The nest of the Hastings River mouse Pseudomys oralis.

2002 ◽  
Vol 24 (2) ◽  
pp. 225 ◽  
Author(s):  
PD Meek
Keyword(s):  
Small Mammals ◽  
Plant Material ◽  
South Australia ◽  
Nest Chamber

THE most detailed information on the burrows and nests of Australian small mammals are reported by Watts and Aslin (1981). The nests of several species of Pseudomys have been described and vary between species. Three nests of the New Holland mouse Pseudomys novaehollandiae were excavated from sand burrows and described as being partially comprised of Eucalypt leaves (Kemper 1981). In South Australia, silky mice P. apodemoides construct nests of shredded bark within a nest chamber of approximately 15 cm (Watts and Aslin 1981). The desert mouse P. desertor reputedly builds dry grass nests in shallow constructions (Read et al.1999) and the long-tailed mouse P. higginsi and eastern chestnut mouse P. gracilicaudatus, delicate mouse P. delicatulus and Gould?s mouse P. gouldii all construct nests of plant material (Watts and Aslin 1981; Green 1993; Fox 1995) mostly grass. The nests of the smokey mouse P. fumeus are constructed of dried grass and Allocasuarina needles that are shaped in a cup form (10-15cm in diameter) (Woods and Ford 2000).

The ecology of sympatric scincid lizards (Ctenotus) in arid South Australia

1998 ◽  
Vol 46 (6) ◽  
pp. 617 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. L. Read
Keyword(s):  
Home Range ◽  
Environmental Conditions ◽  
Plant Material ◽  
Reproductive Effort ◽  
Arid Zone ◽  
South Australia ◽  
Early Summer ◽  
Home Ranges ◽  
Local Species ◽  
Olympic Dam

Ctenotus skinks are the most diverse and abundant diurnal reptile genus at Olympic Dam, in the South Australian arid zone. The home range, demography, reproduction and diet of five syntopic Ctenotus species was studied over a 6-year period in chenopod shrubland. Longevity frequently exceeded three years in C. regius, four years in C. schomburgkii and five years in C. leonhardii, with a 7-year-old specimen of C. leonhardii being recorded. Females of most species tended to be larger and lived longer than males. Two eggs were typically laid by each species in early summer. Annual reproductive effort, particularly in C. leonhardii, varied considerably depending upon the prevailing environmental conditions. All local species apparently occupied home ranges, with maximum recapture radii in different species of 40–60 m. Ctenotus appear to be unspecialised insectivores, although plant material and lizards are sometimes eaten by the larger species.

The Ecology of the Eastern Water Rat Hydromys Chrysogaster at Griffith, N.s.w.: Food and Feeding Habits.

1978 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 59 ◽  
Author(s):  
P Woollard ◽  
WJM Vestjens ◽  
L Maclean
Keyword(s):  
Plant Material ◽  
Feeding Habits ◽  
Starch Content ◽  
South Australia ◽  
Stomach Contents ◽  
Freshwater Mussel ◽  
Time Of Day ◽  
Gut Contents ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Hydromys Chrysogaster

The eastern water rat, Hydromys chrysogaster, lives in inland waters, estuaries, sea beaches and islands from Queensland to South Australia and Tasmania. It is adapted to semiaquatic life and changes in its molar teeth may be an adaptation to diet of crustaceans and molluscs. The present study was of 408 stomach contents and 316 contents of caecum with rectum, collected in New South Wales in 1970-73 from permanent Typha swamp. From elsewhere there were 12 other stomach and 11 gut contents and live rats were observed. At any time of day but particularly in evenings the rats swam along the bank or between logs or reed clumps, foraging and catching fish. Captive rats crushed small mussels and left large mussels to open by exposure. Diet varied with season and included crustaceans, mostly the yabbie, a crayfish (Cherax destructor), spiders, all Araneida with one identified as of the suborder Pisauridae, a fishing spider. Insects were the main food and were eaten in all seasons, and included larvae, nymphs and adults. Only 1% of rats had the freshwater mussel Veksurio ambiguus but the flesh was difficult to identify and empty shells were often found. Fish were eaten all the year, and were found in up to 35% of rats in autumn and winter; fish may be underestimated because flesh is not easily recognised and hard parts are not much eaten. Several species of fish, mostly introduced, were identified, their ages estimated from their scales, and length was calculated to be up to 36 cm. Frogs and macquaria tortoise (Emydura macquarii) were eaten. Birds were eaten all the year and were in up to 10% of stomachs in winter. Personal communications are quoted, from persons having seen H. chrysogaster capture large adult birds including duck and mutton bird (Puffinus tenuirostris). Captive rats were able to open cracked hen's eggs but left intact eggs. Plant material was eaten as food and possibly also in stomachs of prey. For 3 rats half the starch content was plant; 3 other stomachs had 5, 40 and 50% plant material, Azolla fuliculoides. Differences in diet with age are described. H. chrysogaster was an adaptable and opportunist feeder, making use of transient plenty of insects, exploiting plagues among other species and using plants during shortage of food. They may control introduced pests such as perch, or control yabbies in irrigation ditches.

