The influence of predation risk on foraging behaviour of brushtail possums in Australian woodlands
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| Authors: | Pickett, KN; Hik, DS; Newsome, AE; Pech, RP |
| Year: | 2005 |
| Journal: | Wildl. Res. 32: 121-130 Article Link (DOI) |
| Title: | The influence of predation risk on foraging behaviour of brushtail possums in Australian woodlands |
| Abstract: | The potential effects of predation risk on common brushtail possums were investigated in south-eastern Australian woodlands. Patterns of habitat use, foraging costs using giving-up density (GUD) experiments, and indices of body condition and reproductive success were examined at eight sites in two habitat types (eucalypt- or cypress-pine-dominated stands), within three areas of different red fox abundance ( high, moderate and low fox density). In cypress-pine-dominated stands, possums travelled further on the ground, visited more feeding stations and had lower GUDs at feeders where foxes were removed than did possums in high-fox-density sites. In contrast, there was no effect of fox removal on the behaviour of possums in eucalypt-dominated stands. Fox removal also had no effect on indices of body condition and reproduction. Minor effects of microhabitat were detected with trackplot and GUD experiments, but, overall, the results suggest that habitat at the stand-level was more important. The nonlethal effects of foxes in different habitats may need to be taken into account when developing conservation strategies for native marsupials. |
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