Aspects of the ecology of swamp antechinus (Antechinus minimus maritimus) on a Bass Strait island

2006 ◽  
Vol 33 (3) ◽  
pp. 215 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. G. Sale ◽  
S. J. Ward ◽  
J. P. Y. Arnould
Keyword(s):  
Breeding Season ◽  
Food Availability ◽  
Current Status ◽  
Vegetation Types ◽  
Dense Population ◽  
Live Trapping ◽  
Eastern Australia ◽  
Tussock Grassland ◽  
Dietary Component ◽  
Near Threatened

The swamp antechinus (Antechinus minimus maritimus) is a small insectivorous marsupial inhabiting closed heath and tussock grassland in south-eastern Australia. The species is considered ‘Near Threatened’ on the Australian mainland. Populations persist on coastal islands off Wilsons Promontory, but their current status is unknown. This study investigated the density, diet and reproduction of the swamp antechinus on Kanowna Island. Data were collected by live trapping in different vegetation types during four trips between August 2003 and January 2004. Higher animal densities (47–129 ha–1) were found for Kanowna Island than for previously studied mainland populations (1–18 ha–1). Examination of scats showed that this species eats a wide variety of prey types, with moth larvae a major dietary component, particularly during the breeding season. Births were estimated to have occurred between 28 June and 8 August, which is a longer period than reported for other populations of this species. Factors including reduced predation, restricted dispersal and increased food availability may be responsible for supporting this dense population.

Distribution and habitat preference of the broad-toothed rat (Mastacomys fuscus) in the Australian Capital Territory, Australia

2015 ◽  
Vol 37 (2) ◽  
pp. 125 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard N. C. Milner ◽  
Danswell Starrs ◽  
Greg Hayes ◽  
Murray C. Evans
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Relative Abundance ◽  
Field Survey ◽  
Habitat Preferences ◽  
Vegetation Types ◽  
Australian Capital Territory ◽  
Australian Capital ◽  
Eastern Australia ◽  
Tussock Grassland ◽  
Feral Animals

The broad-toothed rat (Mastacomys fuscus) is a small to medium-sized rodent found in south-eastern Australia. Recent surveys across the southern portion of its range indicate that the species is in decline, and climate change has been identified as a key threat to the localised persistence of this species. The present study reports on a rapid field survey across 14 high montane and subalpine sites (including moist tussock grassland, sedgelands, heathlands and bogs) in the southern Australian Capital Territory, Australia. M. fuscus scats were recorded along transects, and habitat, vegetation, distance to drainage lines and disturbance due to feral animals were recorded. Relative abundance of M. fuscus was positively related to specific vegetation types (heath, sedge and Poa) and site size. Conversely, relative abundance of M. fuscus was negatively related to disturbance due to feral animals, and distance from creek drainage lines. This study indicates that M. fuscus has specific habitat preferences and threats associated with environmental change and introduced species may threaten populations in the Australian Capital Territory.

scholarly journals Non-Starch Polysaccharides in Durum Wheat: A Review

2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (8) ◽  
pp. 2933 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ilaria Marcotuli ◽  
Pasqualina Colasuonno ◽  
Yves S. Y. Hsieh ◽  
Geoffrey B. Fincher ◽  
Agata Gadaleta
Keyword(s):  
Durum Wheat ◽  
Dietary Fibre ◽  
Daily Intake ◽  
Quality Parameters ◽  
Current Status ◽  
Wheat Grain ◽  
Enhanced Absorption ◽  
Dietary Component ◽  
Glucan Synthesis ◽  
Physiological Benefits

