scholarly journals Monitoring of small mammal populations in the Brindabella Ranges after fire

2014 ◽  
Vol 36 (1) ◽  
pp. 103 ◽  
Author(s):  
Micah J. Davies ◽  
Alex Drew
Keyword(s):  
Small Mammals ◽  
Small Mammal ◽  
Strong Association ◽  
Movement Patterns ◽  
Population Recovery ◽  
Australian Capital Territory ◽  
Australian Capital ◽  
Antechinus Agilis ◽  
Rattus Fuscipes ◽  
Line Movement

We live-trapped small mammals in the Brindabella Ranges west of Canberra, Australian Capital Territory from April 2009 until October 2011 to assess population recovery after an intense and widespread fire that occurred across the region in 2003. Three native mammals (agile antechinus, Antechinus agilis; dusky antechinus, Antechinus swainsonii; bush rat, Rattus fuscipes) were encountered. Trapping records and spool-and-line movement patterns suggested a strong association of these small mammals with moist gully vegetation that had survived the fire.

Small mammal populations in a eucalypt forest affected by fire and drought. I. Long-term patterns in an era of climate change

2009 ◽  
Vol 36 (2) ◽  
pp. 143 ◽  
Author(s):  
Harry F. Recher ◽  
Daniel Lunney ◽  
Alison Matthews
Keyword(s):  
Small Mammals ◽  
Small Mammal ◽  
Ground Vegetation ◽  
Eucalypt Forest ◽  
Eastern Australia ◽  
Murid Rodents ◽  
Small Mammal Community ◽  
Order Of Magnitude ◽  
Antechinus Agilis

This paper reports a study of ground-dwelling, small mammals in coastal eucalypt forest in south-eastern Australia from 1970 through 2005. During this time, the study area burnt in an intense fire in December 1972 and was partially burnt in November 1980. Both fires were associated with prolonged drought. The mammals studied comprised two dasyurid marsupials, Antechinus agilis and A. swainsonii, two native murid rodents, Rattus fuscipes and R. lutreolus, and the introduced house mouse Mus musculus. After intensive sampling throughout the year from 1970 through 1972 to establish basic ecological and population parameters of the small mammal community, populations were sampled annually during late autumn and early winter before the onset of breeding. There were marked differences in the annual (autumn/winter) abundances of all species; numbers of A. agilis ranged from 4 to 142 individuals; A. swainsonii 0 to 43; R. fuscipes 4 to 54; R. lutreolus 0 to 11; M. musculus 0 to 23. Following the 1972 fire, numbers fell to the lowest level recorded during the study and each population subsequently disappeared from the plot between the 1973 and 1974 winter censuses. The less intense 1980 fire did not lead to extirpation, but numbers of A. agilis, A. swainsonii and R. fuscipes declined as drought conditions persisted through 1983. R. lutreolus occurred consistently only following the fires, when a grassy ground vegetation favoured by this species developed. Similarly, M. musculus colonised within two years of the fires and persisted on the plot for 3–4 years before disappearing. Following the fires, populations of the omnivorous R. fuscipes recovered first followed by the scansorial, insectivorous A. agilis and last by the fossorial, insectivorous A. swainsonii. Two primary conclusions emerged from this study. First, the intense fire of 1972 did not kill all the animals immediately, but led to the disappearance of each species from the plot over 18 months. Thus, intense fire had a delayed but catastrophic impact on small ground-dwelling mammals. The fluctuations in population levels, covering more than an order of magnitude, demonstrate that factors other than fire, such as rainfall and drought, drive the population dynamics of these small mammals. As stability and recovery are not features of local populations, long-term studies of benchmark populations are necessary to manage forest biodiversity.

Understory use by terrestrial small mammals in an unflooded forest patch in the Pantanal floodplain

Mammalia ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 0 (0) ◽  
Author(s):  
Nayara Yoshie Sano ◽  
Heitor Miraglia Herrera ◽  
Grasiela Edith de Oliveira Porfirio ◽  
Filipe Martins Santos
Keyword(s):  
Small Mammals ◽  
Small Mammal ◽  
Understory Vegetation ◽  
Monodelphis Domestica ◽  
Forest Patch ◽  
Habitat Features ◽  
Species Characteristics ◽  
Local Habitat

AbstractTo date, there have been no studies that have evaluated small mammal utilization of the understory of forests. In this study, we described the use of vertical strata by small mammals in patches of unflooded forests, known as “cordilheiras”, in the Nhecolândia sub-region of the Pantanal, Brazil. We collected all species using the ground and understory, including the terrestrial didelphid Monodelphis domestica. We suppose that local habitat features (e.g., Acuri palms), rather than intrinsic species characteristics, may be more conducive to the use of understory vegetation by small mammals in the Nhecolândia region.

scholarly journals Diversity and Diet Differences of Small Mammals in Commensal Habitats

