Register      Login
Wildlife Research Wildlife Research Society
Ecology, management and conservation in natural and modified habitats
Shopping Cart: ( empty )
You are here: Home > Journals > WR > WR03098
RESEARCH ARTICLE
Contents Vol 32(2)

The influence of predation risk on foraging behaviour of brushtail possums in Australian woodlands

Karolyne N. Pickett A B , David S. Hik A C , Alan E. Newsome D and Roger P. Pech D
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

A Division of Life Sciences, University of Toronto at Scarborough, 1265 Military Trail, Scarborough, ON, M1C 1A4, Canada.

B Biodiversity Science Branch, Department of Fisheries and Oceans, 200 Kent Street, Ottawa, ON, K1A 0E6, Canada.

C Present Address and Correspondence: Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, T6G 2E9, Canada. Email: dhik@ualberta.ca

D CSIRO Sustainable Ecosystems, GPO Box 284, Canberra, ACT 2601, Australia.

Wildlife Research 32(2) 121-130 https://doi.org/10.1071/WR03098
Submitted: 20 October 2003  Accepted: 8 November 2004   Published: 4 May 2005

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 non-lethal effects of foxes in different habitats may need to be taken into account when developing conservation strategies for native marsupials.


Acknowledgments

We thank David Board, Steve Henry, Dean Jones, Jim Longworth, Eliot McIntire, Bill Pickett, Cathy Rigg, Ed Slater and Michelle Theberge for contributing to the success of the fieldwork, and Warren Müller and Bob Forrester for their statistical help. We greatly appreciated the financial support for this project provided by the Cooperative Research Centre for the Biological Control of Vertebrate Pest Populations (now the Pest Animal Control Cooperative Research Centre), CSIRO Wildlife and Ecology (now CSIRO Sustainable Ecosystems), the Australia–New Zealand Rabbit Calicivirus Disease Committee, and the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada. All animal-handling procedures were approved by the CSIRO Animal Ethics Review Committee.


References

Abramsky, Z. , Strauss, E. , Subach, A. , Kotler, B. P. , and Riechman, A. (1996). The effect of barn owls (Tyto alba) on the activity and microhabitat selection of Gerbillus allenbyi and G. pyramidum. Oecologia 105, 313–319.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | Allcock K. E. (2002). Effects of grazing on vegetation dynamics in Australian white box woodlands. Ph.D. Thesis, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada.

Allcock, K. E. , and Hik, D. S. (2003). What determines disturbance–productivity–diversity relationships? The effect of scale, species and environment on richness patterns in an Australian woodland. Oikos 102, 173–185.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | Artois M. (1989). Le Renard Roux (Vulpes vulpes Linnaeus, 1758). Société Française pour l’Étude et la Protection des Mammifères, Bohallard, France.

Banks, P. B. (2001). Predation-sensitive grouping and habitat use by eastern grey kangaroos: a field experiment. Animal Behaviour 61, 1013–1021.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | Fox M. D. (1995). Conserving biodiversity: impact and management of exotic organisms. In ‘Conserving Biodiversity: Threats and Solutions’. (Eds R. A. Bradstock, T. D. Auld, D. A. Keith, R. T. Kingsford, D. Lunney and D. P. Sivertsen.) pp. 177–183. (Surrey Beatty: Sydney.)

Glen, A. S. , and Dickman, C. R. (2003). Effects of bait-station design on the uptake of baits by non-target animals during control programmes for foxes and wild dogs. Wildlife Research 30, 147–149.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | Gresser S. (1996). Anti-predator behaviour in the common brushtail possum. B.Sc.(Honours) Thesis, University of Sydney.

Hellstedt, P. , Kalske, T. , and Hanski, I. (2002). Indirect effects of least weasel presence on field vole behaviour and demography: a field experiment. Annales Zoologici Fennici 39, 257–265.
Kerle J. A. (1984). Variation in the ecology of Trichosurus: its adaptive significance. In ‘Possums and Gliders’. (Eds A. P. Smith and I. D. Hume.) pp. 115–128. (Australian Mammal Society: Sydney.)

