The Distribution of small mammal species in relation to heath vegetation near Cape Otway, Victoria

1991 ◽  
Vol 18 (5) ◽  
pp. 605 ◽  
Author(s):  
D Moro
Keyword(s):  
Small Mammals ◽  
Ground Cover ◽  
Distribution Patterns ◽  
Structural Description ◽  
Mammal Species ◽  
Vegetation Diversity ◽  
Open Forest ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Antechinus Stuartii ◽  
Heath Community

A trapping study of small mammals within heath communities near Cape Otway was conducted during April-August 1989. The purpose was to describe the distribution patterns of several small mammals in relation to a floristic and structural description of the vegetation. Two species of rodent (Rattus lutreolus, R. fuscipes), two species of dasyurid (Antechinus stuartii, A. minimus) and one species of bandicoot (Isoodon obesulus) were trapped frequently enough for statistical analysis. A. stuartii was trapped significantly more often in the Heathy Open-forest than in the Closed Heath community, in contrast to A. minimus and R. lutreolus, which were captured significantly more often in Closed Heath. There was no significant difference in the distributions of R. fuscipes and I. obesulus between communities. Within the Closed Heath community only R. fuscipes displayed significant distribution patterns between sub-communities. In the Heathy Open-forest the distribution of captures among sub-communities varied significantly for both species of Antechinus and for R. lutreolus. Floristic and structural cues, as well as ground cover, were associated with the spatial distribution of dasyurid and rodent species. Bandicoot dispersion was associated only with vertical vegetation diversity. The importance of interspecific avoidance in contributing to the observed distribution patterns of both dasyurid and rat species cannot be dismissed.

Habitat Relationships of Small Mammals at Port Campbell National Park, Victoria.

1998 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 89
Author(s):  
K.L. Twyford
Keyword(s):  
Small Mammals ◽  
National Park ◽  
Ground Cover ◽  
Forest Community ◽  
Mammal Species ◽  
Species List ◽  
Successional Stage ◽  
Vegetation Communities ◽  
Open Forest ◽  
Rattus Fuscipes

Habitat relationships of six species of small mammals was investigated in eight vegetation communities at Port Campbell National Park, Victoria. The dispersion of 317 trap captures over 10 months was used to assess the relationships of small mammals with different vegetation communities. Rattus fuscipes showed a strong affinity for dense, structurally complex vegetation, particularly a disused softwood plantation and to a lesser extent a closed-heath/low open-forest community. Captures of Rattus lutreolus were most frequent in the wetter communities which provided adequate cover, particularly the swamp community. A possible relationship between captures of this species and the abundance of sedge food resources is suggested. Antechinus swainsonii was captured in greatest numbers in tussock-grassland/low open-shrubland where dense ground cover was present. However, areas with dense mid-storey cover which were considered to be favourable habitat supported few individuals. Sminthopsis leucopus, although captured at low rates in only two communities, favoured more open vegetation than both A. swainsonii and A. minimus. The later species was captured rarely, but exclusively in open-heath, although more favourable habitat appeared to be present elsewhere in the Park. The low abundance of Mus musculus was attributed to a lack of habitat available at an early successional stage. A mammal species list for the Park of 15 species has been compiled based on trapping, incidental observations and indirect traces. Key areas for conservation of small mammals within the Park are identified.

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 mycophagy in hemiboreal forest communities of Lithuania

2011 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 446-456 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marija Kataržytė ◽  
Ernestas Kutorga
Keyword(s):  
Small Mammals ◽  
Small Mammal ◽  
Fungal Spores ◽  
Seasonal Effects ◽  
Deciduous Tree ◽  
Myodes Glareolus ◽  
Mammal Species ◽  
Hypogeous Fungi ◽  
Fecal Samples ◽  
Significant Difference

AbstractThe diets of small mammals in different hemiboreal spruce-dominated, oak-dominated and mixed forests in western part of Lithuania were studied by examination of fungal spores in fresh fecal pellets of caught animals. In the diets of mice (Apodemus spp.), bank voles (Myodes glareolus), and common and pygmy shrews (Sorex araneus and S. minutus), 22 different fungal taxa were identified, 15 of which were hypogeous fungi. The sporocarp abundance and the spores in fecal samples of Elaphomyces fungi prevailed in study area during this investigation. Although most of the captured individuals consumed fungi, the consumption varied among small mammal species. The data show that the fungi were more frequent and taxonomically diverse in Myodes glareolus than in Apodemus spp. diets. The study provided evidence that the fungal component in the diets of insectivorous Sorex species is more diverse than previously known. The availability of sporocarps and the fungal component in the diets of small mammals showed seasonal effects. Annual hypogeous and epigeous sporocarp abundances did not vary significantly across forest types. The significant difference in mycophagy was observed across all forest cover types, with the greatest fungal diversity in fecal samples collected in mixed coniferous-deciduous tree stands.

