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RESEARCH ARTICLE
Contents Vol 32(1)

Activity patterns of the southern hairy-nosed wombat (Lasiorhinus latifrons) (Marsupialia : Vombatidae) in the South Australian Murraylands

G. R. Finlayson A G , C. R. White B C , R. Dibben D , G. A. Shimmin E and D. A. Taggart F
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

A Coffey Environments, Suite 2, 53 Burswood Road, Burswood, WA 6100, Australia.

B School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Adelaide, SA 5001, Australia.

C School of Biological Sciences, The University of Queensland, Qld 4072, Australia.

D 6 Marsh Avenue, Gawler, SA 5118, Australia.

E Office of the Chief Executive, Department of Water, Land and Biodiversity Conservation, GPO Box 2834, Adelaide, SA 5001, Australia.

F Conservation Ark, Royal Zoological Society of South Australia, C/O School of Earth & Environmental Science, University of Adelaide, North Terrace, Adelaide, SA 5001, Australia.

G Corresponding author. Email: graeme_finlayson@coffey.com

Australian Mammalogy 32(1) 39-46 https://doi.org/10.1071/AM09024
Submitted: 24 September 2009  Accepted: 8 December 2009   Published: 17 March 2010

Abstract

The southern hairy-nosed wombat (Lasiorhinus latifrons) is a large, semifossorial, herbivorous marsupial, adapted to a harsh and unpredictable environment in semi-arid Australia. Limited information is available on the biology and general behaviour of the species. The present study examines monthly variability in ‘nocturnal’ activity patterns. Data-loggers were used to investigate the effect of climate on 57 months of activity patterns of 18 wombats between 1999 and 2004. The average period of activity across the study was 6.27 ± 0.24 h in duration across the study. Multiple excursions above ground were more common in September and significantly correlated with both available water and median temperature. Periods of activity were strongly correlated with temperature across the entire study.

Additional keywords: activity, burrow, data-loggers, marsupial, wombat.


Acknowledgements

We are grateful to the significant contribution that the Dibben family has made towards field assistance with this project. We also thank John and Joan McAuley for permission to work on their property and their continued interest in the project. Thanks to all field assistants for capturing and processing all the wombats for the study, particularly Serena Finlayson, Jayne Skinner, Elisa Sparrow, Caroline McDonald and Kim Stewart, who were all present for many catching trips to the study site. Finally, we acknowledge Dr Mervyn Jacobson and the Royal Zoological Society of South Australia for assistance with the funding of this project. This study was completed under ethics permit no. S-25–1999 and DEHAA scientific permit no. G24239 3.


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