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Wildlife Research Wildlife Research Society
Ecology, management and conservation in natural and modified habitats
RESEARCH ARTICLE

The Ecology of Rattus lutreolus III*. The Rise and Fall of a Commensal Population

RW Braithwaite

Australian Wildlife Research 7(2) 199 - 215
Published: 1980

Abstract

A free-living population of R. lutreolus living in and around the zoo enclosures of the Sir Colin MacKenzie Fauna Park at Healesville was studied for 27 months by use of mark-recapture trapping techniques. The demography of this population is compared with that of a natural heathland population. The breeding season was 2-3 months longer, growth of juveniles was more rapid, sexual maturity earlier, minimum survival shorter, body size larger, and habitat use less restricted in the commensal population. The evolution of the population and its decline are discussed.

https://doi.org/10.1071/WR9800199

© CSIRO 1980

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