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.

Scattered paddock trees and roadside vegetation can provide important habitat for koalas (Phascolarctos cinereus) in an agricultural landscape

2020 ◽  
Vol 42 (2) ◽  
pp. 194
Author(s):  
Benjamin J. Barth ◽  
Sean I. FitzGibbon ◽  
Amber Gillett ◽  
Robbie S. Wilson ◽  
Beth Moffitt ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Agricultural Landscape ◽  
Step Length ◽  
Rural Landscape ◽  
Critical Element ◽  
Habitat Types ◽  
Phascolarctos Cinereus ◽  
Rural Landscapes ◽  
Roadside Vegetation ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Scattered Trees

Habitat loss and fragmentation threaten the survival of koalas in Queensland. In rural landscapes, remaining koala habitat is often in the form of scattered paddock trees, patches of vegetation and roadside vegetation. The aims of this study were to (1) quantify the use of these three habitat types; (2) determine whether there is an increased use of scattered trees during the breeding season; and (3) describe the movement characteristics (daily step-length and turning angle) of koalas in different habitat types. To do this, koalas were caught and fitted with global positioning system (GPS) loggers that recorded their daily locations. We found koalas utilised all three habitat types in both breeding and non-breeding seasons, but roadside vegetation and scattered trees were utilised significantly more than expected based on their availability within the landscape. We found no significant difference in step-length or turning angles in scattered trees compared with patches of vegetation. We conclude that scattered trees are a critical element of habitat in this rural landscape. This work provides evidence that retaining or planting scattered trees within the rural landscape would likely complement or possibly enhance the conservation value of rural landscapes for koalas.

scholarly journals Determinants of bird assemblage composition in riparian vegetation on sugarcane farms in the Queensland Wet Tropics

2015 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 60 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anita F. Keir ◽  
Richard G. Pearson ◽  
Robert A. Congdon
Keyword(s):  
Riparian Vegetation ◽  
Wildlife Conservation ◽  
Agricultural Landscape ◽  
Riparian Zone ◽  
Riparian Forest ◽  
Agricultural Landscapes ◽  
Generalist Species ◽  
Assemblage Composition ◽  
Bird Assemblages ◽  
Wet Tropics

Remnant habitat patches in agricultural landscapes can contribute substantially to wildlife conservation. Understanding the main habitat variables that influence wildlife is important if these remnants are to be appropriately managed. We investigated relationships between the bird assemblages and characteristics of remnant riparian forest at 27 sites among sugarcane fields in the Queensland Wet Tropics bioregion. Sites within the remnant riparian zone had distinctly different bird assemblages from those of the forest, but provided habitat for many forest and generalist species. Width of the riparian vegetation and distance from source forest were the most important factors in explaining the bird assemblages in these remnant ribbons of vegetation. Gradual changes in assemblage composition occurred with increasing distance from source forest, with species of rainforest and dense vegetation being replaced by species of more open habitats, although increasing distance was confounded by decreasing riparian width. Species richness increased with width of the riparian zone, with high richness at the wide sites due to a mixture of open-habitat species typical of narrower sites and rainforest species typical of sites within intact forest, as a result of the greater similarity in vegetation characteristics between wide sites and the forest proper. The results demonstrate the habitat value for birds of remnant riparian vegetation in an agricultural landscape, supporting edge and open vegetation species with even narrow widths, but requiring substantial width (>90 m) to support specialists of the closed forest, the dominant original vegetation of the area.