Diversity ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (8) ◽  
pp. 346
Author(s):  
Linas Balčiauskas ◽  
Laima Balčiauskienė ◽  
Andrius Garbaras ◽  
Vitalijus Stirkė
Keyword(s):  
Small Mammals ◽  
Small Mammal ◽  
Trophic Ecology ◽  
Mammal Species ◽  
Additional Food ◽  
Δ13c And Δ15n ◽  
Degree Of Separation ◽  
Kitchen Gardens ◽  
Dietary Plasticity ◽  
The Stability

The stability of diversity of syntopic (inhabiting the same habitat in the same time) small mammals in commensal habitats, such as farmsteads and kitchen gardens, and, as a proxy of their diet, their isotopic niches, was investigated in Lithuania in 2019–2020. We tested whether the separation of species corresponds to the trophic guilds, whether their diets are related to possibilities of getting additional food from humans, and whether their diets are subject to seasonal trends. We analyzed diversity, dominance and distribution of hair δ13C and δ15N values. Diversity and dominance was not stable and differed according to human influence. The highest small mammal species richness occurred in commensal habitats that provided additional food. The degree of separation of species was higher in homestead habitats than in kitchen gardens, where a 1.27 to 35.97% overlap of isotopic niches was observed between pairs of species. Temporal changes in δ13C and δ15N values in the hair of the mammals were not equally expressed in different species. The isotopic overlap may depend on dietary plasticity, minimizing interspecific competition and allowing co-existence of syntopic species. Thus, small mammal trophic ecology is likely related to intensity of agricultural activities in the limited space of commensal habitats.

Effects of logging and fire on small mammals in Mumbulla State Forest, near Bega, New South Wales

1987 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 163 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. Lunney ◽  
B. Cullis ◽  
P. Eby
Keyword(s):  
Small Mammals ◽  
New South ◽  
New South Wales ◽  
Canopy Cover ◽  
Ground Cover ◽  
First Year ◽  
Severe Effect ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Antechinus Stuartii ◽  
Rattus Fuscipes

This study of the effects of logging on small mammals in Mumbulla State Forest on the south coast of New South Wales included the effects of a fire in November 1980 and a drought throughout the study period from June 1980 to June 1983. Rattus fuscipes was sensitive to change: logging had a significant impact on its numbers, response to ground cover, and recapture rate; fire had a more severe effect, and drought retarded the post-fire recovery of the population. The three species of dasyurid marsupials differed markedly in their response to ground cover, canopy cover, logging and fire. Antechinus stuartii was distributed evenly through all habitats and was not affected by logging, but fire had an immediate and adverse effect which was sustained by the intense drought. A. swainsonii markedly preferred the regenerating forest, and was not seen again after the fire, the failure of the population being attributed to its dependence on dense ground cover. Sminthopsis leucopus was found in low numbers, appeared to prefer forest with sparse ground cover, and showed no immediate response to logging or fire; its disappearance by the third year post-fire suggests that regenerating forest is inimical to the survival of this species. Mus musculus showed no response to logging. In the first year following the fire its numbers were still very low, but in the next year there was a short-lived plague which coincided with the only respite in the 3-year drought and, importantly, occurred in the intensely burnt parts of the forest. The options for managing this forest for the conservation of small mammals include minimising fire, retaining unlogged forest, extending the time over which alternate coupes are logged and minimising disturbance from heavy machinery.

Small mammal mycophagy in hemiboreal forest communities of Lithuania

2011 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 446-456 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marija Kataržytė ◽  
Ernestas Kutorga
Keyword(s):  
Small Mammals ◽  
Small Mammal ◽  
Fungal Spores ◽  
Seasonal Effects ◽  
Deciduous Tree ◽  
Myodes Glareolus ◽  
Mammal Species ◽  
Hypogeous Fungi ◽  
Fecal Samples ◽  
Significant Difference

AbstractThe diets of small mammals in different hemiboreal spruce-dominated, oak-dominated and mixed forests in western part of Lithuania were studied by examination of fungal spores in fresh fecal pellets of caught animals. In the diets of mice (Apodemus spp.), bank voles (Myodes glareolus), and common and pygmy shrews (Sorex araneus and S. minutus), 22 different fungal taxa were identified, 15 of which were hypogeous fungi. The sporocarp abundance and the spores in fecal samples of Elaphomyces fungi prevailed in study area during this investigation. Although most of the captured individuals consumed fungi, the consumption varied among small mammal species. The data show that the fungi were more frequent and taxonomically diverse in Myodes glareolus than in Apodemus spp. diets. The study provided evidence that the fungal component in the diets of insectivorous Sorex species is more diverse than previously known. The availability of sporocarps and the fungal component in the diets of small mammals showed seasonal effects. Annual hypogeous and epigeous sporocarp abundances did not vary significantly across forest types. The significant difference in mycophagy was observed across all forest cover types, with the greatest fungal diversity in fecal samples collected in mixed coniferous-deciduous tree stands.

A geoid for the Australian capital territory

1997 ◽  
Vol 42 (1) ◽  
pp. 25-32
Author(s):  
Kevin A. Freund ◽  
Jim Steed ◽  
A.H.W. Kearsley
Keyword(s):  
Australian Capital Territory ◽  
Australian Capital
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