Abstract. The large-footed myotis (Myotis macropus) is a specialist trawling bat with flexible roosting behaviour, being able to switch between caves, tree hollows and artificial roosts such as bridges, tunnels and culverts. However, little is known about how this species selects culvert roost sites in urban landscapes where hollows may be limited or absent. We surveyed 57 concrete culverts and found 21 M. macropus roosts comprising day and maternity roost sites; 305 bats were captured. Colony sizes averaged 20.6 ± 17.7 (range = 4–49) for maternity roosts and 2.0 ± 0.8 (range = 1–3) for day roosts. Roost culverts differed significantly from available culverts predominantly in terms of availability of microhabitat (lift holes and crevices). Roost culverts had lift holes that had greater cavity dimensions than available culverts and crevices were found only at roost culverts. Culverts containing microhabitat were a limited resource in this urban landscape and so increasing their availability may provide more urban roost sites for this specialist species.
{"title":"Roost selection in concrete culverts by the large-footed myotis (Myotis macropus) is limited by the availability of microhabitat","authors":"Vanessa Gorecki, M. Rhodes, S. Parsons","doi":"10.1071/ZO20033","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1071/ZO20033","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract. The large-footed myotis (Myotis macropus) is a specialist trawling bat with flexible roosting behaviour, being able to switch between caves, tree hollows and artificial roosts such as bridges, tunnels and culverts. However, little is known about how this species selects culvert roost sites in urban landscapes where hollows may be limited or absent. We surveyed 57 concrete culverts and found 21 M. macropus roosts comprising day and maternity roost sites; 305 bats were captured. Colony sizes averaged 20.6 ± 17.7 (range = 4–49) for maternity roosts and 2.0 ± 0.8 (range = 1–3) for day roosts. Roost culverts differed significantly from available culverts predominantly in terms of availability of microhabitat (lift holes and crevices). Roost culverts had lift holes that had greater cavity dimensions than available culverts and crevices were found only at roost culverts. Culverts containing microhabitat were a limited resource in this urban landscape and so increasing their availability may provide more urban roost sites for this specialist species.","PeriodicalId":55420,"journal":{"name":"Australian Journal of Zoology","volume":"12 1","pages":"281 - 289"},"PeriodicalIF":0.8,"publicationDate":"2020-08-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"80455893","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Abstract. Long-nosed fur seals (Arctocephalus forsteri) were tagged as pups in colonies on Kangaroo Island, South Australia in eight consecutive pupping seasons from 1988–89 to 1995–96. Thirty-nine tagged animals were sighted on the southern Australian coast, being 0.89% of those tagged. They were aged from 9 months to 14 years 6 months, with half in their second and third years. Most records (88%) were of animals that moved eastwards. The most distant records were from Sydney in the east (1700 km), south of Tasmania in the south (1240 km) and Head of Bight in the west (700 km). One animal was seen twice, both times on the north coast of Kangaroo Island, once underwater and two years later ashore. Satellite telemetry studies of juvenile A. forsteri from Kangaroo Island showed that they typically forage in pelagic waters ∼1000 km further south in association with the subtropical front. The study reported here shows that some animals tagged as pups disperse widely as juveniles around the southern Australian coast. The possibility of genetic interchange between breeding colonies is suggested by sightings of three tagged females aged 4 years and older at non-natal colonies.
{"title":"Dispersion of long-nosed fur seals (Arctocephalus forsteri) determined by tagging","authors":"P. Shaughnessy, S. Goldsworthy","doi":"10.1071/ZO20032","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1071/ZO20032","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract. Long-nosed fur seals (Arctocephalus forsteri) were tagged as pups in colonies on Kangaroo Island, South Australia in eight consecutive pupping seasons from 1988–89 to 1995–96. Thirty-nine tagged animals were sighted on the southern Australian coast, being 0.89% of those tagged. They were aged from 9 months to 14 years 6 months, with half in their second and third years. Most records (88%) were of animals that moved eastwards. The most distant records were from Sydney in the east (1700 km), south of Tasmania in the south (1240 km) and Head of Bight in the west (700 km). One animal was seen twice, both times on the north coast of Kangaroo Island, once underwater and two years later ashore. Satellite telemetry studies of juvenile A. forsteri from Kangaroo Island showed that they typically forage in pelagic waters ∼1000 km further south in association with the subtropical front. The study reported here shows that some animals tagged as pups disperse widely as juveniles around the southern Australian coast. The possibility of genetic interchange between breeding colonies is suggested by sightings of three tagged females aged 4 years and older at non-natal colonies.","PeriodicalId":55420,"journal":{"name":"Australian Journal of Zoology","volume":"6 1","pages":"173 - 179"},"PeriodicalIF":0.8,"publicationDate":"2020-07-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"81787597","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Abstract. Phylogenetic relationships and estimated dates of origin, plus distributional, ecological and morphological data for salticid genera were used to examine a series of hypotheses related to the evolution of the Australian salticid fauna. Though independent, the time patterns of evolution of genera in Australia and South America were similar, while that for Northern Hemisphere taxa differed. In each case the production of new genera occurred during the warmer parts of the mid Tertiary but not during cooler and drier times. Asian elements entered Australia as early as 31 million years ago, long before the collision of the Australasian and Asian continental plates. Endemic and derivatives of Asian genera were similarly distributed across Australian biomes. However, arriving taxa were more successful when conditions matched their mesic origins (tropical), but less so when different (temperate). While endemic genera often extended their ranges into drier environments by increasing the number of species, recent arrivals did so by extending the range of individual species. Maximum Parsimony analyses of a range of presumed adaptive, morphological and ecological characters showed these did not reflect genus-level processes; however, the analysis did show all endemic genera had mesic origins.