SPATIAL AND TEMPORAL PATTERNS OF WITHIN-TREE COLONIZATION BY DENDROCTONUS FRONTALIS (COLEOPTERA: SCOLYTIDAE)

1978 ◽  
Vol 110 (11) ◽  
pp. 1213-1232 ◽  
Author(s):  
W. Scott Fargo ◽  
Robert N. Coulson ◽  
Paul E. Pulley ◽  
Don N. Pope ◽  
Claude L. Kelley
Keyword(s):  
Loblolly Pine ◽  
Nonlinear Function ◽  
Temporal Sequence ◽  
Dendroctonus Frontalis ◽  
Spatial And Temporal Patterns ◽  
Starting Values ◽  
Frequency Histogram ◽  
Modeling Process ◽  
Standing Trees ◽  
Colonization Process

AbstractWithin-tree colonization by Dendroctonus frontalis infesting loblolly pine, Pinus taeda L., was investigated. Two components of the colonization process were studied: the establishment of attacking adults (ATK) and the ensuing construction of egg galleries (GL). Data on the two variables were taken from standing trees beginning at the time of initial attack and continuing for 14 consecutive days.The spatial and temporal sequence of ATK was described for 1.5 m intervals along the infested bole for the duration of the process. A three parameter nonlinear function was used to describe the data. The pattern of attack was also described as an average process for the entire tree using the same model. A frequency histogram encompassing the range in variation for peak ATK from 134 trees was prepared to provide starting values for simulation purposes.The spatial and temporal sequence of GL construction was described using essentially the same approach as employed for ATK. The modeling process was complicated by loss or obscuring of GL from the radiograph by omission errors and foraging by Monochamus spp. and other associates. GL construction was also described as an average function for the entire tree and the rate of GL construction was defined. A frequency histogram of peak GL was prepared from data on 54 trees for use in selecting starting values for simulation purposes.Numerical relationships between ATK and GL were defined by combining the data on ATK and cumulative expected GL.

scholarly journals Woodland Rehabilitation and Biodiversity Conservation in an Agricultural Landscape in South Eastern Australia

2017 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-14 ◽  
Author(s):  
Miriam Adams-Schimminger ◽  
Graham Fifield ◽  
Bruce Doran ◽  
David Freudenberger
Keyword(s):  
Ground Water ◽  
Biodiversity Conservation ◽  
Agricultural Intensification ◽  
Agricultural Landscape ◽  
Government Funding ◽  
Wildlife Habitat ◽  
Deep Roots ◽  
Tree Hollows ◽  
Eastern Australia ◽  
Environmental Organisation

Southern Australia has a tree crisis. The iconic and ecologically essential eucalypt trees are dying out across vast swathes of farmland that were once grassy woodlands. A century of clearing and agricultural intensification, plus the failure of these trees to self-regenerate, has led to a massive loss of wildlife habitat, particularly tree hollows that only form in large and old Eucalyptus trees. Just as importantly, this decline in trees has exposed farmers to losses of agricultural productivity. There is now a lack of shelter for livestock. Rising salty ground water is degrading pastures as this ground water is no longer being controlled by the deep roots and respiration of eucalypts. We describe the research that shows how an innovative partnership between farmers, a non-government environmental organisation, and government funding is rehabilitating entire fields to a productive and wildlife-rich woodland full of thriving eucalypts.

scholarly journals Myxomatosis on the Western Plains of Victoria

1977 ◽  
Vol 79 (2) ◽  
pp. 209-217 ◽  
Author(s):  
F. G. Tighe ◽  
J. W. Edmonds ◽  
I. F. Nolan ◽  
Rosamond C. H. Shepherd ◽  
A. Gocs
Keyword(s):  
Myxoma Virus ◽  
Eastern Australia ◽  
Selection For

SUMMARYMyxomatosis on the Western Plains is an enzootic disease in contrast with the epizootic pattern which is general in eastern Australia. The most unusual aspects are the presence of significant numbers of diseased rabbits throughout the winter and the continuously low percentage of rabbits with antibodies to myxoma virus.Climatic and topographic conditions are unsuited to the production of the high densities of mosquitoes necessary for widespread epizootics. Under these conditions the effects of less efficient methods of myxomatosis transmission are apparent. The unusual epidemiology of myxomatosis has resulted in selection for virulence of the virus similar to that which has occurred under summer epizootic conditions. All field strains are now in the mid range of virulence.

