Time-budget and feeding behaviour of the squirrel glider (Petaurus norfolcensis) in remnant linear habitat

2007 ◽  
Vol 34 (4) ◽  
pp. 288 ◽  
Author(s):  
Greg J. Holland ◽  
Andrew F. Bennett ◽  
Rodney van der Ree
Keyword(s):  
Feeding Behaviour ◽  
Time Budget ◽  
Observation Time ◽  
Food Items ◽  
Roadside Vegetation ◽  
Acacia Gum ◽  
Linear Habitat ◽  
Eastern Australia ◽  
Large Trees ◽  
Squirrel Glider

The squirrel glider (Petaurus norfolcensis) occurs in forests and woodlands in eastern Australia. In Victoria it is now largely restricted to small, fragmented areas and is considered endangered. In this study, the time-budget, feeding behaviour and related habitat use of the squirrel glider were investigated in a linear remnant of roadside vegetation near Euroa, Victoria. Timed observations of three males and three females, fitted with radio-collars, were made in each of four seasons. Gliders were observed for a total of 53.2 h, during which they devoted 72% of time to foraging activities. Grooming accounted for 16% of observation time. Exudates associated with homopterous insects were the primary food items consumed throughout the year. Arthropods, nectar and pollen, and Acacia gum formed the remainder of the diet. The proportion of time devoted to harvesting these food items showed marked seasonal variation. The primary dependence on homopterous insect exudates in this study area contrasts with other investigations at sites of greater floristic diversity where nectar and pollen were the most important dietary resources. This highlights the need to obtain ecological information from the range of habitats occupied by a species. Large trees are a vital habitat component of remnant linear vegetation in this study area, providing gliders with critical foraging resources. Retention of such trees is essential for the longevity of glider populations.

Time budget of the squirrel glider (Petaurus norfolcensis) in subtropical Australia

2018 ◽  
Vol 66 (4) ◽  
pp. 251
Author(s):  
David J. Sharpe ◽  
Ross L. Goldingay
Keyword(s):  
Full Moon ◽  
Time Budget ◽  
Observation Time ◽  
Foraging Efficiency ◽  
Feeding Rates ◽  
High Quality ◽  
Food Items ◽  
Squirrel Glider ◽  
Tree Hollow ◽  
Subtropical Australia

Exudivorous mammals exploit food items of high quality and high rates of renewal, offset by wide dispersion and variable availability. How this influences foraging effort and size-related foraging efficiency remains poorly described. We examined the time budget of 5–6 male and 5–6 female squirrel gliders (Petaurus norfolcensis) during 6–8 nights in each of three seasons that were stratified by moon phase. Radio-collared gliders were observed during a series of 1-h focal observations from dusk until dawn. Feeding dominated the time budget, accounting for 78% of observation time, or 85% of time when combined with behaviours associated with foraging. Females appear to maximise feeding rates before entering the energetically demanding phase of late lactation. Little time was spent resting while outside the den. Longer nights and the full moon were associated with later emergence and earlier retirement times. Animals re-entered their tree-hollow dens during the night, representing 2% of activity in late spring, 18% in winter and 9% in autumn (10% overall). This behaviour may relate to predation risk and lactation demands. We reviewed the percentage of the time budget that petaurid gliders devoted to feeding and found no clear relationship with body size.

Feeding behaviour of the squirrel glider at Bungawalbin Nature Reserve, north-eastern New South Wales

1998 ◽  
Vol 25 (3) ◽  
pp. 243 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. J. Sharpe ◽  
R. L. Goldingay
Keyword(s):  
Feeding Behaviour ◽  
New South ◽  
New South Wales ◽  
North Coast ◽  
The North ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Acacia Gum ◽  
North Eastern ◽  
Squirrel Glider ◽  
Autumn And Winter

The diet of the squirrel glider (Petaurus norfolcensis) was described by qualitative observations of feeding behaviour at a floristically rich site on the north coast of New South Wales. Twelve gliders from six groups were examined over a 10-month period. Flowering and bark-shedding data were also collected. Nectar and pollen were the most important food resources and accounted for 59% of all observations. Banksia integrifolia was the most important source of these foods, but eucalypts were used heavily when in flower and several other genera were also visited. Feeding on arthropods constituted 26% of all feeding observations. Arthropods were harvested in all months of the study from a variety of substrates. Feeding on arthropods was relatively unimportant in May and June when pollen ingestion was presumed to be high. Honeydew was used but was absent from the diet during winter. Acacia gum was obtained from two species in autumn and one, Acacia irrorata, was incised to promote gum production. Corymbia intermedia and Angophora woodsiana were incised for sap in autumn and winter. Sap flows resulting from insect (borer) damage on other species were also used. Fruit, Acacia seeds and arils, and lichens were consumed on a few occasions. The squirrel glider displayed seasonal trends in feeding behaviour that, in part, accorded with observed phenological patterns. The foods used by the squirrel glider during this study were similar to those previously reported for the genus. However, few studies have documented such a diversity of dietary items at one site. Management of the squirrel glider appears to require the maintenance of floristic diversity, and particularly the persistence of midstorey species.

