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Seasonal Effects on Diet of Two Arid Zone Dasyurids, Dasycercus Cristicauda and Ningaui Ridei (Dasyuridae, Marsupialia)

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Seasonal Effects on Diet of Two Arid Zone Dasyurids, Dasycercus Cristicauda and Ningaui Ridei (Dasyuridae, Marsupialia) Edith Cowan University Research Online Theses : Honours Theses 2004 Seasonal effects on diet of two arid zone Dasyurids, Dasycercus Cristicauda and Ningaui Ridei (Dasyuridae, Marsupialia) Leisa Turner Edith Cowan University Follow this and additional works at: https://ro.ecu.edu.au/theses_hons Part of the Zoology Commons Recommended Citation Turner, L. (2004). Seasonal effects on diet of two arid zone Dasyurids, Dasycercus Cristicauda and Ningaui Ridei (Dasyuridae, Marsupialia). https://ro.ecu.edu.au/theses_hons/366 This Thesis is posted at Research Online. https://ro.ecu.edu.au/theses_hons/366 Edith Cowan University Copyright Warning You may print or download ONE copy of this document for the purpose of your own research or study. The University does not authorize you to copy, communicate or otherwise make available electronically to any other person any copyright material contained on this site. You are reminded of the following: Copyright owners are entitled to take legal action against persons who infringe their copyright. A reproduction of material that is protected by copyright may be a copyright infringement. Where the reproduction of such material is done without attribution of authorship, with false attribution of authorship or the authorship is treated in a derogatory manner, this may be a breach of the author’s moral rights contained in Part IX of the Copyright Act 1968 (Cth). Courts have the power to impose a wide range of civil and criminal sanctions for infringement of copyright, infringement of moral rights and other offences under the Copyright Act 1968 (Cth). Higher penalties may apply, and higher damages may be awarded, for offences and infringements involving the conversion of material into digital or electronic form. SEASONAL EFFECTS ON DIET OF TWO ARID ZONE DASYURIDS,DASYCERCUS CRISTICAUDA AND NINGAUI RIDEi (DASYURIDAE, MARSUPIALIA). Leisa Turner Bachelor of Science, Diploma in Education This Thesis is submitted in Partial Fulfilmentof the Requirements forthe award of Bachelor of Science (Biological Science) with Honours, from the Faculty of Communications, Health and Science, School of Natural Sciences, Edith Cowan University Date Submitted: 12th November 2004 EDITH COWAN UNIVERSITY LIBRARY USE OF THESIS The Use of Thesis statement is not included in this version of the thesis. DECLARATION I certify that this thesis does not to the best of my knowledge and belief: (i) Incorporate without acknowledgement any material previously submitted for a degree or diploma in any institution of higher education; (ii) Contain any material previously published or written by another person except where due reference is made in text; or (iii) Contain any defamatory material Signature Date III ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS There are so many people that have contributed to making this thesis possible, both in the last year and throughout my life, so I would like to take the time to acknowledge some of the people that have helped me. There are many who have not been mentioned and for that I apologise, know that you were an important part of my journey and I hold you dear to my he?rt. Firstly, I would like to thank my primary supervisor, Dr Alan Needham for his belief, and constant support. I know that without his guidance I would not have been able to commence honours, nor overcome the stumbling blocks along the way. I owe him a huge debt of gratitude for his endless patience, his time and most importantly for sharing his knowledge and advice. I would also like to thank my co·supervisor, Dr David Pearson for accepting me as an honours student, for allowing me access to the dasyurid faecal collection and for his constant guidance in the field. Dr Pearson has opened my eyes to many aspects of research and I have grown through our association. This project would not have been made possible without both the interest and financial support of the Western Mining Corporation. In particular I would like to thank Glenda Pickersgill, Jane O'Neill and Zi:na Lakis for their support in the field and for providing constructive feedback of my proposal, sampling technique and final thesis. I would like to tl.ank both Glenda and Jane for their belief in the project and also for the long conversations in the field that brought many things into focus. I would like to thank Associate Professor Adrianne Kinnear for guidance and advice regarding my results section; Dr David Goodall for his constructive feedback of the literature review, my statistical ana1ysis and for grammatical advice and Derek Swarts, Alex Watson, Blair Hardman, Professor Will Stock and Dr Kristina Lemson for their statistical counsel