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 > WR07088
RESEARCH ARTICLE
Contents Vol 35(2)

Habitat requirements of the yellow-footed antechinus (Antechinus flavipes) in box–ironbark forest, Victoria, Australia

Luke T. Kelly A B and Andrew F. Bennett A
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

A Landscape Ecology Research Group, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Deakin University, 221 Burwood Highway, Burwood, Vic. 3125, Australia.

B Corresponding author. Email: ltke@deakin.edu.au

Wildlife Research 35(2) 128-133 https://doi.org/10.1071/WR07088
Submitted: 6 July 2007  Accepted: 8 February 2008   Published: 21 April 2008

Abstract

Understanding the habitat requirements of a species is critical for effective conservation-based management. In this study, we investigated the influence of forest structure on the distribution of the yellow-footed antechinus (Antechinus flavipes), a small dasyurid marsupial characteristic of dry forests on the inland side of the Great Dividing Range, Australia. Hair-sampling tubes were used to determine the occurrence of A. flavipes at 60 sites stratified across one of the largest remaining tracts of dry box–ironbark forest in south-eastern Australia. We considered the role of six potential explanatory variables: large trees, hollow-bearing trees, coppice hollows, logs, rock cover and litter. Logistic regression models were examined using an information-theoretic approach to determine the variables that best explained the presence or absence of the species. Hierarchical partitioning was employed to further explore relationships between occurrence of A. flavipes and explanatory variables. Forest structure accounted for a substantial proportion of the variation in occurrence of A. flavipes between sites. The strongest influence on the presence of A. flavipes was the cover of litter at survey sites. The density of hollow-bearing trees and rock cover were also positive influences. The conservation of A. flavipes will be enhanced by retention of habitat components that ensure a structurally complex environment in box–ironbark forests. This will also benefit the conservation of several threatened species in this dry forest ecosystem.


Acknowledgements

This research was funded by the Parks Victoria Research Partners Scheme and Deakin University, School of Ecology and Environment. We are grateful to Hans Brunner for sharing his knowledge of hair identification and for identifying a significant proportion of the hair samples in this study. Mike Kelly, Simon Kelly and Dale Nimmo enthusiastically helped undertake fieldwork. Thanks to Glen Ehmke and John White for providing statistical advice, and to two referees for useful comments on the manuscript. This project was conducted under Flora and Fauna Permit No. 10003300 with approval from the Deakin University Animal Welfare Committee (A14/2004).


References

Brunner, H. , Lloyd, J. W. , and Coman, B. J. (1975). Fox scat analysis in a forest park in south-eastern Australia. Wildlife Research 2, 147–154.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | Brunner H., Triggs B., and Ecobyte Pty Ltd. (2002). ‘Hair ID – An Interactive Tool for Identifying Australian Mammalian Hair.’ (CSIRO Publishing: Melbourne.)

Burnham, K. P. , and Anderson, D. R. (2001). Kullback–Leibler information as a basis for strong inference in ecological studies. Wildlife Research 28, 111–119.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | Burnham K. P., and Anderson D. R. (2002). ‘Model Selection and Multimodel Inference: a Practical Information-Theoretic Approach’. 2nd edn. (Springer: New York.)

Coates T. (1995). Reproductive ecology of the yellow-footed antechinus Antechinus flavipes (Waterhouse) in north-east Victoria. Ph.D. Thesis, Monash University, Melbourne.

Dickman, C. R. (1980). Ecological studies of Antechinus stuartii and Antechinus flavipes (Marsupialia: Dasyuridae) in open-forest and woodland habitats. Australian Zoologist 20, 433–446.
Dickman C. R. (1991). Use of trees by ground-dwelling mammals: implications for management. In ‘Conservation of Australia’s Forest Fauna’. (Ed. D. Lunney.) pp. 125–136. (Royal Zoological Society of New South Wales: Sydney.)

ECC (1997). Box–ironbark forests and woodlands investigation: resources and issues report. Environment Conservation Council, Melbourne.

ECC (2001). Box–ironbark forests and woodlands investigations: final report. Environment Conservation Council, Melbourne.

Fox B. J. (1996). Long-term studies of small-mammal communities from disturbed habitats in eastern Australia. In ‘Long-term Studies of Vertebrate Communities’. (Eds M. L. Cody and J. A. Smallwood.) pp. 467–501. (Academic Press: San Diego, CA.)