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.

An attempt to determine the size of the Common Barn-owl’s (Tyto alba) hunting area based on its prey composition

2021 ◽  
pp. 175815592110660
Author(s):  
Jenő J Purger ◽  
Dávid Szép
Keyword(s):  
Functional Groups ◽  
Small Mammals ◽  
Small Mammal ◽  
Barn Owl ◽  
Tyto Alba ◽  
Mammal Species ◽  
Open Forest ◽  
Prey Composition ◽  
Small Mammal Species ◽  
Owl Pellets

The relative abundance of small mammal species detected from Common Barn-owl pellets reflects the landscape structure and habitat pattern of the owl’s hunting area, but it is also affected by the size of the collected pellet sample and the size of the supposed hunting area. The questions arise: how many pellets should be collected and analyzed as well as how large hunting area should be taken into consideration in order to reach the best correspondence between the owl’s prey composition and the distribution of habitats preferred by small mammals preyed in supposed hunting areas? For this study, we collected 1045 Common Barn-owl pellets in a village in southern Hungary. All detected small mammal species were classified into functional groups (guilds) preferring urban, open, forest and wetland habitats. The proportion of functional groups was compared to the proportion of these habitats around the pellet collection site within circles of one, two, and three km radius. Saturation curves showed that at least 300 pellets or ca. 600 mammalian remains are required for the detection of the 19 small mammal species. The share of small mammals detected in the prey and their functional groups according to their habitat preference showed an increasing consistency with the distribution of real habitats in the potential hunting area of a radius of 3 km around the owl’s breeding or resting place.

The life of a Hepatozoon (Sporozoa: Adeleidea) of varanid Lizards in Australia.

1962 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 35 ◽  
Author(s):  
MJ Mackerras
Keyword(s):  
Small Mammals ◽  
Sugar Cane ◽  
Rain Forest ◽  
Large Carnivores ◽  
Forest Species ◽  
Mammal Species ◽  
Open Forest ◽  
Set Up ◽  
Species Being ◽  
Diurnal Species

Innisfail, a small coastal town in north Queensland, lies on the plain between the Atherton Plateau and the coastal hills, an area once covered with tropical rain-forest, but now extensively cleared for the growing of sugar cane. As part of an investigation of leptospirosis, small mammals have been collected, and mark-recapture experiments set up in areas sampling vegetation of different kinds. The species found comprised two monotremes, ten marsupials, nine bats (which were not collected intensively), nine rodents, and three other mammals. Some difficulty was experienced in distinguishing the local rodents, and a key to the species is given. This fauna could be divided into three elements: a rain-forest fauna of 14 species (excluding bats), a sugar-cane fauna of ten species, and a house fauna of four species. The sugar-cane fauna is shown to be derived, not from the rain-forest species, but from part of the fauna of the open forest which covers the hinterland, all the species being also recorded from New Guinea. The rain-forest fauna agrees with the list of species recorded from this part of Australia. A comparison is made with Malayan rain-forest, which is richer in mammal species. The niches corresponding to those of the nocturnal Malayan mammals seem well filled, but there is a deficiency of mammals corresponding to the diurnal species, such as monkeys, squirrels, and cattle, and also to the large carnivores.

scholarly journals Assessing the potential impacts of non-native small mammals in the South African pet trade

NeoBiota ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 60 ◽  
pp. 1-18 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ndivhuwo Shivambu ◽  
Tinyiko C. Shivambu ◽  
Colleen T. Downs
Keyword(s):  
South African ◽  
Small Mammals ◽  
Sciurus Carolinensis ◽  
The South ◽  
Mammal Species ◽  
Pet Trade ◽  
Assessment Protocol ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Socio Economic Impact ◽  
Negative Impacts

The pet trade is one of the most important pathways by which small mammals are introduced to non-native areas. To prevent the introduction and invasion of non-native pets, an impact assessment protocol is useful in understanding which pets might have potential negative impacts should they escape or be released from captivity. In this study, we used the Generic Impact Scoring System (GISS) to assess the potential effects associated with 24 non-native small mammal species sold in the South African pet trade. European rabbits Oryctolagus cuniculus, house mice Mus musculus, Norwegian rats Rattus norvegicus and eastern grey squirrels Sciurus carolinensis had the highest potential impacts for both socio-economic and environmental categories. We found no statistically significant difference between the overall environmental and socio-economic impact scores. Impacts on agricultural and animal production (livestock) were the main mechanisms in the socio-economic category, while the impacts on animals (predation), competition and hybridisation prevailed for environmental impacts. The non-native mammal pet species with high impacts should be strictly regulated to prevent the potential impacts and establishment of feral populations in South Africa.

scholarly journals Habitat Parameters and Small Mammal Associations of the Gaspe Shrew, Sorex gaspensis, in the Eastern Gaspé Peninsula, Québec