Durum wheat is one of most important cereal crops that serves as a staple dietary component for humans and domestic animals. It provides antioxidants, proteins, minerals and dietary fibre, which have beneficial properties for humans, especially as related to the health of gut microbiota. Dietary fibre is defined as carbohydrate polymers that are non-digestible in the small intestine. However, this dietary component can be digested by microorganisms in the large intestine and imparts physiological benefits at daily intake levels of 30–35 g. Dietary fibre in cereal grains largely comprises cell wall polymers and includes insoluble (cellulose, part of the hemicellulose component and lignin) and soluble (arabinoxylans and (1,3;1,4)-β-glucans) fibre. More specifically, certain components provide immunomodulatory and cholesterol lowering activity, faecal bulking effects, enhanced absorption of certain minerals, prebiotic effects and, through these effects, reduce the risk of type II diabetes, cardiovascular disease and colorectal cancer. Thus, dietary fibre is attracting increasing interest from cereal processors, producers and consumers. Compared with other components of the durum wheat grain, fibre components have not been studied extensively. Here, we have summarised the current status of knowledge on the genetic control of arabinoxylan and (1,3;1,4)-β-glucan synthesis and accumulation in durum wheat grain. Indeed, the recent results obtained in durum wheat open the way for the improvement of these important cereal quality parameters.

Diet and breeding of the rufous spiny bandicoot Echymipera rufescens australis, Iron Range, Cape York Peninsula

2007 ◽  
Vol 29 (2) ◽  
pp. 169 ◽  
Author(s):  
D.I. Shevill ◽  
C.N. Johnson
Keyword(s):  
Breeding Season ◽  
Litter Size ◽  
Reproductive Rate ◽  
High Fecundity ◽  
Iron Range ◽  
Seed Disperser ◽  
Faecal Analysis ◽  
Live Trapping ◽  
Cape York ◽  
Trapping Grid

A population of the rufous spiny bandicoot Echymipera rufescens australis was studied for 14 months by live-trapping, and diets were determined by faecal analysis. The population had a high density (approximately 48 individuals on a trapping grid of 2.25 ha). A wide variety of foods were eaten, but fruits and seeds contributed the largest proportion of material to faeces, followed by invertebrates, fungi and dicot plants. Echymipera rufescens may potentially be a significant seed disperser for some plants, such as Pandanus zea. There was a short breeding season, with births occurring between December and March. Females produced one or two litters per year. Mean litter size was just under three, and litter size increased with the mother?s mass. Females produced a mean of 4.9 young per year. We conclude that although E. rufescens is a ?typical? bandicoot in that it is omnivorous and has high fecundity, it is more frugivorous and has a somewhat lower reproductive rate than other Australian bandicoots.

Are we underestimating the threat to Australia’s migratory land birds?

2013 ◽  
Vol 19 (4) ◽  
pp. 303 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hugh A Ford
Keyword(s):  
North America ◽  
Breeding Season ◽  
Northern Australia ◽  
The South ◽  
Long Distance ◽  
Wintering Grounds ◽  
Limited Knowledge ◽  
Wintering Areas ◽  
Near Future ◽  
Near Threatened

Few migratory land birds in Australia are currently regarded as threatened or near threatened. In contrast, many of Australia’s migratory seabirds and shorebirds are threatened or near threatened, with most of the latter being added over the last two decades. Furthermore, many long-distance migratory land birds that breed in North America and Europe have experienced major declines, probably due to threats in their breeding or wintering grounds or both. I suggest that knowledge of our migratory land birds is limited, and almost non-existent outside their breeding areas. Some are already declining and I predict that others will decline in the near future. The priority now is to increase our knowledge of the locations of major wintering areas in northern Australia of land birds that breed in the south, and to study their ecology and behaviour outside the breeding season. We also have limited knowledge of how migrants in Australia prepare physiologically and behaviourally for migration. If they migrate in large hops, then we need to find and protect departure, refuelling and arrival sites.

scholarly journals Pattern and Potential Causes of White-faced Ibis, Plegadis chihi, Establishment in the Northern Prairie and Parkland Region of North America

