Life history, breeding biology and movement in a new species of carnivorous marsupial, the buff-footed antechinus (Antechinus mysticus) and a sympatric congener, the subtropical antechinus (Antechinus subtropicus)

Mutton, Thomas Y; Gray, Emma L.; Fuller, Susan; Baker, Andrew

doi:10.1007/s13364-017-0325-1

Cited by 6 publications

(13 citation statements)

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“…Samples were collected from across the known geographic range of A . mysticus , including five localities in southeast Qld and one from Eungella, mid‐east Qld (Figure ) (Baker et al., ; Mutton et al., ). Despite extensive trapping effort (cumulatively more than 10,000 trap nights across eight locations), A .…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Despite extensive trapping effort (cumulatively more than 10,000 trap nights across eight locations), A . mysticus has not been found in the approximately 700 km straight line distance (SLD) separating southeast Qld from Eungella or from other localities in mid‐east Qld (Baker et al., , ; Mutton et al., ). In southeast Qld, our sampled A .…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…D'Aguilar was the only site surveyed (and known) at which both species occur (Figure ). This site is typified by an abrupt merging of riparian open woodland and rainforest communities (Mutton et al., ).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The buff-footed antechinus, A. mysticus, was discovered in 2012 (Baker et al, 2012). Antechinus mysticus and its congener, the subtropical antechinus, A. subtropicus, share a similar range in southeast Queensland (Qld) but occupy largely separate habitats (Baker et al, 2012;Mutton, Gray, Fuller, & Baker, 2017;Pearce, 2016). Antechinus subtropicus inhabits high altitude subtropical vine forest and rainforest patches scattered throughout the protected habitats of near coastal southeast Qld (Baker et al, 2012;Van Dyck, Gynther, & Baker, 2013).…”

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confidence: 99%

“…Antechinus subtropicus inhabits high altitude subtropical vine forest and rainforest patches scattered throughout the protected habitats of near coastal southeast Qld (Baker et al, 2012;Van Dyck, Gynther, & Baker, 2013). Antechinus mysticus occupies comparatively drier, more open and lower altitude environments of southeast Qld, except for the single known population in mid-east Qld which occurs in rainforest (Baker et al, 2012;Mutton et al, 2017;Pearce, Burwell, & Baker, 2017).…”

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confidence: 99%

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Discovered and disappearing? Conservation genetics of a recently named Australian carnivorous marsupial

Mutton

Fuller

Tucker

et al. 2018

Ecology and Evolution

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Five new species within the Australian carnivorous marsupial genus Antechinus have recently been named, at least two of which are threatened. Important facets of the habitat use and extinction risk of one of these new species, the buff‐footed antechinus, A. mysticus, are not well understood. Previous research has suggested that the species utilizes a broad range of inter‐connected forest habitats in southeast Queensland (Qld), Australia. Based on this potentially connected habitat, we predicted that A. mysticus should have low population genetic structure, particularly in relation to its congener, the spatially restricted, high altitude, closed‐forest A. subtropicus. We genotyped nine microsatellite loci for six populations of A. mysticus, sampled throughout their known range in eastern Australia, and compared them with four proximate populations of A. subtropicus. Surprisingly, genetic structuring among southeast Qld populations of A. mysticus was moderate to high and similar to that between A. subtropicus populations. We postulate that all A. mysticus populations have declined recently (<100 generations), particularly the northernmost southeast Qld population, which may be at risk of extinction. Our results suggest that A. mysticus is limited to a more scattered and fragmented distribution than previously thought and may be in decline. The identification of population decline in this study and recently in other Antechinus suggests the extinction risk of many Australian mammals should be reassessed.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Discovered and disappearing? Conservation genetics of a recently named Australian carnivorous marsupial

Mutton

Fuller

Tucker

et al. 2018

Ecology and Evolution

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Delayed mortality of males in Thylamys bruchi, a semelparous marsupial from the Monte Desert, Argentina

Albanese

Ojeda

Astié

2020

Journal of Mammalogy

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Male-only obligate semelparity is a well-studied reproductive strategy in some Australian marsupials. This strategy has not been documented in South American species, although semelparity in both sexes occurs in some Neotropical didelphids. The fat-tailed mouse opossum, Thylamys bruchi, is an endemic species of the temperate Monte Desert, in Argentina. Seasonality and predictability of resources are two of the attributes associated with habitats where marsupial semelparity has evolved, and both are characteristic of the Monte Desert. We aimed to characterize the life-history strategy of T. bruchi to explore if it can be considered a semelparous species. We studied a fat-tailed mouse opossum population for 7 years with two different capture techniques (Sherman traps and nest boxes). Thylamys bruchi showed strong seasonality in abundance, with the highest captures during summer and autumn. Reproduction and weaning coincided with the most favorable period of the year with respect to climate and resource availability. Every year we observed a single cohort with little overlap until weaning of young. After breeding, all adults disappeared from the population; however, unlike any other didelphids, males showed delayed mortality and died, along with females, after weaning. We found no evidence of survival to a second breeding season for either sex. We therefore propose T. bruchi as a desert-dwelling marsupial with a semelparous reproductive strategy. Because the severity of winters may be acting as an important constraint on the energetic balance of adults in this population, we propose that challenging climatic conditions, coupled with the seasonality and high predictability of food resources, may have contributed to the evolution of the extreme reproductive strategy in this didelphid marsupial.

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Systematics, biogeography and ancestral state of the Australian marsupial genus Antechinus (Dasyuromorphia: Dasyuridae)

Mutton

Phillips

Fuller

et al. 2019

Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society

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Life history, breeding biology and movement in a new species of carnivorous marsupial, the buff-footed antechinus (Antechinus mysticus) and a sympatric congener, the subtropical antechinus (Antechinus subtropicus)

Cited by 6 publications

References 47 publications

Discovered and disappearing? Conservation genetics of a recently named Australian carnivorous marsupial

Discovered and disappearing? Conservation genetics of a recently named Australian carnivorous marsupial

Delayed mortality of males in Thylamys bruchi, a semelparous marsupial from the Monte Desert, Argentina

Systematics, biogeography and ancestral state of the Australian marsupial genus Antechinus (Dasyuromorphia: Dasyuridae)

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