Small mammals in a semi-arid community, with particular reference to Ningaui yvonneae

2000 ◽  
Vol 22 (2) ◽  
pp. 103 ◽  
Author(s):  
SM Carthew ◽  
T Keynes
Keyword(s):  
Community Structure ◽  
Small Mammals ◽  
Small Mammal ◽  
South Australia ◽  
Sampling Period ◽  
Field Trips ◽  
Mus Domesticus ◽  
Small Mammal Community ◽  
Mammal Community ◽  
Semi Arid

Small mammal community structure was investigated at a semi-arid mallee site in the Middleback Ranges of South Australia during 14 field trips conducted over four years. During this time, 291 small mammals were caught from 6579 trap nights (trap success 4.4%). Ningaui yvonneae was the most abundant and frequently recorded species (199 captures), followed by Cercartetus concinnus (75 captures). Other species caught infrequently were Sminthopsis dolichura (2 captures), Notomys mitchellii (3 captures), Pseudomys bolami (2 captures) and Mus domesticus (10 captures). Ningaui yvonneae was the only species caught during all sampling periods. Males were trapped more frequently than females (117 : 43). Recapture rates were low, with only eight of 160 individuals caught during more than one sampling period. This may reflect the mobility of the species. Distances moved between successive recaptures within a sampling period averaged less than 100 m, while between sampling periods distances averaged more than 450 m. This is the first published study to capture N. yvonneae regularly and in reasonable numbers.

Influence of habitats, climate, grazing and mining on terrestrial vertebrates at Olympic Dam, South Australia.

1992 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 143 ◽  
Author(s):  
JL Read
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Population Size ◽  
Small Mammals ◽  
South Australia ◽  
Terrestrial Vertebrates ◽  
Population Sizes ◽  
Central South ◽  
Heavy Rains ◽  
Capture Rates ◽  
Olympic Dam

Small mammals, reptiles and amphibians were trapped in pitfalls in a range of habitats around the Olympic Dam Operations mine in central South Australia over a five year period (1987-91) to assess the impacts on these groups of climate, mining and grazing. Neobatrachus centralis, a frog, was the most abundant vertebrate in the region but was only recorded after heavy rains. Reptiles were both diverse and abundant in summer samples and in general maintained their population sizes during droughts. Mammals, however, exhibited considerable fluctuations in population size which were associated with climatic cycles. Sites within the mining lease consistently yielded higher species diversities and capture rates of reptiles than sites in pastoral land, but this could not be related directly to land use.

Diet of the Eastern Native-Cat, Dasyurus Viverrinus (Shaw), in Southern Tasmania.

1980 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 191 ◽  
Author(s):  
S Blackhall
Keyword(s):  
Small Mammals ◽  
Seasonal Changes ◽  
Plant Material ◽  
New Information

New information on the diet of Dasyurus viverrinus from one locality in southern Tasmania is presented. A total of 64 droppings from 41 animals were collected during 3 intervals over 8 months and examined microscopically. Insects constituted the bulk of the diet and occurred in 97% of the droppings. The remains of birds and small mammals were found in 17% of the droppings. All droppings contained similar amounts of plant material. Seasonal changes in the contribution of different species of prey to the diet of native cats are discussed.

scholarly journals Venoms of related mammal-eating species of taipans (Oxyuranus) and brown snakes (Pseudonaja) differ in composition of toxins involved in mammal poisoning

