Population-Changes in Sminthopsis-Leucopus (Gray) (Marsupialia, Dasyuridae), and Other Small Mammal Species, in Forest Regenerating From Logging and Fire Near Bega, New-South-Wales

1987 ◽  
Vol 14 (3) ◽  
pp. 275 ◽  
Author(s):  
D Lunney ◽  
E Ashby
Keyword(s):  
New South ◽  
Management Option ◽  
Population Changes ◽  
Mammal Species ◽  
Disturbed Habitat ◽  
Preferred Habitat ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Antechinus Stuartii ◽  
Rattus Fuscipes ◽  
Small Mammal Species

A population of the white-footed dunnart Sminthopsis leucopus was studied from 1981 to 1983 in a forest that had been logged in 1979, burnt in 1980, and was drought-affected throughout the study. S. leucopus bred in this disturbed habitat but did not persist when the vegetation regrew and became dense. Pouch young were present in August, September and October 1981. There was no evidence of polyoestry in the field, although breeding potential may have been suppressed by a combination of the drought and habitat change. There were few brown antechinus Antechinus stuartii present at any time. The population of the bush rat Rattus fuscipes increased as its preferred habitat of dense vegetation grew. An irruption of the house mouse Mus rnusculus in autumn 1982 coincided with a brief respite from the drought. The differing responses of these species to the same set of environmental conditions illustrates that no one management option in such forests will be optimal for all species of small mammals. The conclusion drawn here for the conservation of S. leucopus in forests subject to woodchip logging and fire is to stagger the forestry operations to ensure that not all parts of the forest are covered with dense regrowth at any one time.

Temporal activity patterns of the swamp rat (Rattus lutreolus) and other rodents in north-eastern New South Wales, Australia

2012 ◽  
Vol 34 (2) ◽  
pp. 223 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul D. Meek ◽  
Frances Zewe ◽  
Greg Falzon
Keyword(s):  
New South ◽  
Activity Patterns ◽  
New South Wales ◽  
Camera Trap ◽  
Mammal Species ◽  
South Wales ◽  
North Eastern ◽  
Time Partitioning ◽  
Rattus Fuscipes ◽  
Small Mammal Species

The activity patterns and partitioning of time by four small mammal species, with a focus on the swamp rat (Rattus lutreolus) in north-eastern New South Wales, was investigated using camera trap data from two studies. Analysis was carried out on 1079 camera trap events over 1530 camera trap–nights or 36 720 h of camera trap deployment in the field. The activity patterns of Rattus lutreolus were distinctly diurnal with crepuscular peaks of activity but this differed between sites and when in the presence of competitors. The Hastings River mouse (Pseudomys oralis) and the bush rat (Rattus fuscipes) displayed typical bimodal patterns of nocturnal activity. Antechinus were mostly nocturnal but were occasionally active during the day. These data indicate that where species of Muridae co-occur, diurnal time partitioning by R. lutreolus may reduce competition for food resources. It also confirms the speculation that R. lutreolus displays diurnal behaviour, albeit dependent on the presence of other murids.

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 Populations in Pine and Native Forests in North-Eastern New South Wales.

1977 ◽  
Vol 4 (3) ◽  
pp. 233 ◽  
Author(s):  
JL Barnett ◽  
RA How ◽  
WF Humphreys
Keyword(s):  
Pinus Taeda ◽  
New South ◽  
New South Wales ◽  
Native Forest ◽  
Vegetation Types ◽  
North East ◽  
South Wales ◽  
North Eastern ◽  
Antechinus Stuartii ◽  
Rattus Fuscipes

Populations of small mammals were examined in a 6 yr Pinus taeda plantation (extended to include similar age P. radiata) and adjacent native rain forest in north-east New South Wales, Australia. Of the 6 species trapped, Rattus fuscipes was the only one with viable populations in both vegetation types. R. lutreolus, R. rattus and Mus musculus were restricted to the plantation; Melomys cervinipes and Antechinus stuartii (except for a few individuals) were confined to the native forest.

Powerline Easements: Do They Promote Edge Effects in Eucalypt Forest for Small Mammals?