Gibson, L. , Wilson, B. A. , Cahill, D. M. , and Hill, J. (2004). Spatial prediction of rufous bristlebird habitat in a coastal heathland: a GIS-based approach. Journal of Applied Ecology 41, 213–223.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | Krebs C. J. (1999). ‘Ecological Methodology.’ 2nd edn. (Benjamin/ Cummings: Menlo Park, CA.)

Krebs C. J. (Ed.) (2001). ‘Ecology: the Experimental Analysis of Distribution and Abundance’. 5th edn. (Addison Wesley: San Francisco, CA.)

Lada, H. , Thomson, J. R. , Mac Nally, R. , Horrocks, G. , and Taylor, A. C. (2007). Evaluating simultaneous impacts of three anthropogenic effects on a floodplain-dwelling marsupial Antechinus flavipes. Biological Conservation 134, 527–536.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | Brunner H., Triggs B., and Ecobyte Pty Ltd. (2002). Longer-term responses of a flood-plain dwelling marsupial to experimental manipulation of fallen timber loads.Basic and Applied EcologyDOI

Mac Nally, R. , Parkinson, A. , Horrocks, G. , Conole, L. , and Tzaros, C. (2001). Relationships between terrestrial vertebrate diversity, abundance and availability of coarse woody debris on south-eastern Australian floodplains. Biological Conservation 99, 191–205.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | Menkhorst P. W. (1995). Yellow-footed antechinus. In ‘Mammals of Victoria’. (Ed. P. M. Menkhorst.) pp. 41–42. (Oxford University Press: Melbourne.)

Muir A. M., Edwards S. A., and Dickins M. J. (1995). Description and conservation status of the vegetation of the box–ironbark ecosystem in Victoria. Flora and Fauna Technical Report No. 136. Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, Melbourne.

Parks Victoria (2006). Heathcote–Graytown National Park and Spring Creek Nature Conservation Reserve Draft Management Plan. Parks Victoria, Melbourne.

Quinn G. P., and Keough M. J. (2002). ‘Experimental Design and Analysis for Biologists.’ (Cambridge University Press: Cambridge.)

R Development Core Team (2005). ‘R: A Language and Environment for Statistical Computing.’ (R Foundation for Statistical Computing: Vienna.)

Rushton, S. P. , Ormerod, S. J. , and Kerby, G. (2004). New paradigms for modeling species distributions? Journal of Applied Ecology 41, 193–200.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | Scott J. M., Heglund P. J., Morrison M. L., Haufler J. B., Raphael M. G., Wall W. A., and Samson F. B. (Eds) (2002). ‘Predicting Species Occurrences: Issues of Accuracy and Scale’. (Island Press: Washington, DC.)

Soderquist T. R. (1999). Tree hollows in the box–ironbark forest: analysis of ecological data from the Box–Ironbark Timber Assessment in the Bendigo Forest Management Area and Pyrenees Ranges. Department of Natural Resources and Environment, Victoria.

Stokes, V. L. , Pech, R. P. , Banks, P. B. , and Arthur, A. D. (2004). Foraging behaviour and habitat use by Antechinus flavipes and Sminthopsis murina (Marsupialia: Dasyuridae) in response to predation risk in eucalypt woodland. Biological Conservation 117, 331–342.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | Tabachnik B. G., and Fidell L. S. (2007). ‘Using Multivariate Statistics.’ 5th edn. (Pearson: Boston, MA.)

Triggs, B. , Brunner, H. , and Cullen, J. M. (1984). The food of fox, dog and cat in Croajingalong National Park, south-eastern Victoria. Wildlife Research 11, 491–499.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | Van Dyck S. M. (1995). Yellow-footed antechinus. In ‘The Mammals of Australia’. (Ed. R. Strahan.) (Reed Books: Sydney.)

Walsh C., and Mac Nally R. (2005). The hier.part package, ver. 1.0–1. Supplementary package for the R statistical program. Available from URL: http://cran.r-project.org/

Wiens J. A. (2002). Predicting species occurrences: progress, problems, and prospects. In ‘Predicting Species Occurrences: Issues of Accuracy and Scale’. (Eds J. M. Scott, P. J. Heglund, M. L. Morrison, J. B. Haufler, M. G. Raphael, W. A. Wall, and F. B. Samson.) pp. 739–749. (Island Press: Washington, DC.)

Wilson, B. A. , and Friend, G. R. (1999). Responses of Australian mammals to disturbance: a review. Australian Journal of Mammalogy 21, 87–105.