Age and food hardness affect food handling by insectivorous bats

2007 ◽  
Vol 85 (9) ◽  
pp. 985-993 ◽  
Author(s):  
E.E. Fraser ◽  
M.B. Fenton
Keyword(s):  
Optimal Foraging ◽  
Feeding Behaviour ◽  
Eating Behaviour ◽  
Myotis Lucifugus ◽  
The Other ◽  
Food Handling ◽  
Insectivorous Bats ◽  
Male And Female ◽  
Food Items ◽  
And Gender

Eating behaviour can vary with age, experience, and gender, as well as food hardness. This variation can contribute to intraspecific dietary differences and may result in variable definitions of optimal foraging and decreased intraspecific competition. We quantified feeding behaviour of insectivorous bats eating hard and soft mealworm-based food items based on the bats’ ability to consume and manipulate food items, consumption time, chew frequency, and total chews to consume. Adult Myotis lucifugus (LeConte, 1831) were more successful at both consuming and manipulating mealworms and consumed mealworms more quickly, with greater chew frequency and in fewer chews, than did subadults. Adults chewed mealworm viscera more frequently than did subadults but showed no differences in the other variables. Adult Eptesicus fuscus (Beauvois, 1796) consumed mealworms more quickly and with fewer chews than did subadults but showed no differences in the other variables. There were no differences between adult and subadult E. fuscus when consuming mealworm viscera. Male and female M. lucifugus did not differ significantly when eating either mealworms or mealworm viscera. There was no change in subadult consumption time of mealworms over the summer. Age-based differences in eating abilities may play a role in defining optimal foraging and dietary composition in insectivorous bats.

Sex Differences in Feeding Behaviour at Feeding Station Scale in Soay Sheep (Ovis Aries)

Behaviour ◽  
2004 ◽  
Vol 141 (8) ◽  
pp. 999-1020 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
◽  
Keyword(s):  
Feeding Behaviour ◽  
Ovis Aries ◽  
Intake Rate ◽  
Same Sex ◽  
Soay Sheep ◽  
Food Items ◽  
Feeding Station ◽  
Foraging Decisions ◽  
Mouth Size ◽  
Mechanistic Response

AbstractHerbivorous ungulates live in a spatially heterogeneous environment making foraging decisions at a range of hierarchical scales, from bite size to landscape. We investigated the factors that control intake rate in Soay sheep (Ovis aries) when discrete items of food were sparsely distributed at the feeding station scale. Within the feeding station we varied the difficulty of accessing food, distance between items of food, difficulty of finding the food and complexity of the feeding station and recorded how intake rate responded in relation to body size, mouth size and the sex of the animal. Our findings demonstrated how increasing difficulty of accessing food, and increasing complexity of the feeding station negatively affected intake rate. The expected mechanistic response that smaller animals or animals with smaller mouth size were better at handling discrete small items of food, was overridden by individual and sexual differences in behaviour. We also considered that intake rate within a feeding station could be maximised by optimising the spatial pattern of offtake, and the results clearly indicated that both sexes tended to show clustered patterns of offtake. Animals of the same sex responded in a similar way to the difficulty in handling food items; males persevered more than females and consequently were less handicaped by having larger mouths. We discussed these results in relation to behavioural and body mass differences between the sexes and animals.

Nest-tree selection by the threatened brush-tailed phascogale (Phascogale tapoatafa) (Marsupialia:Dasyuridae) in a highly fragmented agricultural landscape

2006 ◽  
Vol 33 (2) ◽  
pp. 113 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rodney van der Ree ◽  
Andrew F. Bennett ◽  
Todd R. Soderquist
Keyword(s):  
Wildlife Conservation ◽  
Agricultural Landscape ◽  
Intensive Study ◽  
Spatial And Temporal Patterns ◽  
Canopy Tree ◽  
Roadside Vegetation ◽  
Eastern Australia ◽  
Standing Trees ◽  
Scattered Trees ◽  
Selection For

The conservation of roosting and nesting resources is of critical concern for many hollow-dependent species around the world. We investigated the nest-tree requirements of the threatened brush-tailed phascogale (Phascogale tapoatafa) in a highly cleared agricultural landscape in south-eastern Australia. We documented the physical characteristics of selected nest trees and describe the spatial and temporal patterns of nest-tree use as revealed by radio-tracking. Nine phascogales (seven females, two males) were radio-tracked between March and July 1999 in an area where most woodland habitat is confined to linear strips along roads and streams or small patches and scattered trees in cleared farmland. Female phascogales were monitored for 13–35 days over periods of 5–15 weeks and two males were monitored for 2 and 9 days respectively. A total of 185 nest-tree fixes was collected and all nests occupied by phascogales were in standing trees. Eighty-three nest trees were identified, ranging in diameter at breast height (dbh) from 25 to 171 cm, with a mean dbh for the trees used by each individual phascogale of >80 cm. Phascogales did not discriminate between canopy tree species in selecting nest trees, but showed highly significant selection for trees in the largest size class. All individuals used multiple nest trees, with the seven females occupying an average of 11.4 nest trees from a mean of 25 diurnal locations. The number of nest trees continued to increase throughout the study, suggesting that more would be identified during a longer or more intensive study. Occupied nest trees were located throughout each individual’s home range, highlighting the importance of a continuous spatial distribution of suitable nest trees across the landscape. Nest trees were also located in adjacent farmland up to 225 m from roadside vegetation, demonstrating the value that scattered clumps and even single trees in farmland can have for wildlife conservation.

Squirrel glider home ranges near urban edges in eastern Australia

2011 ◽  
Vol 285 (4) ◽  
pp. 256-265 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. Brearley ◽  
C. McAlpine ◽  
S. Bell ◽  
A. Bradley
Keyword(s):  
Home Ranges ◽  
Eastern Australia ◽  
Squirrel Glider

The population ecology of the squirrel glider (Petaurus norfolcensis) within a network of remnant linear habitats

2002 ◽  
Vol 29 (4) ◽  
pp. 329 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rodney van der Ree
Keyword(s):  
Agricultural Landscape ◽  
South Eastern ◽  
Linear Habitats ◽  
Continuous Forest ◽  
Eastern Australia ◽  
Squirrel Glider ◽  
Density Population ◽  
Natality Rate ◽  
South Eastern Australia

The geographic range of the squirrel glider (Petaurus norfolcensis) in south-eastern Australia largely corresponds with fertile soils highly suited for agriculture. As a consequence of extensive clearing for agriculture, the conservation of P. norfolcensis in south-eastern Australia is now reliant on a mosaic of many fragmented and isolated patches of woodland and forest. In this study, I investigated the population dynamics of P. norfolcensis in an agricultural landscape where most remnant woodland occurs as linear strips along roadsides, unused road reserves and watercourses. A total of 251 gliders were trapped 1343 times within the linear habitats between December 1996 and November 1998. Gliders were resident within the linear strips at 0.95–1.54 individuals ha–1, a density equal to, or greater than, that recorded elsewhere for the species in continuous forest. All adult females were reproductively active and the mean natality rate was 1.9 young per adult female per year. Overall, the population age-structure appeared to be stable. While currently supporting a stable, high-density population, the long-term viability of these remnants as habitat is not assured because roadside reserves are narrow, easily fragmented and subjected to a host of deleterious processes causing ongoing habitat loss and degradation.

The diet of foxes (Vulpes vulpes) in south-eastern Australia and the potential effects of rabbit haemorrhagic disease

2004 ◽  
Vol 31 (1) ◽  
pp. 13 ◽  
Author(s):  
Glen Saunders ◽  
Mani Berghout ◽  
Barry Kay ◽  
Barbara Triggs ◽  
Remy van de Ven ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Vulpes Vulpes ◽  
Oryctolagus Cuniculus ◽  
Prey Species ◽  
Dietary Shift ◽  
Food Items ◽  
Environmental Event ◽  
Eastern Australia ◽  
Rabbit Haemorrhagic Disease ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Haemorrhagic Disease

Prior to the spread of Rabbit Haemorrhagic Disease (RHD) across Australian, concern was expressed that foxes (Vulpes vulpes) would prey more heavily on native wildlife and livestock should the disease cause dramatic reductions in rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus) numbers. In this study we compared the incidence of food items in the stomachs of 240 foxes and 269 foxes collected before and after the arrival of RHD respectively. No dramatic RHD-induced differences in fox diet were detected in this study. It appeared that one widespread environmental event (drought), was closely followed by another (RHD), which may have masked any change in reliance on rabbit or dietary shift to other prey species.

scholarly journals Diurnal feeding strategies of the Ferruginous Duck (Aythya nyroca) in Lake Tonga (Northeastern Algeria)