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jure Skejic ◽  
David L. Steer ◽  
Nathan Dunstan ◽  
Wayne C. Hodgson
Keyword(s):  
Small Mammals ◽  
Related Species ◽  
South Australia ◽  
Shotgun Proteomics ◽  
Prey Type ◽  
Phospholipase A ◽  
Generalist Predators ◽  
Type Selection ◽  
Venom Composition ◽  
Venom Proteins

AbstractBackgroundTaipans of the genus Oxyuranus are predominately mammal-eating specialists and a majority of Australian brown snakes of the sister genus Pseudonaja are generalist predators, feeding on mammals, lizards and frogs. In this paper, venom composition of several related mammal-eating species was compared using shotgun proteomics.ResultsVenom of Oxyuranus temporalis consisted predominately of α-neurotoxins (three-finger toxin family) and was deficient in phospholipase A2 neurotoxins. In contrast, PLA2 neurotoxins (taipoxin and paradoxin) were abundant in the venoms of other mammal-eating taipan species – Oxyuranus scutellatus and O. microlepidotus. Variation in neurotoxic PLA2 expression was also recorded in mammal-eating brown snakes, some species having high venom levels of textilotoxin or related homologues, for example Pseudonaja textilis and P. nuchalis, and others, such as P. ingrami, lacking them. Venom prothrombinase proteins (fX and fV) were expressed in most mammalivorous lineages, being particularly abundant in some Pseudonaja species. Notably, Oxyuranus temporalis venom was deficient in venom prothrombinase despite a mammal-based diet. Expression of an α-neurotoxin that is lethal to rodents (pseudonajatoxin b) was profoundly down-regulated in Pseudonaja textilis venom sample from Queensland and highly up-regulated in the sample from South Australia despite a report that the snake feeds on rodents in both regions.ConclusionRelated species of taipans and brown snakes that feed on small mammals express different sets of venom proteins toxic to this vertebrate group. This suggests an involvement of factors other than prey type selection in shaping venom proteome composition.

Additional records of small mammals in northern South Australia

2011 ◽  
Vol 33 (1) ◽  
pp. 68 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. Allen ◽  
J. L. Read ◽  
G. Medlin
Keyword(s):  
Small Mammals ◽  
Small Mammal ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
South Australia ◽  
Isolated Population ◽  
Research Project ◽  
The North ◽  
North Eastern ◽  
The Status ◽  
Prey Remains

Analysis of prey remains found in predator scats is a valuable tool for assessing the distribution and status of small mammal populations. As part of a large-scale dingo research project in northern South Australia, the prey remains found in 1845 dingo scats were analysed. A range of species were identified as expected, though, of particular interest, additional records of Rattus villosissimus, Notomys fuscus and Pseudomys australis were obtained. Our R. villosissimus records confirm the contemporary range of this species in the north-eastern pastoral zone, while our N. fuscus records support other recent records of this species in the same area. Our P. australis record indicates that an isolated population of this species exists in the Strzelecki Desert, ~400 km east of the nearest known population. The status of these populations remains unknown, including the risk of dingo predation to them.

Omnivorous diet of the endangered Pygmy Bluetongue Lizard, Tiliqua adelaidensis

2007 ◽  
Vol 28 (4) ◽  
pp. 560-565 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Bull ◽  
Mark Hutchinson ◽  
Aaron Fenner
Keyword(s):  
Plant Material ◽  
Prey Capture ◽  
South Australia ◽  
High Abundance ◽  
Diet Change ◽  
Omnivorous Diet

Abstract We used scats from 71 individuals to determine the diet of the endangered Pygmy Bluetongue Lizard, Tiliqua adelaidensis, from South Australia. As predicted both from its previously reported behaviour as an ambush forager, and from its relatively small size, this scincid lizard feeds largely on arthropod prey, and the prey in the diet change opportunistically over the spring and summer. As expected, the species is less herbivorous than larger species in the same or related genera. However plant material is included in the diet to a greater extent as the summer progresses. Conservation of this species may rely on maintaining a high abundance of arthropod prey, and a habitat where efficient prey capture is possible, and on retaining appropriate plants in the species' habitat.

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