2007 ◽  
Vol 121 (1) ◽  
pp. 46 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jill A. Shaffer ◽  
Gregory A. Knutsen ◽  
Ron E. Martin ◽  
Joel S. Brice
Keyword(s):  
North Dakota ◽  
Breeding Season ◽  
Agricultural Practices ◽  
Missouri River ◽  
The State ◽  
Current Status ◽  
Early 21St Century ◽  
Nonbreeding Season ◽  
The 1960S ◽  
Nesting Activity

The Northern Prairie and Parkland Waterbird Conservation Plan calls for renewed attention to determining the current status of waterbird populations, their distributions, and conservation needs. It highlights the need for baseline information on the White-faced Ibis (Plegadis chihi). In response, we examined the historical and current distribution of the ibis in North Dakota and summarized first sightings and nest records for the provinces and other states composing the northern prairie and parkland region. The establishment of breeding colonies of White-faced Ibis here may be due to climate and precipitation patterns, invasion and spread of Narrowleaf Cattail (Typha angustifolia), changes in agricultural practices, habitat loss and range expansion in the southern and western portions of the species’ range, and increases in ibis populations in the Intermountain West. We placed special emphasis on North Dakota, a state for which there is scant published information concerning the current status of this species. In recent decades, the ibis has become a regular breeding-season resident in North Dakota and in other areas of the northern prairie and parkland region. From 1882 to 2002, there were 145 reports of one or more Whitefaced Ibis in North Dakota, including 93 reports during the breeding season (15 May to 31 August), 49 during the nonbreeding season (1 September to 14 May), and three for which the season of occurrence was not reported. Prior to the 1960s, there were only three records of the species in North Dakota. Observations of White-faced Ibises in North Dakota increased dramatically between the 1960s and the early 21st century, and the species has been observed nearly annually since 1971. The first White-faced Ibis nesting activity in the state was recorded in 1978, and to date, there have been 21 known records of nesting activity in the state. The species nested in large (>300 ha) semipermanent or permanent wetlands within mixed-species colonies ranging in areal extent from small (0.1 ha) to fairly large (27 ha), and colonies were located in patches of emergent vegetation dominated by cattails (Typha) and bulrushes (Scirpus). We classify the White-faced Ibis as a fairly common migrant and a locally uncommon breeder east of the Missouri River and a casual migrant west of the Missouri River.

The Flatback Turtle, Chelonia depressa, in Queensland: Reproductive Periodicity, Philopatry and Recruitment

1984 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 579 ◽  
Author(s):  
CJ Limpus ◽  
A Fleay ◽  
V Baker
Keyword(s):  
Breeding Season ◽  
Sea Turtles ◽  
Recruitment Rate ◽  
Southern Limit ◽  
Total Fecundity ◽  
Eastern Australia ◽  
Reproductive Life ◽  
Breeding Seasons ◽  
Remigration Interval ◽  
High Degree

The Bundaberg coast is the southern limit for reproduction by Chelonia depressa in eastern Australia. Here the species lays 2.84 � 0.78 (mean � SD) clutches per breeding season with a renesting interval of 15.99 � 1.89 days. When successful nesting does not occur on a nesting crawl the female returns after 1.17 � 1.07 d for another attempt. The mean remigration interval is 2.65 � 0.92 years and the average female is estimated to have a reproductive life of between 2.05 and 2.55 breeding seasons. The estimated annual recruitment rate of neonate nesting females into this colony is 27.2 � 10.8% of the population. The females return repetitively with a high degree of accuracy to the same small nesting beach within a single breeding season and in successive breeding seasons. The reproductive strategy of C. depressa compared with that of other sea turtles appears to involve an increase in hatchling size, to reduce predation, achieved by laying relatively large eggs. However, only a few small clutches are laid in a breeding season, so that seasonal fecundity for the species is low relative to that in other sea turtles such as C. mydas. Because its reproductive life is longer, C. depressa has a total fecundity only slightly less than that of C. mydas.

