Diets and predictions of feeding rate of house mice and Lakeland Downs short-tailed mice inhabiting an arid-zone island in Western Australia

2002 ◽  
Vol 50 (3) ◽  
pp. 249 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. Moro ◽  
S. D. Bradshaw
Keyword(s):  
Western Australia ◽  
Dry Matter ◽  
Feeding Rate ◽  
Arid Zone ◽  
Rodent Species ◽  
Dietary Sodium ◽  
Feeding Rates ◽  
Faecal Pellets ◽  
Dietary Requirements ◽  
Free Ranging

An analysis of the faecal pellets of two species of arid-zone mouse, the house mouse (Mus domesticus) and Lakeland Downs short-tailed mouse (Leggadina lakedownensis), inhabiting Thevenard Island in Western Australia was conducted to ascertain their dietary requirements, and to use this information to predict their feeding rates in the field. Both species consumed seed, monocotyledon and dicotyledon plant material and invertebrate material, although the relative frequency-of-occurrence of these items varied throughout the year. Invertebrate material formed the highest proportion of dietary intake for both rodent species at all times, suggesting that this dietary strategy is advantageous for rodent species that inhabit environments where plant seeding is seasonal and rainfall dependent. The dry-matter intake (DMI) of free-ranging M.�domesticus and L. lakedownensis was predicted and compared using information from two sources: their isotopic water fluxes and the water content of their diet, and their isotopic sodium fluxes and the sodium content of their diet with and without corrections for non-dietary (exogenous) sources of sodium. The DMI derived from the water turnover was high for both species, suggesting that the mice were drinking and that assumptions inherent in this calculation were violated. Feeding rates were also high if no correction was made for exogenous, non-dietary sodium. When corrections were made, however, M. domesticus was predicted to ingest 4.62 ± 0.20 g dry matter day–1 compared with 3.86 ± 0.23 g dry matter day–1 for L.�lakedownensis. When DMI was scaled on the basis of allometric predictions for desert eutherians, only estimates of DMI for M. domesticus fell outside the predicted 95% confidence intervals. The results presented suggest that M. domesticus were obtaining some sodium from sources additional to their diet. Taken together, this methodology provides a useful application for measuring the feeding rate of free-ranging species given known dietary requirements in the field.

Field Metabolic Rates, Water Fluxes, and Feeding Rates of Quokkas, Setonix-Brachyurus, and Tammars, Macropus-Eugenii, in Western-Australia

1989 ◽  
Vol 37 (5) ◽  
pp. 553 ◽  
Author(s):  
KA Nagy ◽  
AJ Bradley ◽  
KD Morris
Keyword(s):  
Water Intake ◽  
Dry Matter ◽  
Feeding Rate ◽  
Metabolic Rates ◽  
Feeding Rates ◽  
Total Water ◽  
Water Influx ◽  
Field Metabolic Rates ◽  
Free Ranging ◽  
Total Water Intake

Field metabolic rates (FMRS) and water influx rates were measured by means of doubly labelled water in free-ranging quokkas living on Rottnest I, and free-ranging tammar wallabies living on Garden I. Feeding rates were estimated from energy requirements. Quokkas ranging in body mass from 1.44 to 2.83 kg (mean 1.90 kg) had FMRS averaging 0.574 mL C02 (g.h)-', which is equivalent to 548 kJ d-'. Their rates of total water intake averaged 47.3 mL (kg.d)-', or 90.5 mL d-'. Estimated feeding rate was 54.8 g (dry matter) per day, and water ingested as part of the food (preformed and metabolically produced) can completely account for total water intake. We believe that quokkas did not drink water during our field measurements. Tammars ranging in body mass from 3.20 to 6.35 kg (mean 4.38 kg) had FMRS averaging 0.518 mL CO2 (g.h)-', which is equivalent to 1150 kJ d-'. Their rates of water influx averaged 57.5 mL (kg.d)-', or 270 mL d-', and their estimated feeding rate was 115 g (dry matter) per day. Tammars also probably did not drink free-standing water during our study. FMRs of quokkas averaged 1 .80 x basal metabolic rate (BMR), and FMRS of tammars averaged 1.87 x BMR; this difference is not significant. We estimate that the 5000 quokkas on Rottnest I. consume at least 100 000 kg of plant matter (dry mass) per year, and the 2173 tammars on Garden I. ingest more than 90 000 kg. Measurements of food availability are needed to permit evaluation of the relationship between food supply and demand for these two populations of macropod marsupials.

