Behavioural flexibility of the platypus (Ornithorhynchus anatinus) in response to changing water depth in a drought-affected Tasmanian stream
Simon Roberts A and Melody Serena
B *
A
B
Abstract
Many Australian freshwater species are well adapted to survive dry periods. However, the effect of drought on platypus behaviour has not previously been studied.
We investigated how the temporal and spatial distribution of platypus foraging activity varied during a cease-to-flow event lasting nearly 2 months along a normally perennial Tasmanian stream.
The frequency and duration of platypus activity in run, riffle and pool habitats was monitored using time-lapse cameras.
Total wetted area within the study area dropped to ~40% of its normal extent by the end of the cease-to-flow period. In response, platypus activity became more nocturnal and was increasingly concentrated in the best remaining aquatic habitat (pools); the mean duration of a foraging bout in a given pool was ~7 times greater during cease-to-flow when discharge was high. The likelihood of diurnal activity on any given day was significantly related to creek depth but not maximum daily air temperature.
The observed changes in platypus behaviour plausibly represent strategies to maximise foraging success and limit predation risk.
The platypus’s ability to survive extended cease-to-flow periods relies on its having access to sufficiently large and productive refuge habitats.
Keywords: Australian wildlife, behavioural monitoring, camera traps, drought impacts, foraging behaviour, habitat selection, Huon River, Kellaways Creek, monotreme, Ornithorhynchidae, time-lapse cameras.
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