1997 ◽  
Vol 24 (6) ◽  
pp. 737 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ross L. Goldingay ◽  
Robert J. Whelan
Keyword(s):  
Small Mammals ◽  
Edge Effects ◽  
Native Species ◽  
Vegetative Cover ◽  
Mammal Species ◽  
Terrestrial Mammals ◽  
Eucalypt Forest ◽  
Hair Sampling ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Antechinus Stuartii

The distribution and abundance of small terrestrial mammals were assessed in forest adjacent to powerline easements at three different sites in New South Wales. At each site, four transects of 300 m length extended into the forest from the edge of the easement. The abundances of two native species (Antechinus stuartii, Rattus fuscipes) did not differ significantly with distance from the easement but abundances differed markedly among sites. Mammals were captured in only one easement where dense vegetation was present. Feral carnivores, which may mediate edge effects on small mammals, were surveyed by using hair-sampling tubes. Cats and dogs were detected only 50–200 m inside the forest. Foxes were not detected by hair-tubes but were observed on two easements. These results suggest that powerline easements may not create edge effects in eucalypt forest for some native mammal species, although further studies are needed to determine the generality of this conclusion. We recommend that easement management should be more benign to native mammals, given the ubiquity of this form of habitat fragmentation. Promotion of dense vegetative cover and habitat linkages within easements could achieve this.

Distributions of species of the Antechinus stuartii-A. flavipes complex as predicted by bioclimatic modelling

2002 ◽  
Vol 50 (1) ◽  
pp. 77 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. S. Crowther
Keyword(s):  
High Temperatures ◽  
New South ◽  
New South Wales ◽  
Taxonomic Revision ◽  
Climatic Indices ◽  
Far North ◽  
South West ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Bioclimatic Modelling ◽  
Antechinus Stuartii

Previous work on bioclimatic mapping of species within the Antechinus stuartii–A. flavipes complex has been carried out, but this was before A. subtropicus was recognised and a complete taxonomic revision of the complex had been completed. This revised study of bioclimatic modelling of species within the A. stuartii–A. flavipes complex indicates substantial differences between the four species (A. stuartii, A. agilis, A. subtropicus and A. flavipes) in 35 climatic indices. A. stuartii is predicted to have a near-coastal distribution in northern and central New South Wales stretching as far south as Kioloa and as far north as south-eastern Queensland, avoiding the far coastal strip. A. agilis is predicted to have an extensive distribution in Victoria and southern New South Wales as far north as western Sydney; it is also predicted to occur in Tasmania, even though there is no evidence of it ever occurring there. A. flavipes is predicted to have an extensive inland and coastal distribution much larger than its recorded distribution. A. subtropicus is predicted to have a very narrow distribution in areas with high seasonal rainfall and high temperatures with low seasonality. All species are predicted to occur sympatrically, with A. stuartii and A. agilis predicted to have extensive overlap on the coast near Kioloa and to the immediate west and south-west of Sydney.

Effects of Habitat, Host Sex and Age on the Parasites of Trichosurus Caninus (Marsupialia: Phalangeridae) in North-Eastern New South Wales.

1982 ◽  
Vol 30 (1) ◽  
pp. 33 ◽  
Author(s):  
PJA Presidente ◽  
JL Barnett ◽  
RA How ◽  
WF Humphreys
Keyword(s):  
Intestinal Tract ◽  
New South ◽  
Pulmonary Inflammation ◽  
Ixodes Holocyclus ◽  
Preferred Habitat ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Host Sex ◽  
North Eastern ◽  
Portal Veins ◽  
Hepatic Portal

The condition of 57 Trichosurus caninus (Ogilby), and their ectoparasites, endoparasites and associated pathology were examined; ages and habitat status of these animals were known. Condition scores for females were greater (P<0.005) than those for males. Seven ectoparasite species (two ticks, five mites), two protozoan and seven helminth (one cestode, six nematodes) species were identified in T. caninus from both preferred and peripheral habitats. Prevalence of Amplicaecum robertsi (Sprent & Mines) larvae and the oxyurid nematode Adelonema trichosuri (Johnston & Mawson) were greater (P<0.05) in T. caninus from peripheral habitat than in preferred-habitat animals. Greater burdens (P<0.05) of the tick Ixodes holocyclus Neumann, two mites Trichosurolaelaps dixoa Domrow and 7. crassipes Womersley, and the trichostrongylid nematode Paraustrostrongylus trichosuri Mawson were found in peripheral-habitat T. caninus. Subadult males harboured greater Paraustrostrongylus burdens (P<0.05) than did subadult females or adult animals. Three Trichosurus vulpecula (Kerr) sympatric with peripheral-habitat T. caninus were also examined. One tick I. trichosuri Roberts, one mite T. crassipes and four helminth species: Bertiella trichosuri Khalil, A. robertsi, Paraustrostrongylus trichosuri and Parastrongyloides trichosuri Mackerras, were identified. The cestode B. trichosuri was recovered from the three T. vulpecula and four peripheral-habitat T. caninus, but only from one T. caninus from preferred habitat. Larval A. robertsi caused focal eosinophilic cholangiohepatitis with dilatation of affected bile ducts in livers of both Trichosurus spp. Eosinophilic vasculitis of hepatic portal veins was associated with ?Sprattia venacavincola (Spratt & Varughese) and focal granulomatous splenitis with sequestered microfilariae in T. caninus. Also, ?Marsupostrongylus minesi Spratt in dilated alveoli caused mild pulmonary inflammation. There were no pathological changes associated with intestinal tract parasites. Free corticosteroid levels in preferred-habitat female T. caninus were greater (P<0.05) than in those from peripheral habitat. This correlated with hyperplastic changes in adrenal glands of these females, but not with parasite burdens.

