Distribution and habitat of the desert mouse (Pseudomys desertor) in Queensland

Kutt, Alex S.; Thurgate, Nikki; Hannah, David

doi:10.1071/wr02005

Cited by 13 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 28 publications

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“…Of the other mammal species recorded in the study region, there are a suite of species (all Pseudomys spp., Leggadina forresti, Sminthopsis crassicaudata, S. macroura, S. murina ) that are considered to be stable in population status in northern Australia, and within a correspondingly lower selectivity range. A number of these are known to exhibit a degree of disturbance tolerance, are rapid breeders if conditions are suitable, and relatively common in their current distribution (Dickman et al ., ; Kutt, Thurgate & Hannah, ; Price et al ., ). However, these species are also reported to be vulnerable to poor grazing and fire management (Kutt & Woinarski, ; Legge et al ., ), have been reported in the diets of feral cats in other regions (Paltridge, ), and are more abundant where predators are absent (Moseby, Hill & Read, ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Feral cat (Felis catus) prey size and selectivity in north‐eastern Australia: implications for mammal conservation

Kutt

2012

Journal of Zoology

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The domestic cat Felis catus is distributed worldwide and has had a long historical relationship with humans. In some regions, such as Australia, it has become feral and a significant predator of native wildlife. A key component of quantifying and managing the conservation threat of introduced predators is an understanding of exactly what size and taxa of prey species are consumed, and whether there is a high degree of selectivity in the diet. A total of 169 cat stomachs were collected from north‐eastern Australia, and their contents examined in relation to prey size, the body size of cats and selectivity using Jacob's index. I found that F. catus contains a large amount of prey per cat (∼200 g), mammals are the dominant prey item by mass, and feral cats predation was selective of small mammals (<10 g, 50–100 g), and reptiles and birds in the 10–50 g and 50–100 g size ranges, respectively. Reptiles form a large component of the diet compared with other regions in the world. Many mammals in northern Australia that are declining are within the size range that is highly selected by feral cats; the relationship between smaller cat size in the tropics and smaller prey size has correspondence to the fact that the declining mammals in this region are smaller than those that went extinct in southern Australia. There is an urgent need to find a conservation solution to reducing feral cat predation on wildlife, and this should include landscape scale reduction in fire extent and frequency, and removal of cattle in key sites, in order to maintain ground cover, thus reducing the predation success of feral cats.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Feral cat (Felis catus) prey size and selectivity in north‐eastern Australia: implications for mammal conservation

Kutt

2012

Journal of Zoology

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“…Despite observations of mammals exploiting fire‐mosaics, however, there is little evidence to suggest that any arid zone species is dependent on them or that the provision of mixed burnt and unburnt habitats consistently increases species richness or population sizes (Short & Turner, 1994; Letnic & Dickman, 2005). Although some small mammal species such as Pseudomys desertor (Letnic, 2003; Kutt, Thurgate & Hannah, 2004) and Dasykaluta rosamondae (How & Cooper, 2002) may exhibit strong preferences for long‐unburnt habitats (Coventry & Dixon, 1984; Kutt et al , 2004; How & Cooper, 2002; Letnic, 2003), others show no consistent preference for recently burnt or long‐unburnt habitats (Masters, 1993; Southgate & Masters, 1996; How & Cooper, 2002; Letnic & Dickman, 2005; Körtner, Pavey & Geiser, 2007). The fire‐mosaic model receives little support from reports that small mammal abundance and species richness decrease following wildfires or the fact that no small mammal species shows a consistent preference for recently burnt areas (Coventry & Dixon, 1984; How & Cooper, 2002; Letnic et al , 2005).…”

Section: Current Models Explaining Mammalian Population Dynamics mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Our review indicates that small mammal assemblages in the spinifex grasslands of central Australia correlate poorly in terms of both composition and abundance with structural variables indicative of vegetation succession or habitat type (Masters, 1993; Southgate & Masters, 1996; Paltridge & Southgate, 2001; Letnic, 2003). Whereas a few species are associated with dense spinifex habitats (Masters, 1998; Letnic, 2003; Kutt et al , 2004; Letnic & Dickman, 2005), rainfall history, food resource availability and predation pressure appear to be more important factors influencing small mammal assemblages than vegetation structure (Paltridge & Southgate, 2001; Letnic, 2003; Letnic et al , 2005). Similarly, there is little evidence that inter‐specific competition is an important factor structuring small mammal assemblages in arid Australia (Morton et al , 1994).…”

Section: A State‐and‐transition Model For Small Mammals Occupying mentioning

confidence: 99%

Resource pulses and mammalian dynamics: conceptual models for hummock grasslands and other Australian desert habitats

2010

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Resources are produced in pulses in many terrestrial environments, and have important effects on the population dynamics and assemblage structure of animals that consume them. Resource-pulsing is particularly dramatic in Australian desert environments owing to marked spatial and temporal variability in rainfall, and thus primary productivity. Here, we first review how Australia's desert mammals respond to fluctuations in resource production, and evaluate the merits of three currently accepted models (the ecological refuge, predator refuge and fire-mosaic models) as explanations of the observed dynamics. We then integrate elements of these models into a novel state-and-transition model and apply it to well-studied small mammal assemblages that inhabit the vast hummock grassland, or spinifex, landscapes of the continental inland. The model has four states that are defined by differences in species composition and abundance, and eight transitions or processes that prompt shifts from one state to another. Using this model as a template, we construct three further models to explain mammalian dynamics in cracking soil habitats of the Lake Eyre Basin, gibber plains of the Channel Country, and the chenopod shrublands of arid southern Australia. As non-equilibrium concepts that recognise the strongly intermittent nature of resource pulsing in arid Australia, state-and-transition models provide useful descriptors of both spatial and temporal patterns in mammal assemblages. The models should help managers to identify when and where to implement interventions to conserve native mammals, such as control burns, reduced grazing or predator management. The models also should improve understanding of the potential effects of future climate change on mammal assemblages in arid environments in general. We conclude by proposing several tests that could be used to refine the models and guide further research.

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“…The low numbers of mammals recorded are typical of the trapping returns from surveys in northern Australia, and as with results from surveys of fragmented landscapes in the Darwin region, they suggest that broader landscape and climate factors are more important than small-scale disturbance (Price et al 2005). The determinants of mammals in the landscapes of northern Australia seem to be more insidious widespread threats of feral animal predation and wholescale land-management change (Woinarski et al 2011) rather than any small-scale clearing effects (Kutt et al 2004).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effect of small-scale woodland clearing and thinning on vertebrate fauna in a largely intact tropical savanna mosaic

Kutt

Vanderduys

Ferguson³

et al. 2012

Wildl. Res.

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Context.Habitat degradation and fragmentation of vegetation can transform and deplete local wildlife populations, and is a key threatening process globally. In northern Australian tropical savannas, clearing is relatively rare across the biome, although it is slowly intensifying as a result of increasing agricultural development. However, the terrestrial vertebrates in these largely intact landscapes are undergoing current population declines because of a variety of land-management changes, one of which is increasing land clearing; therefore, there is a need to understand the relative effect of small-scale land clearing the fauna.Aims. The present study examined the variation in abundance of birds, mammals and reptiles in intact, thinned and cleared Eucalyptus woodlands in a tropical savanna bioregion.Methods. The vertebrate fauna were sampled in 88 sites over two general geographic locations within the Desert Uplands in 2005 and 2006. Standardised 1-ha surveys were employed in a single vegetation type and across three treatments. As two discrete locations were examined, linear mixed models were used in the analysis.Key results. The fauna composition varied significantly across the intact, thinned and cleared sites. Bird species richness reduced from intact to thinned and cleared sites, and reptile richness and abundance declined in cleared sites, but was largely unaffected by thinning. Seventeen bird species recorded significant variation in abundance across the three vegetation structural types, with 12 most abundant in the intact sites. Mammals on the whole were recorded in very low abundances and in few sites. For reptiles, two were most abundant in thinned sites and three in intact sites.Conclusions. In the present study, we have demonstrated that small-scale clearing and vegetation manipulation via thinning, even within largely intact tropical savanna woodland, can cause localised depletion of some species, although most notably where the vegetation disruption was most severe (i.e. clearing). Birds are most affected, and many species that declined in abundance are the same as those that suffered severe population reductions as a result of broad-scale clearing in south-eastern Australia.Implications. The proposed increase in the intensity of agricultural land use in northern Australia will result in incremental landscape change as a result of clearing. Understanding how the gradual reduction of vegetation cover and habitat will change the faun assemblage is important for pre-emptive conservation planning. This is vital to avoid the mistakes of extensive landscape change in southern Australia that has left a legacy of a permanently depleted fauna.

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Distribution and habitat of the desert mouse (Pseudomys desertor) in Queensland

Cited by 13 publications

References 28 publications

Feral cat (Felis catus) prey size and selectivity in north‐eastern Australia: implications for mammal conservation

Feral cat (Felis catus) prey size and selectivity in north‐eastern Australia: implications for mammal conservation

Resource pulses and mammalian dynamics: conceptual models for hummock grasslands and other Australian desert habitats

Effect of small-scale woodland clearing and thinning on vertebrate fauna in a largely intact tropical savanna mosaic

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