The early effects of fire and grazing on bryophytes and lichens in tussock grassland and hummock sedgeland in north-eastern Tasmania

2009 ◽  
Vol 57 (7) ◽  
pp. 556 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anneka V. Ferguson ◽  
Emma J. Pharo ◽  
Jamie B. Kirkpatrick ◽  
Jon B. Marsden-Smedley
Keyword(s):  
Species Composition ◽  
Interactive Effects ◽  
Taxon Richness ◽  
Vegetation Types ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
North Eastern ◽  
Tussock Grassland ◽  
Total Lack ◽  
Early Effects ◽  
High Degree

Little is known of the interactive effects of fire and grazing on cryptogam species and assemblages. These effects were observed for bryophyte and lichen species in Tasmanian tussock grassland and hummock sedgeland several months after experimental burning and fencing. A factorial design was used on 40 randomly located and treated pairs of 1 m × 1 m quadrats in each of the vegetation types. In total, 24 cryptogam taxa were found, with grassland having a greater taxon richness, as well as higher total cryptogam cover and a different species composition, to the hummock sedgeland. There was greater cryptogam cover in the burned quadrats than the unburned quadrats in the grassland. However, only bryophytes had different species composition between burned and unburned quadrats. There was a small but significant difference in richness in hummock sedgeland, with burned being richer than unburned. Three species were more abundant in the burned than in the unburned treatments in the grassland, whereas no species responded to treatment in the sedgeland and no species responded to grazing. The fact that no species or assemblage of species was significantly reduced in cover by the burns testifies to a high degree of cryptogam resilience to this disturbance. The total lack of negative grazing effects suggests cryptogams are not a major source of sustenance for the local vertebrate herbivores. These conclusions differ from those made elsewhere in the world.

The distribution and behavior of Peromyscus maniculatus gracilis and Peromyscus leucopus noveboracensis (Rodentia: Cricetidae) in a southeastern Ontario woodlot

1970 ◽  
Vol 48 (6) ◽  
pp. 1187-1199 ◽  
Author(s):  
Donald A. Smith ◽  
S. Wayne Speller
Keyword(s):  
Competitive Exclusion ◽  
Peromyscus Leucopus ◽  
Population Characteristics ◽  
Exclusion Principle ◽  
Dense Population ◽  
Competitive Exclusion Principle ◽  
Upland Forest ◽  
Live Trapping ◽  
Tree Holes ◽  
And Behavior

P. m. gracilis and P. l. noveboracensis are sympatric in southeastern Ontario and some adjacent areas. Similar in appearance, food and breeding habits, and frequently cohabiting certain forests, they may occupy identical niches, contrary to the competitive exclusion principle. A 12-week summer live-trapping study in a woodlot containing upland, mixed, and cedar forest associations showed that although most of their population characteristics were similar, their local distributions, densities, and certain behaviors differed. Noveboracensis inhabited upland forest but avoided mixed and cedar forest associations apparently because suitable refuges were lacking. The less dense population of gracilis was ubiquitous; gracilis and noveboracensis cohabited the upland forest. On release from traps noveboracensis sometimes 'froze' before darting in a zigzag manner to nearby cover, and ran up trees significantly more than gracilis, which usually ran instantly, rapidly, and directly to a more distant ground refuge. Low densities of both species reduced competition for available food and refuges. This may have facilitated cohabitation in the upland forest where differential use of ground- and tree-holes also contributed to reduction of competition and thus to compatibility. Coexistence may be transitory there; with denser populations, potential competition might be minimized by emigration of the more exploratory gracilis.