Comparative Field Energetics of Two Macropod Marsupials and a Ruminant.

1990 ◽  
Vol 17 (6) ◽  
pp. 591 ◽  
Author(s):  
KA Nagy ◽  
GD Sanson ◽  
NK Jacobsen
Keyword(s):  
Feeding Rate ◽  
Energy Content ◽  
Metabolizable Energy ◽  
Ecological Modelling ◽  
Feeding Rates ◽  
Doubly Labelled Water ◽  
Water Influx ◽  
Scaling Relationship ◽  
Field Metabolic Rates ◽  
Free Ranging

Field metabolic rates (FMRs) and water influx rates were measured via the doubly labelled water method in wild Tasmanian pademelons and grey kangaroos living in the Jock Marshall Reserve at Clayton, Victoria, and in wild black-tailed deer free-ranging within a nature reserve at Davis, California. Deer expended more than 3 times more energy per day than similar sized grey kangaroos. Feeding rates required to achieve energy balance were estimated from FMRs along with an estimate of metabolizable energy content of the food. The estimated feeding rates for pademelons and kangaroos were combined with similar values for 5 other species of macropods to calculate an allometric (scaling) relationship for food requirements of macropod marsupials. Feeding rate had the following relationship to body mass: g food (DM) consumed per day = 0.20 g body mass0.79 (r2 = 0.94). The findings reported herein should be useful for predicting the approximate food requirements of free-ranging macropods and deer for purposes of ecological modelling, conservation efforts and management programmes.

A significant south-western range extension for the desert mouse (Pseudomys desertor) in Western Australia

2016 ◽  
Vol 38 (1) ◽  
pp. 120
Author(s):  
R. J. Ellis ◽  
P. B. S. Spencer ◽  
J. S. Doody ◽  
T. Parkin
Keyword(s):  
Western Australia ◽  
Environmental Conditions ◽  
Arid Zone ◽  
Rodent Species ◽  
Range Extension ◽  
Arid And Semiarid

The desert mouse (Pseudomys desertor) is one of the most common and widespread native rodent species across arid and semiarid Australia. The species occurs in a variety of habitats and like many arid-zone rodents, its distribution and abundance is known to fluctuate with environmental conditions. Following the capture of a suspected specimen of P. desertor outside the current known range of the species, we used molecular-based methods to confirm the specimen’s identification as P. desertor. This note presents a record of the species north of Dalwallinu, Western Australia, which represents a significant range extension for the species of 324 km from the nearest confirmed record.

Daily food intake of free-ranging wild rabbits in semiarid South Australia

2014 ◽  
Vol 41 (2) ◽  
pp. 141 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. D. Cooke
Keyword(s):  
Food Intake ◽  
Dry Matter ◽  
Arid Zone ◽  
Tritiated Water ◽  
Economic Losses ◽  
Published Data ◽  
Daily Food Intake ◽  
Daily Food ◽  
Food Digestibility ◽  
Free Ranging