Causes of the extinction of native mammals of the Western Division of New South Wales: an ecological interpretation of the nineteenth century historical record

2001 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
pp. 44 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel Lunney
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
New South ◽  
Historical Record ◽  
Mammal Species ◽  
The West ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Western Division ◽  
The 19Th Century ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Wool Industry

Twenty-four mammal species – predominantly the medium-sized, ground-dwelling mammals with a dependence on grass/herbs and seeds – disappeared forever from the landscape of the Western Division of New South Wales in a period of 60 years from first settlement in 1841. The present study examines the causes of this extinction episode by constructing a picture of the changing landscape from the historical record and interpreting the findings ecologically. The conclusions point to an extinction process that can be largely attributed to the impact of sheep, an impact that was exacerbated in the scarce and fragile refuges of the flat landscape in times of intense and frequent drought. This conclusion differs from those of many others, particularly Kerin in the Western Lands Review, who pointed to "the impact of feral animals, rather than overgrazing" as the cause of mammal extinctions, and Morton, who considered that the rabbit was "principally (although not entirely)" responsible for mammal extinctions in the rangelands. The rabbit plague in the Western Division from the early 1880s and the influx of foxes in the last years of the 19th century expedited the local demise of some species and even delivered the final blow to surviving remnant populations of a few species of native mammals but they were not the primary agent of extinction. Historical accounts give prominence to the rapidly growing wool industry in the 19th century. From its dominant position as an export commodity, wool became the chief means of the successful spread of colonial settlement. By 1853 there were about 300,000 sheep based at the southern end of the Darling on the watered frontages, which were all taken up by 1858. The west of the Darling was largely occupied by sheep farmers between 1859 and 1876. The history of settlement around Menindee from 1841 can be read as a devastating critique of the failure to realise that the west could not sustain a pattern of land use imposed on it from another world. The deterioration of the pastoral landscape was such that by the late 1880s the "walls of the pastoral fortresses... were beginning to crumble of their own accord, as the foundations on which they were built — the physical environment — altered under stresses...". The sequence of occupation and land use in the Western Division and the timing of the loss of native mammal species allows the conclusion to be drawn that it was sheep, and the way the land was managed for the export wool industry, that drove so many of the mammal species to extinction. The impact of ever-increasing millions of sheep on all frontages, through all the refuges, and across all the landscape by the mid 1880s is the primary cause of the greatest period of mammal extinction in Australia in modern times.

Effects of habitat fragmentation on the demography, movements and social organisation of the eastern pygmy-possum (Cercartetus nanus) in northern New South Wales

2002 ◽  
Vol 29 (1) ◽  
pp. 105 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. V. Bladon ◽  
C. R. Dickman ◽  
I. D. Hume
Keyword(s):  
Body Mass ◽  
New South ◽  
New South Wales ◽  
Minimum Size ◽  
Late Winter ◽  
Nest Boxes ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Antechinus Stuartii ◽  
Cercartetus Nanus ◽  
Capture Rates

