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RESEARCH ARTICLE
Contents Vol 46(2)

Nutritional composition of plants and preliminary assessment of nutrition in free-ranging bare-nosed wombats (Vombatus ursinus)

Fiona F. Casey A # , Blaire T. Vallin A # , Jack Wolfenden A , Julie M. Old https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2754-7757 A and Hayley J. Stannard https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6657-5435 B *
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

A School of Science, Western Sydney University, Penrith, NSW, 2751, Australia.

B School of Agricultural, Environmental and Veterinary Sciences, Charles Sturt University, Wagga Wagga, NSW 2678, Australia.

* Correspondence to: hstannard@csu.edu.au
# These authors contributed equally to this paper

Handling Editor: Bronwyn McAllan

Australian Mammalogy 46, AM23013 https://doi.org/10.1071/AM23013
Submitted: 14 April 2023  Accepted: 29 December 2023  Published: 19 January 2024

© 2024 The Author(s) (or their employer(s)). Published by CSIRO Publishing on behalf of the Australian Mammal Society.

Abstract

Nutrition is essential for not only survival but also successful growth and reproduction. Dietary demands are increased in a diseased state due to the increased energy and nutritional requirements associated with immune response, inflammation and convalescence. The herbivorous bare-nosed wombat (Vombatus ursinus) is notably susceptible to sarcoptic mange, a disease caused by the mite, Sarcoptes scabiei, which causes debilitating pruritic skin disease and leads to secondary bacterial infections and increased wombat morbidity and mortality, as well as regionally variable population declines. It is unknown why wombats are so susceptible to sarcoptic mange and if nutrition may play a role in disease expression, particularly relating to seasonality. The objective of this study was to quantify the differences in the nutritive value, over four seasons, of plants (mostly grasses and sedges) that are available as food items for bare-nosed wombats. We collected plants over four seasons from five wombat habitats that were known to have wombats affected by sarcoptic mange. We found seasonal and site differences for macro and micronutrients in the plants analysed. Monitoring the diet quality of wombats in the wild is useful for managing their populations and understanding population dynamics in relation to food resource quality.

Keywords: Energy, faecal nitrogen, grasses, herbivore, lipids, marsupial, minerals, protein, Sarcoptes scabiei, sarcoptic mange, wombat health.

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