Photographic identification of ground-nest predators in Australian tropical rainforest

Abstract

Automatic cameras triggered by infrared beams were used to identify animals visiting artificial groundnests in north Queensland rainforest. In 1992-93 six cameras and nests were established at four sites ranging from 340 to 840m in elevation, and a total of 279 identifiable photographs of nest visitors were recorded. White-tailed rats (Uromys caudimaculatus) comprised 74% of all photographs and were the most frequent visitor at five of six nests. Bush rats (Rattus fuscipes) were second in frequency (17%), with other small mammals (Rattus leucopus, Melomys cervinipes, Perameles nasuta), birds (Ailuroedus melanotis, Pitta versicolor) and reptiles (Varanus varius) each accounting for less than 2% of nest visits. Omnivorous rodents comprised the large majority (96%) of visits and may be significant predators on nests of some ground-nesting birds in Australian tropical rainforest.