Diet of mala (Lagorchestes hirsutus) at Uluru–Kata Tjuta National Park and comparison with that of historic free-ranging mala in the Tanami Desert: implications for management and future reintroductions

Lack of information regarding the ecology of threatened species may compromise conservation efforts. Mala, a small macropod that historically inhabited a vast area of arid Australia, became extinct in the wild in 1991. Although dietary studies were completed before their disappearance from the Tanami Desert, no such work was conducted in the southern Northern Territory before mala became extinct in this part of its former range. The reintroduction of mala to Uluru–Kata Tjuta National Park provided an opportunity for dietary analysis of faecal pellets. Results show that mala foraged a wide variety of plant species, although grasses and supplementary food comprised the bulk of the diet. Neither the average percentage of Poaceae, Triodia in particular, nor supplementary food found in pellet samples was correlated with rainfall. Niche breadth analysis showed a narrow dietary range for both the Tanami and Uluru studies. Mala at both locations selected similar types of plants, plant parts, and several of the same species. Results suggest that food species Aristida holathera and Eragrostis eriopoda should be monitored to assist in determining the carrying capacity of the Uluru enclosure. A botanically diverse reintroduction site supporting Eragrostis, Aristida and Triodia appears to be most suitable for mala.

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The diet of the musky rat-kangaroo, Hypsiprymnodon moschatus, a rainforest specialist

Wildlife Research ◽

10.1071/wr00052 ◽

2002 ◽

Vol 29 (2) ◽

pp. 209 ◽

Cited By ~ 16

Author(s):

A. J. Dennis

Keyword(s):

Forest Floor ◽

National Park ◽

Seasonal Patterns ◽

Fruiting Bodies ◽

Faecal Pellets ◽

Fibre Diet ◽

In The Wild ◽

Line Tracking ◽

Dietary Components ◽

Primitive Member

Musky rat-kangaroos inhabit tropical rain forest and are Australia's smallest and most primitive member of the Macropodoidea. Their ecology and behaviour has remained unknown in the wild until this study, and is expected to be representative of an early unspecialised macropodoid lifestyle. I examined the diet of musky rat-kangaroos using a range of methods including microscopic examination of faecal pellets, direct observation, spool-and-line tracking and examinion of teeth marks left in fruit on the forest floor. Musky rat-kangaroos are frugivores and consumed the fruits of 40 species of plant on a 9-ha rainforest site in Wooroonooran National Park, Queensland. They ate primarily the flesh of fruits, but 11% of seeds from approximately half the species of fruit consumed were also eaten. While musky rat-kangaroos ate fruit from all size classes, they preferred large, fleshy drupes and seeds with a moderate to soft seed coat but without latex present. Invertebrates and the epigeal fruiting bodies of some agaric fungi were the other significant dietary components and these showed seasonal patterns of significance in the diet and differential use by adults and subadults. Musky rat-kangaroos eat the lowest-fibre diet of all animals in the superfamily Macropodoidea and their size and digestive tract reflect this unspecialised, and probably ancestral, diet.

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Comparative dietary analysis of the black-flanked rock-wallaby (Petrogale lateralis lateralis), the euro (Macropus robustus erubescens) and the feral goat (Capra hircus) from Cape Range National Park, Western Australia

Australian Mammalogy ◽

10.1071/am17059 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 41 (2) ◽

pp. 220

Author(s):

Sonja Creese ◽

Stephen J. J. F. Davies ◽

Barbara J. Bowen

Keyword(s):

