Biology of The Southern Brown Bandicoot (Isoodon obesulus) In South-Eastern Tasmania. I. Diet.

Abstract

The diet of the southern brown bandicoot, lsoodon obesulus, was investigated in south-eastern Tasmania using faecal analysis. Isoodon obesulus consumed a range of invertebrate taxa, including Lumbricid earthworms, isopods, lepidopteran larvae, coleopteran adults and larvae, crickets (Gryllidae) and spiders. Plant material (including monocotyledon, dicotyledon and fern) regularly appeared in faecal samples. Seeds were important during the summer months, while spores from hypogeous fungi featured in the diet year-round. We assessed the opportunism of I. obesulus by comparing diet items in the faeces with items recorded in pitfall traps. Isoodon obesulus utilised crickets and seeds in summer when these items became more abundant. However. there was no evidence of any other items being consumed in proportion to their availability.