A quick drink: the response of southern hairy-nosed wombats (Lasiorhinus latifrons) to rainfall
Matt Gaughwin A B D and David Taggart CA School of Public Health, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA 5005, Australia.
B Wombat-specific research c/o Dr David Taggart, School of Biological Sciences, University of Adelaide, Waite Campus, Urrbrae, SA 5064, Australia.
C School of Biological Sciences, University of Adelaide, Waite Campus, Urrbrae, SA 5064, Australia.
D Corresponding author. Email: cairnt2@gmail.com
Australian Mammalogy 43(1) 120-125 https://doi.org/10.1071/AM20014
Submitted: 5 February 2020 Accepted: 8 September 2020 Published: 8 October 2020
Abstract
This paper describes opportunistic observations of the response of wombats to rainfall. Within a few minutes after heavy showers of rain wombats congregated to drink at an area of exposed calcrete (limestone) where water had accumulated. The wombats interacted socially much more than is typical for wombats. This event demonstrates a level of understanding of their environment and of the availability of a transient resource that has not been documented previously.
Keywords: arid environments, Lasiorhinus latifrons, rainfall, semiarid environments, southern hairy-nosed wombat, South Australia.
References
Dickman, C. R., Predavec, M., and Downey, F. J. (1995). Long-range movements of small mammals in arid Australia: implications for land management. Journal of Arid Environments 34, 441–452.Evans, M., Green, B., and Newgrain, K. (2003). The field energetics and water fluxes of free-living wombats (Marsupialia: Vombatidae). Oecologia 137, 171–180.
| The field energetics and water fluxes of free-living wombats (Marsupialia: Vombatidae).Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | 12883985PubMed |
Fuller, A., Hetem, R. S., Maloney, S. K., and Mitchell, D. (2014). Adaptation to heat and water shortage in large, arid-zone mammals. Physiology 29, 159–167.
| Adaptation to heat and water shortage in large, arid-zone mammals.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | 24789980PubMed |
Gaughwin, M. D. (1981). Socio-ecology of the hairy-nosed wombat (Lasiorhinus latifrons) in the Blanche Town region of South Australia. Ph.D. Thesis, University of Adelaide.
Macfarlane, W.V. and Howard, B. (1972). Comparative water and energy economy of wild and domestic animals. In ‘Comparative Physiology of Desert Animals’. (Ed. G. Maloiy.) pp. 261–296. (Academic Press: London.)
Marshall, V. M., Taggart, D. A., and Ostendorf, B. (2018). Scale-dependent habitat analysis and implications for climate change risk for the southern hairy-nosed wombat. Australian Mammalogy 40, 162–172.
| Scale-dependent habitat analysis and implications for climate change risk for the southern hairy-nosed wombat.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Martin, A. M., Ricardo, H., Tompros, A., Fraser, T. A., Polkinghorne, A., and Carver, S. (2019). Burrows with resources have greater visitation and may enhance mange transmission among wombats. Australian Mammalogy 41, 287–290.
| Burrows with resources have greater visitation and may enhance mange transmission among wombats.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Nagy, K. A. (1994). Seasonal water, energy and food use by free-living, arid-habitat mammals. Australian Journal of Zoology 42, 55–63.
| Seasonal water, energy and food use by free-living, arid-habitat mammals.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Shimmin, G. A., Skinner, J., and Baudinette, R. V. (2002). The warren architecture and environment of the southern hairy-nosed wombat (Lasiorhinus latifrons). Journal of Zoology 258, 469–477.
| The warren architecture and environment of the southern hairy-nosed wombat (Lasiorhinus latifrons).Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Steele, V., and Temple-Smith, P. (1998). Physical structure of warrens of a small colony of southern hairy-nosed wombats Lasiorhinus latifrons. In ‘Wombats’. (Eds R. T. Wells and P. A. Pridmore.) pp. 113–124. (Surrey Beatty and Sons.)
Treby, D. L., Horsup, A., and Murray, P. J. (2007). Field evaluation of supplementary feed and water for the northern hairy-nosed wombat, Lasiorhinus krefftii. Wildlife Research 34, 149–155.
| Field evaluation of supplementary feed and water for the northern hairy-nosed wombat, Lasiorhinus krefftii.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Wells, R. T. (1973). Physiological and behavioural adaptions of the hairy-nosed wombat (Lasiorhinus latifrons Owen) to its arid environment. Ph.D. Thesis, University of Adelaide.
West, R., Ward, M. J., Foster, W. K., and Taggart, D. A. (2017). Testing the potential for supplementary water to support the recovery and reintroduction of the black-footed rock-wallaby. Wildlife Research 44, 269–279.
| Testing the potential for supplementary water to support the recovery and reintroduction of the black-footed rock-wallaby.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Woolford, L., Fletcher, M. T., and Boardman, W. S. (2014). Suspected pyrrolizidine alkaloid hepatotoxicosis in wild southern hairy-nosed wombats (Lasiorhinus latifrons). Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry 62, 7413–7418.
| Suspected pyrrolizidine alkaloid hepatotoxicosis in wild southern hairy-nosed wombats (Lasiorhinus latifrons).Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | 24708262PubMed |