Western Australia ◽

National Park ◽

Capra Hircus ◽

Dietary Analysis ◽

Faecal Pellets ◽

Introduced Herbivores ◽

Disjunct Populations ◽

Microhistological Analysis ◽

Feral Goat ◽

Competition For Resources

The black-flanked rock-wallaby (Petrogale lateralis lateralis) is a threatened species, once widespread throughout Western Australia but now restricted to disjunct populations including those of Cape Range National Park. It is a herbivore with a foraging range restricted to rocky outcrops and, as such, may be impacted by competition for resources from other native or introduced herbivores. This study compared the diet of the black-flanked rock-wallaby with those of co-occurring species, the euro (Macropus robustus erubescens) and the feral goat (Capra hircus), from two gorges at Cape Range National Park, to determine whether there is overlap in dietary niches. Diet composition was determined using microhistological analysis of faecal pellets in comparison with reference plant material. The black-flanked rock-wallaby diet consisted predominately of browse/forbs with some variation across seasons (63% in summer months; 74% in winter months); this overlapped significantly with the diet of goats (Schoener Index: 0.79–0.88), but not euros (SI: 0.41–0.57), whose diet consisted predominantly of grasses (72–78%). There was, however, a significant overlap in the consumption of plants with stellate hairs for all three herbivores (SI: 0.89–0.98). Dietary overlap between rock-wallabies and goats may indicate a mechanism for competition, supporting continuing measures for reduction of goat numbers in Cape Range National Park.

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THE ESSENTIAL CONTRIBUTION OF CAPTIVE SUMATRAN ELEPHANT IN ELEPHANT TRAINING CENTER, WAY KAMBAS NATIONAL PARK FOR WILDLIFE GENETICS CONSERVATION

BIOVALENTIA Biological Research Journal ◽

10.24233/biov.6.1.2020.173 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 6 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Elly Lestari Rustiati ◽

Priyambodo Priyambodo ◽

Yanti Yulianti ◽

Eko Agus Srihanto ◽

Dian Neli Pratiwi ◽

...

Keyword(s):

National Park ◽

In Situ Conservation ◽

Training Center ◽

Conservation Effort ◽

In The Wild ◽

Wildlife Genetics ◽

Way Kambas National Park ◽

Human Conflict ◽

Essential Contribution

Way Kambas National Park (WKNP) is home of five protected big mammals including sumatran elephants. It shares its border with 22 of 37 villages surrounding the national park. Understanding their existence in the wild is a priority, and wildlife genetics is a crucially needed. Besides poaching and habitat fragmentation, wildlife-human conflict is one big issue. Elephant Training Center (ETC) in WKNP is built for semi in-situ conservation effort on captive sumatran elephants that mainly have conflict histories with local people. Participative observation and bio-molecular analysis were conducted to learn the importance of captive Sumatran elephant for conservation effort. Through captive sumatran elephants, database and applicable methods are expected to be developed supporting the conservation of their population in the wild. Participative observation and molecular identification was carried on captive sumatran elephants in ETC, WKNP under multiple year Terapan grant of Ministry of Research and Technology Higher Education, Indonesia. Gene sequence and cytological analyses showed that the captive sumatran elephants are closely related and tend to be domesticated. Translocation among ETC to avoid inbreeding, and maintaining the captive sumatran elephant as natural as possible are highly recommended. Developing genetic database can be a reference for both captive and wild sumatran elephants.

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Correlations between Social Context and Fecal Glucocorticoid Metabolite Concentrations in Free-ranging Female Gray-cheeked Mangabeys (Lophocebus albigena) in Kibale National Park, Uganda

Folia Biologica ◽

10.3409/fb61_3-4.239 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 61 (3) ◽

pp. 239-246 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Małgorzata E. Arlet ◽

Freerk Molleman ◽

Lynne A. Isbell ◽

Rebecca L. Chancellor ◽

James R. Carey ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Social Context ◽

National Park ◽

Kibale National Park ◽

Lophocebus Albigena ◽

Metabolite Concentrations ◽

Free Ranging ◽

Fecal Glucocorticoid

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Bridled Quail-dove Geotrygon mystacea population assessment after hurricanes Irma and Maria, St. Eustatius, Caribbean Netherlands

Bird Conservation International ◽

10.1017/s0959270920000647 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 1-12

Author(s):

FRANK F. RIVERA-MILÁN ◽

HANNAH MADDEN ◽

KEVIN VERDEL

Keyword(s):

