Free Standard AU & NZ Shipping For All Book Orders Over $80!
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 > WR06013
RESEARCH ARTICLE
Contents Vol 34(5)

Determining the diet of cryptic folivores: an assessment of diet analysis techniques using the green ringtail possum (Pseudochirops archeri) as a case study

Katherine M. W. Jones A B and Andrew K. Krockenberger A
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

A James Cook University, McGregor Road, Smithfield, Qld 4878, Australia.

B Corresponding author. Email: katherine.jones@jcu.edu.au

Wildlife Research 34(5) 352-358 https://doi.org/10.1071/WR06013
Submitted: 31 January 2006  Accepted: 2 July 2007   Published: 6 September 2007

Abstract

The dietary requirements of folivores affect many aspects of their ecology, including home range, potential for social interaction, abiotic/climatic requirements and habitat choice at the landscape and local scale. The purpose of this study was to investigate the advantages and disadvantages of three techniques commonly used to determine the diet of rainforest folivores. Many folivores are arboreal, nocturnal and cryptic, causing a variety of problems for determining their diet. The largely folivorous green ringtail possum (Pseudochirops archeri) is all of these, inhabiting complex rainforest and often displaying particularly cryptic or evasive behaviour. No single technique produced a comprehensive dietary list for P. archeri, and each had different biases in the diet composition determined. As the actual diet of P. archeri was unknown and not measurable, it was impossible to determine which technique most accurately described its diet. Direct observations were time-consuming and difficult within dense forest, faecal analysis underestimated the importance of species with fragile cuticles, and tree selection was not directly related to food intake. However, direct observation produced the highest diversity of diet from a single method, faecal analysis required the least time in the field, and tree selection allowed intraspecific measures of preference to be determined. Thus, multiple dietary analysis techniques were required to meet the aim of this study, which was to provide the most comprehensive estimation of dietary diversity in a cryptic, arboreal folivore.


Acknowledgements

This study was supported by the School of Tropical Biology, James Cook University, Cairns, and the Rainforest CRC and conducted with authorisation from QLD EPA (WISP01557603) and JCU Animal Ethics (Approval A856). We thank the Nasser family for access to the study site, Professor David Christophel for instruction on leaf cuticle analysis, Dr Will Edwards for statistical advice, Rigel Jensen and Andrew Ford for botanical expertise, Dr John Winter for valuable discussions, Edward Jones and two anonymous reviewers for helpful comments on the manuscript and Sarah Maclagan, Nilla Scrivener, Steve McKenna, Romina Rader, Karen Coombes and Tod Jones for assistance in the field.


References

Anthony, R. G. , and Smith, N. S. (1974). Comparison of rumen and fecal analysis to describe deer diets. Journal of Wildlife Management 38, 535–540.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | Christophel D. C., and Rowett A. I. (1996). ‘Leaf and Cuticle Atlas of the Australian Leafy Lauraceae.’ (Australian Biological Resources Study: Canberra.)

De Boer, W. F. , Ntumi, C. P. , Correia, A. U. , and Mafuca, J. M. (2000). Diet and distribution of elephant in the Maputo Elephant Reserve, Mozambique. African Journal of Ecology 38, 188–201.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | Fitzgerald A. E. (1984). Diet of the possum (Trichosurus vulpecula) in three Tasmanian forest types and its relevance to the diet of possums in New Zealand forests. In ‘Possums and Gliders’. (Eds A. P. Smith and I. D. Hume.) pp. 137–143. (Surrey Beatty & Australian Mammal Society: Sydney.)

Gaylard, A. , and Kerley, G. I. H. (1997). Diet of tree hyraxes Dendrohyrax arboreus (Hyracoidea: Procaviidae) in the eastern Cape, South Africa. Journal of Mammalogy 78, 213–221.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | Goudberg N. J. (1990). The feeding ecology of three species of north Queensland upland rainforest ringtail possums, Hemibelideus lemuroides, Pseudocheirus herbertensis and Pseudocheirus archeri (Marsupialia: Petauridae). Ph.D. Thesis, James Cook University, Townsville, Qld.

Henley, S. R. , Smith, D. G. , and Raats, J. G. (2001). Evaluation of 3 techniques for determining diet composition. Journal of Range Management 54, 582–588.
IPCC (2001). ‘Third Assessment Report: Climate Change 2001.’ (Cambridge University Press: Cambridge.)

Johnson, M. K. , and Wofford, H. (1983). Digestion and fragmentation: influence on herbivore diet analysis. Journal of Wildlife Management 47, 877–879.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | Kanowski J. (1999). Ecological determinants of the distribution and abundance of the folivorous marsupials inhabiting rainforests of the Atherton uplands, north Queensland. Ph.D. Thesis, James Cook University, Townsville, Qld.

Kanowski, J. (2001). Effects of elevated CO2 on the foliar chemistry of seedlings of two rainforest trees from north-east Australia: implications for folivorous marsupials. Austral Ecology 26, 165–172.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | Martin R., and Handasyde K. (1999). ‘The Koala: Natural History, Conservation and Management.’ (University of New South Wales Press: Sydney.)

Moore, B. D. , and Foley, W. J. (2005). Tree use by koalas in a chemically complex landscape. Nature 435, 488–490.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | PubMed | Procter-Gray E. (1984). Dietary ecology of the coppery brushtail possum, green ringtail possum and Lumholtz’s tree-kangaroo in north Queensland. In ‘Possums and Gliders’. (Eds A. P. Smith and I. D. Hume.) pp. 129–135. (Surrey Beatty & Australian Mammal Society: Sydney.)

Procter-Gray E. (1985). The behaviour and ecology of Lumholtz’s tree-kangaroo, Dendrolagus lumholtzi (Marsupialia: Macropodidae). Ph.D. Thesis, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA.

Sattler P., and Williams R. (1999). ‘The Conservation Status of Queensland’s Bioregional Ecosystems.’ (Environmental Protection Agency, Queensland Government: Brisbane.)

Scrivener, N. J. , Johnson, C. N. , Wallis, I. R. , Takasaki, M. , and Krockenberger, A. K. (2004). Which trees do wild common brushtail possums (Trichosurus vulpecula) prefer? Problems and solutions in scaling laboratory findings to diet selection in the field. Evolutionary Ecology Research 6, 77–87.


Sprent, J. A. , and McArthur, C. (2002). Diet and diet selection of two species in the macropodid browser–grazer continuum: do they eat what they ‘should’? Australian Journal of Zoology 50, 183–192.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |

Storr, G. M. (1968). Diet of kangaroos (Megaleia rufa and Macrocarpus robustus) and merino sheep near Port Hedland, Western Australia. Journal of the Royal Society of Western Australia 51, 25–32.


Todd, J. W. , and Hansen, R. M. (1973). Plant fragments in feces of bighorns as indicators of food habits. Journal of Wildlife Management 37, 363–366.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |

Webb, L. J. (1959). A physiognomic classification of Australian rainforests. Journal of Ecology 47, 551–570.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |