Habitat structure influences refuge use by two sympatric species of Neotropical forest rodents

Bretscher, Andrew; Dittel, Jacob W.; Lambert, Thomas D.; Adler, Gregory H.

doi:10.1093/jmammal/gyy139

Cited by 2 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 23 publications

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“…The environmental context surrounding potential refuges can also influence whether they will be used or not (Bhattacharyya, Dutta, Adhikari, & Rawat, 2015; McElhinny, Gibbons, Brack, & Bauhus, 2006; Reside et al, 2019). Many animals often select natural refuges close to important resources that provide protection, temperature regulation, or food (Bretscher, Dittel, Lambert, & Adler, 2018; Croak et al, 2012). Northern quolls in the Pilbara often inhabit complex rocky habitat, likely because it provides protection from predation (Cook, 2010; Hernandez‐Santin et al, 2016) and fire (Burrows, Ward, & Robinson, 2009), and often contains temporary ponds and sheltered crevices (Henneron, Sarthou, De Massary, & Ponge, 2019; Radford, Gibson, Corey, Carnes, & Fairman, 2015).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Artificial refuges to combat habitat loss for an endangered marsupial predator: How do they measure up?

Cowan

Dunlop

Turner

et al. 2020

Conservat Sci and Prac

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One technique used to combat the growing global species extinction crisis has been to create artificial refuges-human-made replacements for natural refuges destroyed during habitat modification. However, there is limited knowledge of how closely artificial refuges replicate the natural refuges they seek to replace. Mining threatens many species worldwide through large-scale habitat modification, and artificial refuges have been proposed as a method to offset the resulting habitat loss. Here, we examined the microclimatic, physical, and biotic characteristics of natural dens occupied by the northern quoll (Dasyurus hallucatus)-an endangered marsupial threatened by habitat loss-and compared these to (a) superficially similar unoccupied crevices, and (b) artificial dens created by mining companies for northern quolls. Northern quolls occupied natural dens that were cooler and deeper than unoccupied crevices, likely to avoid lethal air temperatures as well as predators. Artificial dens provided similar thermal properties to occupied dens, but lacked key characteristics in having shallower den cavities, less complex surrounding habitat, increased feral cat visitation, and less small mammal prey compared to occupied dens.This study highlights the need to consider multiple facets when constructing artificial refuges, in order to avoid perverse outcomes, such as inadequate shelter, increased predation, and food shortages.activity patterns, artificial den, artificial refuge, Dasyurus hallucatus, feral cat, habitat loss, habitat restoration, northern quoll, revegetation, thermal limits

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Artificial refuges to combat habitat loss for an endangered marsupial predator: How do they measure up?

Cowan

Dunlop

Turner

et al. 2020

Conservat Sci and Prac

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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Experimenting with artificial shelters to assist habitat restoration for medium‐sized ground‐dwelling mammals

McLean,

Goldingay,

Letnic

2024

Restoration Ecology

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Many terrestrial vertebrates require microhabitat shelter structures for survival. Where anthropogenic or environmental disturbances have degraded or depleted shelter, artificial shelters are increasingly used to provide supplementary habitat for various taxa. However, their application to medium‐sized ground‐dwelling mammals (MGMs) remains largely unexplored. We installed rudimentary artificial shelters in a conservation reserve to emulate the vegetative cover used as refuge by three Australian MGMs: the long‐nosed (Perameles nasuta) and northern brown bandicoots (Isoodon macrourus), and the vulnerable long‐nosed potoroo (Potorous tridactylus). We used multi‐method occupancy modeling and behavioral analysis to compare the detections and behaviors of the target species with those of four non‐target species. Our study design included three plot types (treatments)—artificial shelter, baited lure, and disturbance control—enabling unambiguous evaluation of responses to the shelters. The bandicoots showed no difference in detection among treatments, whereas detection of the potoroo was highest at control plots. Detection of non‐target species was generally highest at baited plots. The target species demonstrated a much higher willingness to enter the shelters compared to the non‐target species. The use of the structures appeared to be exploratory, with no evidence that individuals remained in shelters during the day. There was limited evidence that the shelters reduced the target species' perceptions of predation risk and no evidence that predators were attracted to the shelters. The high availability of natural shelter and our small sample size likely influenced these findings. Nevertheless, they lay the foundation for research and refinement into more effective shelter designs.

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Habitat structure influences refuge use by two sympatric species of Neotropical forest rodents

Cited by 2 publications

References 23 publications

Artificial refuges to combat habitat loss for an endangered marsupial predator: How do they measure up?

Artificial refuges to combat habitat loss for an endangered marsupial predator: How do they measure up?

Experimenting with artificial shelters to assist habitat restoration for medium‐sized ground‐dwelling mammals

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