Free Standard AU & NZ Shipping For All Book Orders Over $80!
Register      Login
Australian Journal of Zoology Australian Journal of Zoology Society
Evolutionary, molecular and comparative zoology
Shopping Cart: ( empty )
You are here: Home > Journals > ZO > ZO08063
RESEARCH ARTICLE
Contents Vol 57(1)

Field metabolic rate and water turnover of red kangaroos and sheep in an arid rangeland: an empirically derived dry-sheep-equivalent for kangaroos

A. J. Munn A D E , T. J. Dawson B , S. R. McLeod C , D. B. Croft B , M. B. Thompson A and C. R. Dickman A
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

A School of Biological Sciences, The University of Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia.

B School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, The University of New South Wales, NSW, 2031, Australia.

C New South Wales Department of Primary Industries, Orange Agricultural Institute, Orange, NSW 2800, Australia.

D Present address: Faculty of Veterinary Science, The University of Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia.

E Corresponding author. Email: a.munn@usyd.edu.au

Australian Journal of Zoology 57(1) 23-28 https://doi.org/10.1071/ZO08063
Submitted: 24 July 2008  Accepted: 7 April 2009   Published: 6 May 2009

Abstract

Sustainable management of pastures requires detailed knowledge of total grazing pressure, but this information is critically lacking in Australia’s rangelands where livestock co-occur with large herbivorous marsupials. We present the first comparative measure of the field metabolic rate (an index of food requirement) of Australia’s largest marsupial, the red kangaroo (Macropus rufus), with that of domestic sheep (Ovis aries; merino breed). We tested the assumption that the grazing pressure of red kangaroos is equivalent to 0.7 sheep, and show this to be a two-fold overestimation of their contribution to total grazing. Moreover, kangaroos had extraordinarily lower rates of water turnover, being only 13% that of sheep. Consequently, our data support arguments that the removal of kangaroos may not markedly improve rangeland capacity for domestic stock. Furthermore, given the low resource requirements of kangaroos, their use in consumptive and non-consumptive enterprises can provide additional benefits for Australia’s rangelands than may occur under traditional rangeland practices.

Additional keywords: marsupial, sustainable grazing, total grazing pressure.


Acknowledgements

We thank Fowlers Gap (UNSW) and G. Curran (NSW DPI). We thank B. Green and K. Newgrain for discussion of the doubly labelled water method. This project was funded by ARC Grant (LP0668879) to AJM, CRD and MBT in collaboration with the NSW Department of Environment and Climate Change Kangaroo Management Program (N. Payne), the SA Department for Environment and Heritage (L. Farroway), the WA Department of Environment and Conservation (P. Mawson), the NSW Western Catchment Management Authority and the NSW Department of Primary Industries. Ethics approval: UNSW ACEC 06/85A. NSW National Parks and Wildlife Scientific Licence S12054.


References

ACF (1967). ‘Conservation of Kangaroos.’ Viewpoint Series No. 1, (Australian Conservation Foundation: Canberra.)

Ampt, P. , and Baumber, A. (2006). Building connections between kangaroos, commerce and conservation in the rangelands. Australian Zoologist 33, 398–409.
Caughley G. , Shepherd N. , and Short J. (1987). ‘Kangaroos, their Ecology and Management in Sheep Rangelands of Australia.’ (Cambridge University Press: Cambridge.)

Cooper, C. E. , Withers, P. C. , and Bradshaw, S. D. (2003). Field metabolic rate and water turnover of the numbat (Myrmecobius fasciatus). Journal of Comparative Physiology. B, Biochemical, Systemic, and Environmental Physiology 173, 687–693.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | CAS | PubMed | Dawson T. J. (1995). ‘Kangaroos: Biology of the Largest Marsupials.’ (University of New South Wales Press: Sydney.)

Dawson T. J. , and Munn A. J. (2007). How much do kangaroos of differing age and size eat relative to domestic stock?: implications for the arid rangelands. In ‘Animals of Arid Australia’. (Eds C. Dickman, D. Lunney, and S. Burgin.) pp. 99–101. (Royal Zoological Society of New South Wales: Sydney.)

Dawson, T. J. , Denny, M. J. S. , Russell, E. M. , and Ellis, B. (1975). Water usage and diet preferences of free ranging kangaroos, sheep and feral goats in the Australian arid zone during summer. Journal of Zoology 177, 1–23.
Grigg G. C. (2002). Conservation benefit from harvesting kangaroos: status report at the start of a new millennium. A paper to stimulate discussion and research. In ‘A Zoological Revolution: Using Native Fauna to Assist its Own Survival’. (Eds D. Lunney and C. R. Dickman.) pp. 53–76. (Royal Zoological Society of New South Wales: Sydney.)

Grigg G. C. , and Pople A. R. (2001). Sustainable use and pest control in conservation: kangaroos as a case study. In ‘Conservation of Exploited Species’. (Eds J. Reynolds, G. Mace, K. Redford, and J. Robinson.) pp. 403–423. (Cambridge University Press: Cambridge.)

Johnson C. (2006). ‘Australia’s Mammal Extinctions: A 50 000 Year History.’ (Cambridge University Press: Melbourne.)

Kempton, T. J. , Murray, R. M. , and Leng, R. A. (1976). Methane production and digestibility measurements in the grey kangaroo and sheep. Australian Journal of Biological Sciences 29, 209–214.
|  CAS | PubMed | Kirkpatrick J. B. , Bridle K. L. , and Leith P. (2007). Managing the run country for production. In ‘People, Sheep and Nature Conservation: the Tasmanian Experience’. (Eds J. B. Kirkpatrick and K. Bridle.) pp. 45–98. (CSIRO Publishing: Melbourne.)

Koteja, P. (1991). On the relation between basal and field metabolic rates in birds and mammals. Functional Ecology 5, 56–64.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | Landsberg J. L. , James C. D. , Morton S. R. , Hobbs T. J. , Stol J. , Drew A. , and Tongway H. (1997). ‘The Effects of Artificial Sources of Water on Rangeland Biodiversity.’ (Environment Australia & CSIRO, Commonwealth of Australia.)

Lifson, N. , and McClintock, R. (1966). Theory of the use of turnover rates of body water for measuring energy and material balance. Journal of Theoretical Biology 12, 46–74.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | CAS | PubMed | Robbins C. T. (1993). ‘Wildlife Feeding and Nutrition.’ 2nd edn. (Academic Press: New York.)

SoE (2006). Australian State of the Environment Committee Australia State of the Environment 2006, Environment Research and Information Branch Department of the Environment and Heritage, Commonwealth of Australia. Available at: http://www.environment.gov.au/soe/2006/index.html [Verified April 2009]

Speakman J. R. (1997). ‘Doubly Labeled Water.’ (Chapman & Hall: New York.)

Squires V. (1981). ‘Livestock Management in the Arid Zone.’ (Inkata Press: Melbourne.)

Van Dyck S. , and Strahan R. (Eds) (2008). ‘Mammals of Australia.’ 3rd edn. (Reed New Holland: Sydney.)

Viggers, K. L. , and Hearne, J. P. (2005). The kangaroo conundrum: home range studies and implications for land management. Journal of Applied Ecology 42, 99–107.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | Zar J. H. (1999). ‘Biostatistical Analysis.’ 4th edn. (Prentice-Hall Inc.: Sydney.)