Kinnear, J. E. , Onus, M. L. , and Sumner, N. R. (1998). Fox control and rock-wallaby population dynamics – II. An update. Wildlife Research 25, 81–88.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | MacLennan D. G. (1984). The feeding behaviour and activity patterns of the brushtail possum, Trichosurus vulpecula, in an open eucalypt woodland in southeast Queensland. In ‘Possums and Gliders’. (Eds A. P. Smith and I. D. Hume.) pp. 155–161. (Australian Mammal Society: Sydney.)

McDonald-Madden, E. , Akers, L. K. , Brenner, D. J. , Howell, S. , Patullo, B. W. , and Elgar, M. A. (2000). Possums in the park: efficient foraging under the risk of predation or of competition? Australian Journal of Zoology 48, 155–160.
Molsher R. L. (1999). The ecology of feral cats, Felis catus, in open forest in NSW: interactions with food resources and foxes. Ph.D. Thesis, University of Sydney.

Molsher, R. L. , Newsome, A. E. , and Dickman, C. R. (1999). Feeding ecology and population dynamics of the feral cat (Felis catus) in relation to the availability of prey in central-eastern New South Wales. Wildlife Research 26, 593–607.
Newsome A. E., and Catling P. C. (1979). Habitat preferences of mammals inhabiting heathlands of warm temperate coastal, montane and alpine regions of southeastern Australia. In ‘Heathlands and Related Shrublands of the World’. (Ed. R. L. Specht.) pp. 301–316. (Elsevier Scientific Publishing Co.: Amsterdam.)

Newsome A., Pech R., Smyth R., Banks P., and Dickman C. (1997). Potential impacts on Australian native fauna of rabbit calicivirus disease. Report to National Parks and Wildlife, Environment Australia.

Norrdahl, K. , and Korpimäki, E. (1995). Does predation risk constrain maturation in cyclic vole populations? Oikos 72, 263–272.
Payne R. W. (1993). ‘Genstat 5 Release 3. Reference Manual.’ (Oxford University Press: Oxford.)

Pierce, B. M. , Longland, W. S. , and Jenkins, S. H. (1992). Rattlesnake predation on desert rodents: microhabitat and species-specific effects on risk. Journal of Mammalogy 73, 859–865.
Saunders G., Coman B., Kinnear J., and Braysher M. (1995). ‘Managing Vertebrate Pests: Foxes.’ (Australian Government Publishing Service: Canberra.)

Saunders, G. , Choquenot, D. , McIlroy, J. , and Packwood, R. (1998). Initial effects of rabbit haemorrhagic disease on free-living rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus) populations in central-western New South Wales. Wildlife Research 26, 69–74.


Schooley, R. L. , Sharpe, P. B. , and Van Horne, B. (1996). Can shrub cover increase predation risk for a desert rodent? Canadian Journal of Zoology 74, 157–163.


Short, J. (1998). The extinction of rat-kangaroos (Marsupialia: Potoroidae) in New South Wales, Australia. Biological Conservation 86, 365–377.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |

Short, J. , Bradshaw, S. D. , Giles, J. , Prince, R. I. T. , and Wilson, G. R. (1992). Reintroduction of macropods (Marsupialia: Macropodoidea) in Australia – a review. Biological Conservation 62, 189–204.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |

Sih, A. (1984). The behavioral response race between predator and prey. American Naturalist 123, 143–150.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |

Sinclair, A. R. E. , Pech, R. P. , Dickman, C. R. , Hik, D. S. , Mahon, P. , and Newsome, A. E. (1998). Predicting the effects of predation in relation to the conservation of endangered prey. Conservation Biology 12, 564–575.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |

Stokes, V. L. , Pech, R. P. , Banks, P. B. , and Arthur, A. D. (2004). Foraging behaviour and habitat use by Antechinus flavipes and Sminthopsis murina (Marsupialia: Dasyuridae) in response to predation risk in eucalypt woodland. Biological Conservation 117, 331–342.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |

Viggers, K. L. , Lindenmayer, D. B. , Cunningham, R. B. , and Donnelly, D. F. (1998). Estimating body condition in the mountain brushtail possum, Trichosurus caninus. Wildlife Research 25, 499–509.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |