Introduction: Carnivorous marsupials

Abstract

Population dynamics and movements were investigated in a population of Pseudantechinus macdonnellensis, a dasyurid marsupial occupying rocky habitats in the Australian arid zone. Intra-annual cycling in abundance, activity and numbers of resident and transient individuals was not regular from year to year, although the number of residents was high compared with the number of transients. Juvenile recruitment varied between years and was as low as 18%. Densities were low (0.05–0.2 ha^–1 for females and 0.05–0.3 ha^–1 for males), and individuals exhibited large stable long-term ranges – mean Minimum Convex Polygon (MCP) area for males was 427 m² and for females 171 m². The constraints of the monoestrous, synchronised reproductive strategy of P. macdonnellensis, together with the ameliorating effect of its rocky habitat, which may decrease food limitation and increase survival, seem to have produced a different pattern of population dynamics to that seen in arid-zone dasyurids that are polyoestrous plains-dwellers. The patterns of movement in P. macdonnellensis also differ from plains-dwelling species, in which individuals display high life-time mobility. The existence of large but non-drifting ranges in P. macdonnellensis may be seen as a consequence of a low but relatively predictable food supply, which precludes the necessity for individuals to shift their activity to temporary patches of high food supply, but requires them to occupy a large range to obtain enough food to meet energy requirements.