In its diet, S. murina is similar to other small dasyurids that have been studied, being qualitatively opportunistic in that it feeds on a wide range of the arthropod prey available to it. Quantitatively, however, S, murina ingests significantly more Scarabaeidae, Blattodea, Coleoptera, Lepidoptera and larvae, and fewer Formicidae, Orthoptera and Isopoda than are available in pitfall traps during spring-summer, and so cannot be considered opportunistic in this sense. In autumn-winter it also takes significantly more Araneida and fewer Diptera, while Lepidoptera, Orthoptera and larvae are consumed only in the proportions in which they occur. A. stuartii consumes significantly more Coleoptera, Araneida and larvae than expected during the spring-summer season. In autumn-winter, it consumes significantly more Blattodea, Orthoptera and Arthropoda as well, but significantly fewer Formicidae and Diptera. Quantitatively, the two species differ significantly in the distribution of prey items for the spring-summer diet, and also differ in the individual diet categories of Scarabaeidae and larva during winter and for Arthropoda as well, in the total diet. The diet overlap is high (0.94) and there are significant rank correlation coefficients for diet categories, indicating no difference in the order of prey items in a qualitative sense. When the diets are analysed on the basis of habitat-season groups for each 'species' (including pitfall traps), neither habitat nor season is significant, but some of the samples are quite small. The 'species' effect is significant but largely reflects a difference between the diet items available (in pitfall traps) and those actually eaten by these two dasyurids. S. murina utilizes a wider range of prey than A. stuurtii and has a greater niche breadth; however, neither species could be called a diet specialist except in the broad sense ofinsectivores. Diet does not seem to be a significant component of the strong, microhabitat-based, ecological separation of these species.

The well-deflned ant succession following disturbance of coastal heathlartd in eastern Australia includes community replacement triggered by one dominant species o/Iridomyrmex {species C) being replaced by another (species A). This paper investigates the consequences of experimentally reducing the abundance of species A by injecting petrol into the nest entrances of colonies. The response of species C was monitored at 2 and 10 months after removal and shows highly significant increases in the number of pitfall traps occupied and the area of territory maintained by this species.It is confirmed that interspecific competition plays an important role in maintaining the observed mosaic pattern of ant distribution and is also important in ant succession. The mechanism of competition is interference or, more exactly, territorial competition. The species appear to actively defend territorial space by patrolling territory boundaries that are breached when the defenders are eliminated.

The members of the African mole-rat family Bathyergidae are widely distributed across sub-Saharan Africa. Despite their well-studied biology and reproductive physiology, the current knowledge of their ectoparasite fauna is limited and ambiguous due to recent revisions of the bathyergid taxonomy. The common mole-rat (Cryptomys hottentotus hottentotus) is 1 of the most widely distributed species of these subterranean rodents. Ectoparasites were collected from 268 common mole-rats at 2 localities (Western and Northern Cape provinces) in South Africa over the course of 18 mo with the aim to document species richness, prevalence, and abundance of these ectoparasites. The aggregation of parasite species, sex bias within a species, and seasonal variation in ectoparasite burdens were investigated. A total of 4,830 individual parasites from 4 mite species (Androlaelaps scapularis, Androlaelaps capensis, Radfordia ensifera, and 1 undetermined chigger [family Trombiculidae]), 1 flea species (Cryptopsylla ingrami), and 1 louse species (Eulinognathus hilli) were collected. With the exception of R. ensifera and the chigger, all of these ectoparasites appear to be host specific either for the host species or the Bathyergidae. Aggregation indices indicated that with the exception of E. hilli, the distribution of all parasite species was highly aggregated among hosts and sex biased. Seasonal variation in prevalence, abundance, and species richness was apparent, with greater burdens in the rainy winter season. This is likely related to seasonal variation in abiotic factors but may also be affected by the timing of host reproduction and dispersal behavior.