Context Although the daily food intake of wild rabbits is broadly known, precise field estimates have not been made. Moreover, regressions based on metabolic body size and food intake of grazing herbivores in general are too imprecise to provide close predictions. Using such values could result in substantial errors when estimating grazing equivalents to sheep or cattle and resultant economic losses, or estimating the numbers of rabbits per hectare based on rates of deposition of faeces. Aim To re-analyse previously collected data on estimated food digestibility and food intake of rabbits, and provide a framework for better estimating economic and conservation losses attributable to wild rabbits. Methods Food intake of wild free-ranging rabbits was calculated from past measurements of water turnover obtained from dilution of injected tritiated water and estimates of the water content and digestibility of the food eaten. Key results During spring, male rabbits were estimated to eat 65.7 ± 12.5 g dry matter per corrected bodyweight (W–0.75) per day and lactating females ate 97.0 ± 19.4 g dry matter W–0.75 day–1. Similar results were obtained on repetition of trials at a second field site and from wild rabbits held in captivity. Conclusions The estimates of food digestibility and intake obtained, although not precise, are an improvement on theoretical expectations alone and help put previously published data in better perspective. Implications Improved estimates of food consumption provide more confidence in estimates of rabbit grazing pressure. Even moderate densities of rabbits (5 rabbits per ha) could remove about half the pasture produced in an average year in Australia’s arid-zone.

Diet of the critically endangered woylie (Bettongia penicillata ogilbyi) in south-western Australia

2017 ◽  
Vol 65 (5) ◽  
pp. 302 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kerry L. Zosky ◽  
Adrian F. Wayne ◽  
Kate A. Bryant ◽  
Michael C. Calver ◽  
Fiona R. Scarff
Keyword(s):  
Western Australia ◽  
Fungal Spore ◽  
Critically Endangered ◽  
Dietary Composition ◽  
Effective Population ◽  
Close Match ◽  
Faecal Pellets ◽  
Bettongia Penicillata ◽  
One Year ◽  
Free Ranging

To assist the management of the critically endangered woylie (Bettongia penicillata ogilbyi), a quantitative study of its diet was conducted across five of the larger subpopulations in south-western Australia. There was a close match between dietary composition established from foregut contents and faecal pellets. Woylies were predominantly mycophagous in all subpopulations, but consumed a broad diet including invertebrates, seeds and other plant material. Individuals in a high-density, fenced subpopulation ate significantly less fungi than free-ranging animals from lower-density subpopulations. Dietary composition did not vary significantly amongst subpopulations in the Upper Warren region, where a range of population densities was observed. Altogether, 79 fungal spore classes were identified, including at least 15 genera from 14 families. Sampling across one year showed that fungi made up a larger fraction of the diet in autumn or winter, and greater diversities of fungi were consumed at these times than at other times of year. This information is essential to provide valuable ecological context for effective population management of woylies, as well as identification and conservation of important habitats.

High phosphorus concentrations in seed of wheat and annual medic are related to higher rates of dry matter production of seedlings and plants

1988 ◽  
Vol 28 (6) ◽  
pp. 765 ◽  
Author(s):  
MDA Bolland ◽  
MJ Baker
Keyword(s):  
Triticum Aestivum ◽  
Field Experiment ◽  
Western Australia ◽  
Dry Matter ◽  
Field Experiments ◽  
Medicago Polymorpha ◽  
P Concentration ◽  
Pot Experiments ◽  
Matter Production ◽  
Burr Medic

Seed of 2 cultivars of wheat (Triticum aestivum) and 1 burr medic (Medicago polymorpha) with increasing phosphorus (P) concentrations (wheat 1.4-3.7 g P/kg dry matter, medic 3.3-7.9 g P/kg dry matter) were collected from field experiments with variable levels of applied superphosphate (wheat 0- 577 kg P/ha, medic 0-364 kg P/ha) in south-western Australia. These seeds were used in further experiments to examine the effect of seed P concentration on the subsequent dry matter (DM) production of seedlings and plants in 3 glasshouse pot experiments and 1 field experiment. Seed of the same size (wheat, 35 mg/seed; medic, 3.6 mg/seed) but with increasing P concentration produced substantially higher DM yields in the absence or presence of freshly applied superphosphate P up to 28-35 days after sowing in the pot experiments and 67 days after sowing in the field experiment.