National Park ◽

Food Limitation ◽

Distance Sampling ◽

Population Status ◽

Management Actions ◽

Abundance Estimates ◽

Detection Mode ◽

Limited Food ◽

Seed Eating ◽

Free Ranging

Summary Structural vegetation damage and food limitation are important effects of major hurricanes, particularly for fruit/seed-eating, forest-dependent Caribbean birds with restricted distributions and small populations, such as the Bridled Quail-dove Geotrygon mystacea. Motivated by the lack of abundance estimates, corrected for detection probability, we conducted distance-sampling surveys inside and outside the Quill National Park each May in 2016-2019. Detection mode was the most important covariate, with others receiving no support from the data. Detectability of available single individuals and clusters of individuals within 60 m of transect centrelines averaged 0.957 ± 0.114 standard error for audio detections, 0.434 ± 0.052 for visual detections, and 0.693 ± 0.064 for detection modes combined. Availability averaged 0.475 ± 0.138 and the product of detectability and availability averaged 0.329 ± 0.098. Density averaged 1.459 ± 0.277 individuals ha-1 and population size averaged 642 ± 122 individuals in 440 ha. Density did not differ along and away from forest trails, but was higher inside than outside the park and at elevations within 201-400 m than 100-200 m and 401-600 m. Density declined by 76% after hurricanes Irma and Maria in 2017. We suggest that major hurricanes together with free-ranging livestock overgrazing degraded foraging habitats, limited food supply, and caused a population bottleneck. Our methodology can be implemented across the distribution range to assess population status and trends and evaluate the result of management actions at key conservation sites. Bridled Quail-dove populations probably were declining on most islands before the 2017 hurricanes and population status warrants revision.

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Ovarian cycle activity varies with respect to age and social status in free-ranging elephants in Addo Elephant National Park, South Africa

Conservation Physiology ◽

10.1093/conphys/cot025 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 1 (1) ◽

pp. cot025-cot025 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

E. W. Freeman ◽

J. M. Meyer ◽

S. B. Putman ◽

B. A. Schulte ◽

J. L. Brown

Keyword(s):

South Africa ◽

Social Status ◽

National Park ◽

Ovarian Cycle ◽

Free Ranging

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Relationship between biomass of forage used and masses of faecal pellets of wild animals in meadows of the Dinder National Park

African Journal of Ecology ◽

10.1111/j.1365-2028.1987.tb01112.x ◽

1987 ◽

Vol 25 (4) ◽

pp. 217-223 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

I. M. HASHIM

Keyword(s):

National Park ◽

Wild Animals ◽

Faecal Pellets

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Predicting the Distribution of Sunda Pangolin (Manis javanica Desmarest, 1822) in Way Canguk Research Station, Bukit Barisan Selatan National Park, Lampung

Journal of Tropical Biodiversity and Biotechnology ◽

10.22146/jtbb.58612 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 6 (1) ◽

pp. 58612

Author(s):

Silvi Dwi Anasari ◽

Wulan Pusparini ◽

Noviar Andayani

Keyword(s):

National Parks ◽

National Park ◽

Natural Habitat ◽

Area Under The Curve ◽

Canopy Cover ◽

Research Station ◽

Environment Variables ◽

Presence Data ◽

Manis Javanica ◽

In The Wild

The distribution of a species can help guide the protection activities in their natural habitat. Conversely, the lack of information on this distribution makes the protection strategy of this species difficult. The research was conducted in Way Canguk Research Station, Bukit Barisan Selatan National Park from January until March 2018. The purposes of this research were to create a distribution prediction map of Sunda pangolin (Manis javanica) and estimating the environment variables that most influenced the probability of the distribution. Fourteen points of camera trap coordinates were used for presence data with nine types of environment variables such as elevation, slope, understorey, canopy cover, distance from roads, distance from rivers, distance from villages, food source, and distance from the threat. The result of maxent showed an Area Under the Curve (AUC) value of 0.909 categorized as very good. The highest probability of Sunda pangolin distributions was in the Pemerihan Resort and Way Haru Resort area, while the dominant environmental variables included the distance from the village, the canopy cover, and the distance from threat with the value 47.7; 25.85; and 15.8%, respectively. Prediction maps and environment variables can help to identify the population of Sunda pangolin in the wild and can provide input for the national parks to prioritize protection areas for Sunda pangolin from the increased poaching.

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The spatial and temporal distribution of koala faecal pellets

Wildlife Research ◽

10.1071/wr97028 ◽

1998 ◽

Vol 25 (6) ◽

pp. 663 ◽

Cited By ~ 15

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.

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