995. Harvesting took place on five plots in August 1994, which reduced spinifex cover from 46 to 21% and the amount of spinifex 〉0.25 m high from 42 to 2%. Harvesting did not significantly affect the number of D. cristicauda known to be alive or captured despite other studies indicating that cover is an important habitat attribute. There was also no evidence that cover reduction impacted on the biomass of the invertebrate food resources. However, there was a significant reduction in the number of rodents captured. The lack of a response to cover reduction by D. cristicauda is possibly because the cover of Triodia remained high enough (above 15%) to sustain animals, and harvested areas were relatively small. This study therefore suggests that D. cristicauda can tolerate a moderate local reduction in cover of its preferred habitat. However, it remains possible that other land use practices that cause severe reduction of cover (including clearing for mining or fire prevention, grazing which may result in spinifex reduction through trampling, and fire management) will have more dramatic effects on D. cristicauda. Evaluation of such effects should be a priority for future research.

Type of Medium: Electronic Resource

URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1046/j.1442-9993.2003.01327.x

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2

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Habitat selection of the long-nosed bandicoot, Perameles nasuta (Mammalia, Peramelidae), in a patchy urban environment (2002)

Chambers, Lisa K. ; Dickman, Chris R.

Oxford, UK : Blackwell Science, Ltd

Austral ecology 27 (2002), S. 0

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ISSN: 1442-9993

Source: Blackwell Publishing Journal Backfiles 1879-2005

Topics: Biology

Notes: Habitat selection in an omnivorous marsupial, the long-nosed bandicoot, Perameles nasuta Geoffroy, was investigated in an urban environment with both natural and highly modified habitats at North Head, New South Wales, Australia. Habitat use at both macro- and microhabitat scales was determined using live-trapping, and P. nasuta was shown to be a habitat specialist at this site. At night, animals used open grass macrohabitats disproportionately more for foraging than other macrohabitats. Trap-revealed macrohabitat use was supported by radiotracking three males. Lack of understorey and absence of leaf litter were the major microhabitat features affecting habitat choice, although soil type probably also had some effect. Open areas may provide a more abundant and/or accessible food supply for P. nasuta, although better manoeuvrability or increased visibility to detect predators may also be important. Diurnal nest sites, located using radiotracking, were primarily in dense scrub vegetation, often comprising introduced species of plants. The dependence of P. nasuta on: (i) dense undergrowth for diurnal nesting and temporary nocturnal sheltering; and (ii) open areas for foraging indicates the importance of conserving a mosaic of open and dense vegetation to ensure the continued persistence of this endangered population at North Head.

Type of Medium: Electronic Resource

URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1046/j.1442-9993.2002.t01-1-01185.x

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3

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Predation by red foxes limits recruitment in populations of eastern grey kangaroos (2000)

Banks, Peter B. ; Newsome, Alan E. ; Dickman, Chris R.

Melbourne, Australia : Blackwell Science Pty

Austral ecology 25 (2000), S. 0

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ISSN: 1442-9993

Source: Blackwell Publishing Journal Backfiles 1879-2005

Topics: Biology

Notes: We investigated the impact of red fox (Vulpes vulpes Linnaeus 1758) predation on juvenile eastern grey kangaroos (Macropus giganteus Shaw 1790) using a replicated predator removal experiment. In two sites in Namadgi National Park, south-eastern Australia, a persistent 1080 poisoning campaign over 18 months reduced fox density by more than 85%, and to less than 10% of the fox density in two other sites with no fox baiting. Changes in the mother : young ratios and densities of kangaroo populations were monitored twice monthly along 2-km transects in each site from July 1993 to February 1995. Compared to nonremoval sites, where foxes were controlled, 25–40% more females retained juveniles over the period when these young became emergent from the pouch. This higher survival of emergent pouch young resulted in a significantly higher proportion of juveniles in kangaroo populations at fox control sites, which resulted in a significantly higher annual growth rate. We conclude that predation upon juveniles is an important limiting factor for kangaroo populations in Namadgi NP.

Type of Medium: Electronic Resource

URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1046/j.1442-9993.2000.01039.x

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4

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Sex ratio and intrasexual kin competition in mammals (1985)

Cockburn, Andrew ; Scott, Michelle P. ; Dickman, Chris R.

Springer

Oecologia 66 (1985), S. 427-429

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ISSN: 1432-1939

Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000

Topics: Biology

Notes: Summary Asymmetries in both intrasexual competition and generation overlap occur in Antechinus (Dasyuridae; Marsupialia). We show that the range of interpopulation variation in the sex ratio of pouch young spans and exceeds the range of sex ratios at birth hitherto recorded from eutherians (Clutton-Brock and Albon 1983). Although postweaning dispersal and male mortality are similar among all Antechinus populations, interpopulation variance in female longevity leads to variable duration of mother/daughter interaction. As this duration increases, parental investment is increasingly biased toward males, supporting the view that local competition among female kin for resources may influence mammalian sex ratios.

Type of Medium: Electronic Resource

URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/BF00378310

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5

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Granivory and microhabitat use in Australian desert rodents: are seeds important? (1994)

Murray, Brad R. ; Dickman, Chris R.