The spatial and temporal distribution of koala faecal pellets

1998 ◽  
Vol 25 (6) ◽  
pp. 663 ◽  
Author(s):  
W. A. H. Ellis ◽  
B. J. Sullivan ◽  
A. T. Lisle ◽  
F. N. Carrick
Keyword(s):  
Significant Relationship ◽  
Average Length ◽  
Temporal Distribution ◽  
Faecal Pellet ◽  
Time Of Day ◽  
Spatial And Temporal Distribution ◽  
Faecal Pellets ◽  
Pellet Production ◽  
South Eastern ◽  
Free Ranging

Faecal pellets were collected under trees used by free-ranging koalas in south-western, central and south-eastern Queensland to determine the spatial and temporal distribution of pellets with respect to the activity of koalas. Deposition of faecal pellets by koalas was analysed according to the time of day at which the tree was occupied. For free-ranging koalas, 47% of daily faecal pellet output was recovered using a collection mat of 8 × 8 m placed under a day-roost tree. The best predictor of pellet production was the presence of a koala in a tree between 1800 hours and midnight. For other periods, there was no relationship between period of tree occupancy and faecal pellet recovery. There was a significant relationship between the average length of tree occupancy and the time of day that a koala entered a tree.

scholarly journals A Hotspot of Arid Zone Subterranean Biodiversity: The Robe Valley in Western Australia

Diversity ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (10) ◽  
pp. 482
Author(s):  
Huon L. Clark ◽  
Bruno A. Buzatto ◽  
Stuart A. Halse
Keyword(s):  
Western Australia ◽  
Arid Zone ◽  
Ground Level ◽  
Ore Formation ◽  
Monitoring Wells ◽  
Groundwater Aquifers ◽  
Species Lists ◽  
Below Ground ◽  
Drill Holes ◽  
Mining Exploration

Knowledge of subterranean fauna has mostly been derived from caves and streambeds, which are relatively easily accessed. In contrast, subterranean fauna inhabiting regional groundwater aquifers or the vadose zone (between surface soil layers and the watertable) is difficult to sample. Here we provide species lists for a globally significant subterranean fauna hotspot in the Robe Valley of the Pilbara region, Western Australia. This fauna was collected from up to 50 m below ground level using mining exploration drill holes and monitoring wells. Altogether, 123 subterranean species were collected over a distance of 17 km, comprising 65 troglofauna and 58 stygofauna species. Of these, 61 species were troglobionts and 48 stygobionts. The troglofauna occurs in small voids and fissures in mesas comprised mostly of an iron ore formation, while the stygofauna occurs in the alluvium of a river floodplain. The richness of the Robe Valley is not a localized aberration, but rather reflects the richness of the arid Pilbara region. While legislation in Western Australia has recognized the importance of subterranean fauna, mining is occurring in the Robe Valley hotspot with conditions of environmental approval that are designed to ensure species persistence.

scholarly journals Biological rationale of cobalt demand in single ewes’ sheep of Kalmyk breed

2019 ◽  
pp. 73-78
Author(s):  
Dmitry Borisovich Mandjiev ◽  
Djunaidi Sharamazanovich Gayirbegov ◽  
Elena Viktorovna Groza
Keyword(s):  
Dry Matter ◽  
Arid Zone ◽  
Live Weight ◽  
Cobalt Content ◽  
Fat Tail ◽  
Daily Diet ◽  
The Republic

In the arid zone of the Republic of Kalmykia, based on a detailed study of the cobalt content in organs and tissues, the degree of use of this element from diets, and taking into account endogenous losses, the norm of the need for single ewes of the meat-bearing direction of productivity in cobalt is calculated. It was established that cobalt from the diets of single ewes of the meat-bearing direction of productivity of the Kalmyk fat tail breed is assimilated by 56.14%. Given this circumstance, they should receive 0.80 mg of this element in the daily diet. Based on 1 kg of dry matter of the diet, the need for cobalt is -0.50 mg, and calculated per 1 kg of live weight, 0.01 mg.  

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document