2008 ◽  
Vol 122 (2) ◽  
pp. 118 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christian Fortin ◽  
Denis Comeau
Keyword(s):  
Small Mammals ◽  
Small Mammal ◽  
Habitat Preferences ◽  
Ground Cover ◽  
Mammal Species ◽  
Running Water ◽  
Rocky Habitats ◽  
Gaspe Peninsula ◽  
Gaspé Peninsula ◽  
Habitat Parameters

The Gaspé Shrew (Sorex gaspensis) is one of the rarest of Canadian small mammals. Consequently, little is known about its habitat preferences. This paper documents habitat parameters and small mammal species associated with the capture of nine specimens in the Gaspé Peninsula, Québec. Small mammals were collected using both pitfall traps and Victor snap traps at 22 sites during August and September 2005. A total of 571 small mammals representing 12 species was captured during 5637 trap nights. S. gaspensis specimens were trapped at sites located on hilly, rocky habitats. Microhabitat was cool and moist in all cases. Slope was always over 15 degrees and altitude ranged from 29 to 240 meters. Estimated percent of moss ground cover exceeded 50% in seven of the nine capture sites. Six S. gaspensis were trapped near running water while the others were captured far from streams. Overall, ten species of small mammals were captured in the same sites of S. gaspensis. Smoky Shrew (Sorex fumeus) was by far the most strongly associated species.

The Ecology of Pseudomys novaehollandiae (Waterhouse, 1843)

1991 ◽  
Vol 18 (2) ◽  
pp. 233 ◽  
Author(s):  
BA Wilson
Keyword(s):  
Population Ecology ◽  
Vegetation Cover ◽  
Habitat Preferences ◽  
Floristic Diversity ◽  
Mammal Species ◽  
Patchy Distribution ◽  
Small Areas ◽  
Open Forest ◽  
Antechinus Stuartii ◽  
Small Mammal Species

The distribution, habitat preferences and population ecology of Pseudomys novaehollandiae in the Eastern Otways, Victoria, were studied from 1985 to 1989. The species has a patchy distribution and was captured at only four sites in heathy woodland-open forest. The population density of the species was low (0-3.1 ha-1) and the breeding season was from spring to summer. The vegetation on two trapping grids was classified into five floristic groups. Four small mammal species (Rattus lutreolus, Antechinus stuartii, Mus musculus and P. novaehollandiae) exhibited preferences for different floristic groups. There was evidence that P. novaehollandiae interacted, or competed, with M. musculus in one floristic group. Pseudomys novaehollandiae preferred two floristic groups which had high floristic diversity. Within these groups the species was associated with low dense vegetation cover. The decline of populations of P. novaehollandiae in this study is likely to be related to post-fire successional changes in the vegetation: either to loss of plant species diversity, or to loss of particular species or to low vegetation cover. Strategic burning of small areas within the preferred floristic vegetation is recommended to maintain a mosaic of suitable successional ages for the conservation of this endangered species.

Gradient analysis of the distribution of mammals in Stage III of Kakadu National Park, with a review of the distribution patterns of mammals across north-western Australia

1992 ◽  
Vol 19 (3) ◽  
pp. 233 ◽  
Author(s):  
JCZ Woinarski ◽  
RW Braithwaite ◽  
KA Menkhorst ◽  
S Griffin ◽  
r Fishe ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Western Australia ◽  
National Park ◽  
Distribution Patterns ◽  
Stage Iii ◽  
Mammal Species ◽  
Rainfall Gradient ◽  
Mammal Fauna ◽  
Open Forest ◽  
Mammal Diversity ◽  
North Western

A total of 56 native mammal species (about one quarter of the species of land mammals known from Australia) was recorded from the Stage III area of Kakadu National Park, Northern Territory. A single environmental gradient (of substrate and disturbance) described well the distributions of species other than bats from this area. For most species, there was little shift in gradient position between three trapping periods (spaced over three years). The mammal fauna comprised a rocky upland assemblage, a lowland monsoon rainforest-swamp assemblage, and an open forest-woodland assemblage. Mammal diversity and abundance was greatest in the rocky uplands. The distribution of most bat species was not clearly associated with this gradient. The Stage III mammal fauna is compared with that described from elsewhere in north-western Australia. Across this region, the fauna shows little variation with longitude, but undergoes substantial latitudinal change in conjunction with a steep rainfall gradient. The habitat reSationships of the Stage III mammal fauna are broadly repeated across north-western Australia. The fauna of sandstone ranges is attenuated with decreasing size and increasing isolation of these ranges. The mammal fauna of monsoon rainforests is depauperate, reflecting the small size and patchiness of this habitat. The mammal fauna of open forest/woodland is characterised by extensive distributions of its constituent species and a relative lack of arboreal folivores and small macropods.

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