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RESEARCH ARTICLE
Contents Vol 54(5)

Comparison of growth and development of the red-tailed phascogale (Phascogale calura) in three captive colonies

W. K. Foster A D E , A. J. Bradley B , W. Caton C and D. A. Taggart A D
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

A School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA 5005, Australia.

B School of Biomedical Sciences, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Qld 4072, Australia.

C Alice Springs Desert Park, Larapinta Drive, Alice Springs, NT 0870, Australia.

D Royal Zoological Society of South Australia, Frome Road, Adelaide, SA 5000, Australia.

E Corresponding author. Email: wendy.foster@adelaide.edu.au

Australian Journal of Zoology 54(5) 343-352 https://doi.org/10.1071/ZO06033
Submitted: 18 April 2006  Accepted: 5 October 2006   Published: 16 November 2006

Abstract

The red-tailed phascogale (Phascogale calura) is an endangered dasyurid species that has recently been brought into captivity in an effort to increase numbers before release back into the wild. As part of investigations into the reproductive biology of the species, information on the growth and development of young was collected throughout lactation from litters raised in three separate colonies. Growth curves for aging young throughout lactation and a timetable of developmental changes were constructed. While two colonies, with fourth- and fifth-generation captive animals, showed no significant difference in growth, animals from a third colony that had been wild caught before breeding displayed a slower rate of growth from 34 days of age. The pattern of development resembled that of other dasyurids, with young left in the nest from 44 days of age, fully furred by 78 days and weaned between 90 and 110 days. Captive phascogales invest heavily in their young, with litters weighing 380 ± 67% of maternal bodyweight at weaning.


Acknowledgments

AJB thanks M. Blake, A. Gutteridge, D. King, C. O’Reilly, S. Sinnott and K. Ward for field assistance, and D. Kitchener, R. How, R. Rose and K. Wallace for advice and helpful discussions. For permission to conduct the field components of this study, we thank the Department of Conservation and Land Management, WA. The assistance provided by the Zoology Department at the University of Western Australia is also acknowledged. WKF and DAT thank the Adelaide Zoo for their assistance with animal housing, maintenance, and project funding. WC thanks Kim Branch and the staff of the mammal department at Alice Springs Desert Park. Funding was obtained from the Australian Research Council, Royal Zoological Society of South Australia and the Schultz Foundation. Thank you also to two anonymous reviewers whose comments helped to improve this manuscript.


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