Movements and Home Ranges of Three Sympatric Dasyruids, Sminthopsis crassicaudata, Planigale gilesi and P. tenuirostris (Marsupialaia), in Semiarid Western New South Wales

Abstract

A mark and recapture study was conducted over 2 years in a trapping site ofapproximately 50 ha. Ofthe 692 individuals captured, 30% were recaptured; in all trapping periods, a high proportion of animals caught had not been captured previously. The three species showed considerable mobility throughout the year, but during June Planigale spp. were more sedentary. Mobility is implicated in the changes in local abundance of these insectivores. Some individuals had movements in excess of 400 m day-l; average rates of displacement were 620 m in 100 days for Sminthopsis crassicaudata and 400 m in 100 days for Planigale gilesi. Home ranges ofall species were described as unstable and continually shifting. It is suggested that mobility is an important factor in niche separation between these sympatric species.