Journal article
Foraging activity by the southern brown bandicoot (Isoodon obesulus) as a mechanism for soil turnover
Australian Journal of Zoology, Vol.60(6), pp.419-423
2012
Abstract
Mammals that forage for food by biopedturbation can alter the biotic and abiotic characteristics of their habitat, influencing ecosystem structure and function. Bandicoots, bilbies, bettongs and potoroos are the primary digging marsupials in Australia, although most of these species have declined throughout their range. This study used a snapshot approach to estimate the soil turnover capacity of the southern brown bandicoot (Isoodon obesulus, Shaw 1797), a persisting digging Australian marsupial, at Yalgorup National Park, Western Australia. The number of southern brown bandicoots was estimated using mark-recapture techniques. To provide an index of digging activity per animal, we quantified the number of new foraging pits and bandicoot nose pokes across 18 plots within the same area. The amount of soil displaced and physical structure of foraging pits were examined from moulds of 47 fresh foraging pits. We estimated that an individual southern brown bandicoot could create ∼45 foraging pits per day, displacing ∼10.74kg of soil, which extrapolates to ∼3.9 tonnes of soil each year. The digging activities of the southern brown bandicoots are likely to be a critical component of soil ecosystem processes
Details
- Title
- Foraging activity by the southern brown bandicoot (Isoodon obesulus) as a mechanism for soil turnover
- Authors/Creators
- L.E. Valentine (Author/Creator) - The University of Western AustraliaH. Anderson (Author/Creator) - The University of Western AustraliaG.E.St.J. Hardy (Author/Creator) - The University of Western AustraliaP.A. Fleming (Author/Creator) - The University of Western Australia
- Publication Details
- Australian Journal of Zoology, Vol.60(6), pp.419-423
- Publisher
- CSIRO Publishing
- Identifiers
- 991005544584007891
- Copyright
- © 2012 CSIRO
- Murdoch Affiliation
- Centre of Excellence for Climate Change and Forest and Woodland Health; School of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences
- Language
- English
- Resource Type
- Journal article
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- 3 Agriculture, Environment & Ecology
- 3.40 Forestry
- 3.40.838 Rangeland Dynamics
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