Springer

Oecologia 99 (1994), S. 216-225

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ISSN: 1432-1939

Keywords: Granivory ; Species coexistence ; Diet Microhabitat ; Simpson Desert

Source: Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000

Topics: Biology

Notes: Abstract The diet and microhabitat use of two species of native Australian desert rodents, the spinifex hoppingmouseNotomys alexis and sandy inland mousePseudomys hermannsburgensis, were studied in the Simpson Desert, south-western Queensland. Contrary to expectation, both species were confirmed from analyses of their stomach contents to be omnivorous. The diets of both species varied through time in a similar manner; seeds were important in summer and especially in winter, but in autumn invertebrates constituted nearly 50% and 60% of the diet ofN. alexis andP. hermannsburgensis, respectively. Other plant material (root, leaf, floral part, stem) was found in appreciable amounts in the stomach contents of both species, and fungi were identified from a small number of individuals. Both species showed a high degree of overlap in the broad types of food they ingested (seed, plant material, invertebrates); however, there was considerably less overlap in the species of seeds eaten. Analysis of microhabitat use suggested that this difference was due to differential foraging between the species; the larger, bipedalN. alexis forages in the open more than the smaller, quadrupedalP. hermannsburgensis, which is found more commonly in or under hummocks of spinifex grass. Although our findings parallel patterns of morphological specialisation and differential foraging on seeds that have been described within communities of North American heteromyid rodents, we found little evidence that the foraging economics ofN. alexis orP. hermannsburgensis should depend solely or primarily on the distribution patterns of seeds. In the absence of dietary information, we suggest that ecological studies of desert rodents which focus solely on granivory, and neglect other important aspects of rodent foraging, can lead to a misinterpretation of species coexistence and community structure.

Type of Medium: Electronic Resource

URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/BF00627733

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Invasive predators and global biodiversity loss (2016)

Doherty, Tim S. ; Glen, Alistair S. ; Nimmo, Dale G. ; [et al.]

National Academy of Sciences

In: PNAS - Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 2016; 113(40): 11261-11265. Published 2016 Sep 16. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1602480113.

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Publication Date: 2016-09-16

Description: Invasive species threaten biodiversity globally, and invasive mammalian predators are particularly damaging, having contributed to considerable species decline and extinction. We provide a global metaanalysis of these impacts and reveal their full extent. Invasive predators are implicated in 87 bird, 45 mammal, and 10 reptile species extinctions—58% of these groups’ contemporary extinctions worldwide. These figures are likely underestimated because 23 critically endangered species that we assessed are classed as “possibly extinct.” Invasive mammalian predators endanger a further 596 species at risk of extinction, with cats, rodents, dogs, and pigs threatening the most species overall. Species most at risk from predators have high evolutionary distinctiveness and inhabit insular environments. Invasive mammalian predators are therefore important drivers of irreversible loss of phylogenetic diversity worldwide. That most impacted species are insular indicates that management of invasive predators on islands should be a global conservation priority. Understanding and mitigating the impact of invasive mammalian predators is essential for reducing the rate of global biodiversity loss.

Print ISSN: 0027-8424

Electronic ISSN: 1091-6490

Topics: Biology , Medicine , Natural Sciences in General

Published by National Academy of Sciences

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Habitat- and rainfall-dependent biodiversity responses to cattle removal in an arid woodland–grassland environment (2014)

Frank, Anke S. K. ; Wardle, Glenda M. ; Dickman, Chris R. ; Greenville, Aaron C.

Wiley

In: Ecological Applications 24(8): 2013-2028.

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Publication Date: 2014-12-01

Description: Biodiversity conservation in rangeland environments is often addressed by removing livestock, but inconsistent responses by biota mean that the efficacy of this form of management is hotly debated. Reasons for this inconsistency include the usually short duration and small spatial scale of manipulations compared to the area of grazing properties, as well as divergent responses amongst biota. In low-productivity arid environments, the pulse-reserve dynamic also complicates the outcome of manipulations. Here, we tested and extended these ideas in a heterogeneous desert environment in central Australia that consists of small patches of open woodland (gidgee) in a grassland (spinifex) matrix. Taking advantage of a controlled property-scale removal of cattle, and a rain event that stimulated productivity, we first quantified differences in the vegetation and small vertebrates of these two habitats, and then tracked the diversity, composition, and abundance of these biota for 6?19 months post-rain. We predicted that the two habitats would differ in the structure, composition, and reproductive output of their constituent plant species. We predicted also that the effects of cattle removal would interact with these habitat differences, with the abundance, richness, and diversity of small mammals and reptiles differing across habitats and grazing treatments. As anticipated, plant species composition in woodland was distinct from that in grassland and varied over time. The effects of cattle removal were habitat specific: Plant composition responded to de-stocking in woodland, but not in grassland; flowers were more abundant, and palatable plant cover also was greater following cessation of grazing pressure. The responses of small mammals but not reptiles showed some accord with our predictions, varying over time but inconsistently with treatment, and perhaps reflected high variability in capture success. We conclude that the timing and length of sampling are important when evaluating the responses of biota to livestock removal, as is the inclusion of all key habitats in the sampling regime. # doi:10.1890/13-2244.1

Print ISSN: 1051-0761

Electronic ISSN: 1939-5582

Topics: Biology