Fire management on private conservation lands: knowledge, perceptions and actions of landholders in eastern Australia

2012 ◽  
Vol 21 (3) ◽  
pp. 197 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lucy G. Halliday ◽  
J. Guy Castley ◽  
James A. Fitzsimons ◽  
Cuong Tran ◽  
Jan Warnken
Keyword(s):  
Fire Management ◽  
Conservation Management ◽  
Natural Disturbance ◽  
Fire Regimes ◽  
Vegetation Types ◽  
Management Planning ◽  
Management Actions ◽  
Eastern Australia ◽  
Established Role

Fire is an important natural disturbance process within the Australian landscape, but the complex and hazardous nature of fire creates a conservation management dilemma. For landholders of private conservation lands, management for conservation of biodiversity and risk reduction is complicated. Private conservation landholders in eastern Australia directed far less effort towards fire management than other conservation management actions, despite clearly acknowledging the risk and associated responsibilities of fire management on their lands. Nonetheless, landholders did undertake actions to reduce fuel hazards and prepare for wildfire events on their land. Despite the established role and benefits of fire to many ecosystems in the region, landholder understanding of the ecological role of fire was generally poor. Few landholders were aware of ecologically appropriate fire regimes for the vegetation types on their property, and few undertook fire management actions to achieve ecological outcomes. Site-specific obstacles, lack of fire management knowledge and experience, and legal and containment concerns contributed to the low level of fire management observed. There is a need for property-specific fire management planning across all private conservation lands, to further integrate ecological fire requirements into biodiversity management, and prioritise actions that aim to improve conservation outcomes while safeguarding life and property.

scholarly journals Diverse habitat use during two life stages of the critically endangered Bahama Oriole (Icterus northropi): community structure, foraging, and social interactions

PeerJ ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 5 ◽  
pp. e3500 ◽  
Author(s):  
Melissa R. Price ◽  
William K. Hayes
Keyword(s):  
Habitat Use ◽  
Social Interactions ◽  
Breeding Season ◽  
Pine Forest ◽  
Critically Endangered ◽  
Life Stages ◽  
Vegetation Types ◽  
Age Classes ◽  
Habitat Types ◽  
Second Year

Our ability to prevent extinction in declining populations often depends on effective management of habitats that are disturbed through wildfire, logging, agriculture, or development. In these disturbed landscapes, the juxtaposition of multiple habitat types can be especially important to fledglings and young birds, which may leave breeding grounds in human-altered habitat for different habitats nearby that provide increased foraging opportunities, reduced competition, and higher protection from predators. In this study, we evaluated the importance of three habitat types to two life stages of the critically endangered Bahama Oriole (Icterus northropi), a synanthropic songbird endemic to Andros, The Bahamas. First, we determined the avian species composition and relative abundance of I. northropi among three major vegetation types on Andros: Caribbean pine (Pinus caribaea) forest, coppice (broadleaf dry forest), and anthropogenic areas, dominated by nonnative vegetation (farmland and developed land). We then compared the foraging strategies and social interactions of two age classes of adult Bahama Orioles in relation to differential habitat use. Bird surveys late in the Bahama Oriole’s breeding season indicated the number of avian species and Bahama Oriole density were highest in coppice. Some bird species occurring in the coppice and pine forest were never observed in agricultural or residential areas, and may be at risk if human disturbance of pine forest and coppice increases, as is occurring at a rapid pace on Andros. During the breeding season, second-year (SY) adult Bahama Orioles foraged in all vegetation types, whereas after-second-year (ASY) adults were observed foraging only in anthropogenic areas, where the species nested largely in introduced coconut palms (Cocos nucifera). Additionally, SY adults foraging in anthropogenic areas were often observed with an ASY adult, suggesting divergent habitat use for younger, unpaired birds. Other aspects of foraging (vegetation features, food-gleaning behavior, and food items) were similar for the two age classes. Older Bahama Orioles exhibited relatively higher rates of social interactions (intraspecific and interspecific pooled) in anthropogenic areas, and won more interaction outcomes compared to younger adults. Our findings concur with those of other studies indicating dry broadleaf forest is vitally important to migrating, wintering, and resident birds, including the critically endangered Bahama Oriole, which appears to depend heavily on this vegetation type during certain life stages.

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