2019 ◽  
Vol 27 (1) ◽  
pp. 85-98 ◽  
Author(s):  
Khalil Draidi ◽  
Badis Bakhouche ◽  
Naouel Lahlah ◽  
Imed Djemadi ◽  
Mourad Bensouilah
Keyword(s):  
Feeding Behaviour ◽  
Foraging Behaviour ◽  
Time Budget ◽  
Search Time ◽  
Environmental Parameters ◽  
Feeding Strategies ◽  
A Minor ◽  
Northeastern Algeria ◽  
Foraging Time ◽  
Minor Activity

Abstract Although the Ferruginous Duck (Aythya nyroca) has thoroughly been studied, the foraging behaviour of this species is still not completely known. In the present paper we studied the diurnal feeding behaviour of ducks. We monitored the annual cycle of birds through two fieldtrips per month. The instantaneous behaviour of birds was recorded in regular 30-minute intervals from 7 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., amounting a total of 456 observation hours. Food searching activity corresponds to a quarter of the total diurnal time budget of the Ferruginous Duck. Foraging behaviour was classified into five categories dominated by the “diving”, which is almost 45.61% of the total search time. Foraging activities at the water surface considered to be secondary activities, including feeding by “bill”, “neck and head”, and “beak and head” in a rate of 19.86%, 14.53%, and 13.98%, respectively. The “toggle” remains a minor activity and represents only 5.99% of foraging time. The feeding behaviour of this species correlated to several environmental parameters (rainfall, temperature and wind velocity), and linked to the group size of ducks visiting the lake. Regarding the food intensity, our results show the highest values for “bill and head” behaviour. “Diving” has the longest feeding interval (16.16±14.1 minutes), while foraging by “bill” has the shortest (0.69 ± 0.48 minutes).

scholarly journals DUGONG (Dugong dugon) FEEDING BEHAVIOUR IN SEA WORLD INDONESIA, TAMAN IMPIAN JAYA ANCOL, JAKARTA

2015 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 504
Author(s):  
Abdul Jamaludin ◽  
Luthfiralda Sjahfirdi ◽  
Riani Widiarti
Keyword(s):  
Feeding Behavior ◽  
Feeding Behaviour ◽  
Ex Situ Conservation ◽  
Statistical Tests ◽  
Descriptive Analysis ◽  
Behavioral Observation ◽  
Reproductive Rate ◽  
Observation Time ◽  
T Test ◽  
Ex Situ

<p>Dugongs is a protected herbivorous marine mammals (Suwelo et al., 1992) and included in vulnerable category of IUCN(International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) and Appendix I CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species) (IUCN 2012). Dugong population continues to decline due to the human threat (Suwelo et al., 1992). Another factor is because Dugong has a low reproductive rate (Hindell &amp; Kirkword 2003). Ex-situ conservation of dugong is become important and has conducted by Sea World Indonesia, Taman Impian Jaya Ancol, Jakarta. Research on dugong feeding behaviour can help the ex-situ conservation of dugong. This because feeding behaviour is a main daily behaviour of dugong in the sea (Chilvers et al., 2003). The aim of this research was to describe feeding behaviour of two dugong in Sea World Indonesia. Observations were made in SWI Dugong aquarium with a diameter of 10 meters and two different depth (2 meters and 5 meters). Observations were made during two weeks on December 2012. Behavioral observation time was divided into morning (9:15 to 09:35), (11:30 to 11:50) and <br />(14:30 to 14:50) observations. The feeding behavior observed was hand-fed, surface-fed and bottom-fed. Daily observations of dugong feeding behavior were done using focal animal sampling and ad libitum sampling. The data obtained was displayed in the form of tables and graphs. The data was analyzed using descriptive analysis reinforced with statistical tests. The statistical tests used were the t-test and ANOVA test. Hand-fed behavior of male dugong (31,30%) was higher than female (29,67%). Results from t-test showed that the hand-fed behaviors of both dugongs were not significantly different. Meanwhile, the other t-test result for surface-fed behavior and bottom-fed behavior of both dugongs was significantly different. Surface-fed behavior of male dugong (65.83%) was higher than female (32.08%). Bottom-fed behavior of male dugong (6.23%) was lower than females (36.63%). Hand-fed behaviour and feed on surface are the adaptation of feeding behavior in captivity. Feed on bottom behaviour is the behavior that similar to dugong feeding in the wild, which is grazing. Based on the observation, it is known that both dugong, male dugong especially, have a good adaptation on hand-fed seagrass behaviour and feed on surface, while the female dugong maintain its natural feeding behavior.</p><p><br /><strong>Keywords</strong>: Dugong dugon, Sea World Indonesia, feeding behaviour, captive</p>

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