and direction. N Thankyou to Dr Andrea Hinwood for providing me with sound advice and arming me with the tools to accomplish what I had set out to achieve. I have relied on your strength and direction so many times throughout the project and hope you realise how important you have been for many of us this year. I would like to acknowledge the many other people who have contributed their time and expertise. To my volunteers Judy Dunlop and Karen Edwards, I owe you thanks for the many aspects of help you provided in the field. Thankyou to Dr Pip Masters, Nadine Guthrie (CALM), Brad Durrant (CALM), Kerry Rhoda (Ecologia) and Brian Hanich (WA Museum) for background information, project improvement and assistance with the identification of my invertebrate collection. A special thankyou to the lab technicians who invented and researched a multitude of things and provided me with workable solutions to many interesting problems. Thank you to my fellow honours students; Nerilee Boshammer, Lyndsay Bourke, Michelle Cumbers, Rebecca Ince, Malin Kordes, Paul Mackay and Jill Woodhouse for their continual support, powers of motivation and the interesting distractions that saved my sanity. Finally I would like to thank my family who have been a constant source of strength. Their support and optimism have always enabled me to achieve so much more than I believed was possible. This thesis is dedicated to my parents, who have loved, encouraged and believed in me, despite my shortcomings, I love you both so much and appreciate all you have taught me and your boundless love and support; my sister, a grounding voice of reason and reality, and my partner Chris, who has stood by me, loved me, and never lost hope that one day it would finally be over, I love you always. Thankyou. v ABSTRACT Seasonal fluctuations in rainfall and food availability are thought to change populations of arid zone mammals dramatically over time. Competition between similar species for limited food resources is believed to be a major factor in the evolution and maintenance of population assemblages. Animals foraging in arid regions must be responsive to the unreliable distribution of nutrients and food resources to ensure the survival of viable populations. Adaptive physiological traits and behavioural mechanisms of arid zone animals allow them to survive extreme conditions and the ability to switch between prey species in adverse conditions is an advantageous strategy. This study was conducted in Mt Keith, Western Australia and investigated the diet of two dasyurid marsupials D. cristicauda and N. ridei. The project was designed to determine if seasonal changes were present in the diet of D. cristicauda and N. ridei, construct a reference collection of local invertebrates, compare the availability of captured fauna with faecal material and detennine the efficiency of different pitfall traps for capturing prey. Results have shown that both D. cristicauda and N. ridei are predominantly insectivorous and select similar prey types, although the frequency in which prey types are observed in faecal pellets differed between the two species. Differences were also recorded between prey frequency and time of sampling for each species. When comparing different pitfall traps to determine efficiency, capture rate of potential prey changed in response to trap type and season. This study concurs with other research, whereby seasonal shifts in diet were reported in D. cristicauda populations in both the Simpson Desert and in central Australia. These dietary changes were attributed to changes in the availability of potential prey, due to the influences of season and drought; and changes in the selection of prey in response to balancing the costs of reproduction. The ability of these animals to switch between prey sources is advantageous in arid regions where resources fluctuate in response to climatic changes. VI TABLE OF CONTENTS USE OF THESIS ......................................................................... ., ............. II DECLARATION ....................................................................................... 111 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ..................................................................... IV ABSTRACT ............................................................................................... VI TABLE OF CONTENTS ....................................................................... VII LIST OF TABLES ..................................................................................... X LIST OF FIGURES .................................................................................. XI LIST OF PLATES ................................................................................. XIII 1 INTRODUCTION ....................................................................... 14 1.1 BACKGROUND .............................................................................................
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