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.

Communal Nesting in the Digger Wasp Cerceris australis (Hymenoptera : Sphecidae)

1982 ◽  
Vol 30 (4) ◽  
pp. 557 ◽  
Author(s):  
HE Evans ◽  
AW Hook
Keyword(s):  
Body Size ◽  
Ovarian Development ◽  
Egg Laying ◽  
Nest Construction ◽  
Digger Wasp ◽  
Short Period ◽  
Eastern Australia ◽  
A Cell ◽  
Selection For ◽  
Successive Generations

Study of 39 nests of Cerceris australis at nine localities in eastern Australia has demonstrated that most nests are occupied by two or three successive generations of wasps and may ultimately contain well over 100 cells. Nests are dug deep in the soil and are provisioned with scarab beetles, which are allowed to accumulate in the burrow before from two to six are placed in a cell. Nests are usually occupied by several females, some of which are provisioners, bringing in beetles day after day and each time leaving the nest usually after only a few seconds, and others are non-provisioners, leaving the nest for a short period once a day and returning without prey. During the day, nest entrances are occupied by females (believed to be usually non-provisioners) stationed facing out; they are effective in deterring the entry of ants and mutillids. The factors that determine what role a female will play remain obscure. Both provisioners and non-provisioners show progressive mandibular wear as well as essentially similar ovarian development; there are no consistent differences in body size between members of the two groups. In any one nest, considerable variation in the appearance of the ovaries is apparent, and oosorption appears to be common. More than one female often appears to be in egg-laying condition, and the fact that cooperating provisioners bring in enough beetles each day to provision several cells suggests that more than one female lays an egg each day. However, the presence of oocytes in various stages of resorption suggests that in some individuals oviposition is suppressed. No correlation was found between extent of oosorption and the provisioner-nonprovisioner dichotomy. The necessity to guard these large, multicellular nests from parasitoids and predators has evidently brought about selection for the development of a caste of guards which, however, continue to play a role in nest construction and presumably in laying eggs on beetles provided by other females.

The occurrence of the yellow-footed antechinus Antechinus flavipes in remnant linear habitats in north-eastern Victoria.

2003 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
pp. 97 ◽  
Author(s):  
der Ree R van
Keyword(s):  
Agricultural Landscape ◽  
South Australia ◽  
Southeastern Australia ◽  
Linear Habitats ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Eastern Australia ◽  
Temperate Woodlands ◽  
North Eastern ◽  
Antechinus Stuartii ◽  
Antechinus Agilis

THE yellow-footed Antechinus Antechinus flavipes is distributed from South Australia, through central Victoria, New South Wales and into Queensland as well as in south-western Australia (Van Dyck 1998). In south-eastern Australia, the conservation of A. flavipes is not assured because its range largely corresponds with the temperate woodlands that have undergone extensive clearing and degradation (Menkhorst 1995). Despite this, no studies on the effects of the loss and fragmentation of habitat on A. flavipes have been published in the scientific literature. In contrast, numerous ecological studies that investigate the consequences of anthropogenic disturbance have been undertaken on its congeners, the brown antechinus Antechinus stuartii and agile antechinus Antechinus agilis (e.g., Bennett 1987; Downes et al. 1997; Knight and Fox 2000). These studies indicate that the abundance of these species may be influenced by patch size (Bennett 1987; Dunstan and Fox 1996), distance to large forest blocks (Downes et al. 1997), habitat structure (Knight and Fox 2000) and degree of tolerance to modified habitats that surround the patch (Knight and Fox 2000). Can the response of A. stuartii and A. agilis be used to predict how the loss, fragmentation and degradation of habitat may affect A. flavipes? In this note, I provide preliminary information about a population of A. flavipes occupying linear fragments of woodland in an agricultural landscape in southeastern Australia.

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