A population of eastern pygmy-possums (Cercartetus nanus) was studied in northern New South Wales for almost 3 years. A total of 98 pygmy-possums was captured, of which 52 were captured only once. The sex ratio of the population did not differ significantly from parity. Mid-way through the study, 1.4 ha of the 4.0-ha study site was cleared. Pre-clearing capture rates in nest boxes averaged 33.5 ± 5.8 captures per 100 box checks per month, and the population was estimated by three methods to be at least 15–20 animals. There was no significant difference in body mass between adult males (23.7 ± 6.3 g) and adult females (27.1 ± 7.7 g). Males had significantly larger short-term home ranges (0.35 ± 0.14 ha) than females (0.14 ± 0.06 ha) and tended to move over greater distances each night. Breeding occurred from summer to early winter, and juveniles and sub-adults entered the population in autumn and winter. The mean number of pouch young was 3.9. The most likely minimum size at which juveniles left their mother was 9–11 g. Adult body mass and condition were highly variable over time, and did not appear to be related to either the breeding season or Banksia flowering. Fourteen pygmy-possums were found torpid during the study. Population troughs occurred in late winter and spring and were associated with low survival and/or seasonal migration, possibly linked to the cessation of Banksia flowering in July and the lack of alternative food sources at this time and/or increased use of nest boxes by Antechinus stuartii during late winter. Post-clearing, capture rates fell to 7.8 ± 1.6 captures per 100 box checks per month, the estimated population size fell to 5–8 animals, and there was an almost total lack of juvenile/sub-adult recruitment into the population. The results support concerns that the long-term survival of the eastern pygmy-possum in New South Wales is threatened by continued land clearing throughout much of its present range.

Efficacy of hair-sampling techniques for the detection of medium-sized terrestrial mammals. I. A comparison between hair-funnels, hair-tubes and indirect signs

2002 ◽  
Vol 29 (4) ◽  
pp. 379 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. J. Mills ◽  
B. Harris ◽  
A. W. Claridge ◽  
S. C. Barry
Keyword(s):  
New South ◽  
Large Diameter ◽  
Current Form ◽  
Widespread Occurrence ◽  
Terrestrial Mammals ◽  
Hair Sampling ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Antechinus Agilis ◽  
Rattus Fuscipes ◽  
Independent Assessment

We compared the efficacy of two different designs of hair-tube for detecting medium-sized, terrestrial marsupials in a range of forest types in south-east New South Wales. The two designs compared were a large-diameter PVC pipe (large hair-tube) and a tapered hair-funnel. In addition, the relative abundance of forage-diggings of the same marsupials was estimated simultaneously in order to provide an independent assessment of their distribution within the same study area. Only two hair-tubes out of 620 contained hair that could be attributed to the target fauna, both from the long-nosed bandicoot (Perameles nasuta). This was despite the widespread occurrence of forage-diggings at all of the 31 transects that were surveyed. Only two species of mammal, the agile antechinus (Antechinus agilis) and the bush rat (Rattus fuscipes), were detected in sufficient quantity to enable statistical analysis comparing the efficacy of the two hair-tube types. For R. fuscipes the large hair-tube was significantly more effective than the hair-funnel. Conversely, the hair-funnel was significantly more effective in detecting A. agilis than the large hair-tube. Our results suggest that both designs of hair-tube, in their current form, are ineffective for surveying for medium-sized terrestrial marsupials. We see three important issues regarding hair-tube design and implementation that require more attention before this technique can be considered an effective surveying tool: hair-tube morphology, the material used to capture hair, and bait type.

Antechinus agilis (Marsupialia : Dasyuridae), a new species from the A. stuartii complex in south-eastern Australia

1998 ◽  
Vol 46 (1) ◽  
pp. 1 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. R. Dickman ◽  
H. E. Parnaby ◽  
M. S. Crowther ◽  
D. H. King
Keyword(s):  
New Species ◽  
New South ◽  
New South Wales ◽  
Dental Morphology ◽  
South Eastern ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Eastern Australia ◽  
Antechinus Stuartii ◽  
Average Size ◽  
A New Species

A new species from the Antechinus stuartii stuartii complex, A. agilis, sp. nov., is described from Victoria and south-eastern New South Wales. It differs from A. stuartii primarily in its smaller average size, lighter and greyer fur colour, relatively smaller anterior and posterior palatal vacuities, and more rounded premolars. The species can be distinguished in the field on external morphology. A. agilis resembles A. stuartii adustus from northern Queensland more closely in skull and dental morphology than it does A. stuartii from central coastal New South Wales, with which it is parapatric and occasionally sympatric in the southern coastal part of the State. Considerable morphological variation is apparent amongst populations regarded previously as A. stuartii from southern Queensland and northern New South Wales, suggesting that more than one taxon is included currently under A. stuartii. Further clarification of the relationships of A. agilis requires evaluation of variation in such populations of A. stuartii and also with A. flavipes from northern New South Wales and southern and central Queensland.

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