{"title":"Evolutionary biogeography of Australian jumping spider genera (Araneae : Salticidae)","authors":"B. Richardson","doi":"10.1071/ZO20023","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1071/ZO20023","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract. Phylogenetic relationships and estimated dates of origin, plus distributional, ecological and morphological data for salticid genera were used to examine a series of hypotheses related to the evolution of the Australian salticid fauna. Though independent, the time patterns of evolution of genera in Australia and South America were similar, while that for Northern Hemisphere taxa differed. In each case the production of new genera occurred during the warmer parts of the mid Tertiary but not during cooler and drier times. Asian elements entered Australia as early as 31 million years ago, long before the collision of the Australasian and Asian continental plates. Endemic and derivatives of Asian genera were similarly distributed across Australian biomes. However, arriving taxa were more successful when conditions matched their mesic origins (tropical), but less so when different (temperate). While endemic genera often extended their ranges into drier environments by increasing the number of species, recent arrivals did so by extending the range of individual species. Maximum Parsimony analyses of a range of presumed adaptive, morphological and ecological characters showed these did not reflect genus-level processes; however, the analysis did show all endemic genera had mesic origins.","PeriodicalId":55420,"journal":{"name":"Australian Journal of Zoology","volume":"37 1","pages":"162 - 172"},"PeriodicalIF":0.8,"publicationDate":"2020-07-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"80581257","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Abstract. We monitored some aspects of maternal care in Australia’s second largest extant marsupial predator, the spotted-tailed quoll. We radio-collared six females carrying young at an early pouch stage in the Byadbo Wilderness in southern New South Wales in August–September 2016. When these young were deposited at a maternity den at a still altricial state we monitored den activity of the female and her young with motion-triggered camera traps. Lactating females remained in the same den for up to 39 days before moving to a new den, usually only a few hundred metres away. Females furnished dens with nesting material, but were never observed to carry prey nor were the young seen consuming solid food. They were also surprisingly tolerant towards visits and den use by wombats, rabbits, possums and male quolls. Females showed predominantly nocturnal activity, but usually returned at least once per night. Short daytime activity was also common. In contrast, juveniles were initially exclusively diurnal, probably to facilitate behavioural thermoregulation, and only later extended their playing and exploring towards dawn and dusk. Hence interactions between mother and young were rarely observed. Apparently, the young received little training from their mother and simply ventured further and for longer periods away from the den until independence.
{"title":"Denning behaviour of female spotted-tailed quolls during the breeding season","authors":"G. Körtner, A. Claridge, G. Ballard","doi":"10.1071/ZO20012","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1071/ZO20012","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract. We monitored some aspects of maternal care in Australia’s second largest extant marsupial predator, the spotted-tailed quoll. We radio-collared six females carrying young at an early pouch stage in the Byadbo Wilderness in southern New South Wales in August–September 2016. When these young were deposited at a maternity den at a still altricial state we monitored den activity of the female and her young with motion-triggered camera traps. Lactating females remained in the same den for up to 39 days before moving to a new den, usually only a few hundred metres away. Females furnished dens with nesting material, but were never observed to carry prey nor were the young seen consuming solid food. They were also surprisingly tolerant towards visits and den use by wombats, rabbits, possums and male quolls. Females showed predominantly nocturnal activity, but usually returned at least once per night. Short daytime activity was also common. In contrast, juveniles were initially exclusively diurnal, probably to facilitate behavioural thermoregulation, and only later extended their playing and exploring towards dawn and dusk. Hence interactions between mother and young were rarely observed. Apparently, the young received little training from their mother and simply ventured further and for longer periods away from the den until independence.","PeriodicalId":55420,"journal":{"name":"Australian Journal of Zoology","volume":"13 1","pages":"145 - 152"},"PeriodicalIF":0.8,"publicationDate":"2020-07-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"76136020","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Abstract. Rises in abundance of a population in response to increased resources is often followed by a rise in predator abundance. The non-threatened eastern barn owl (Tyto alba delicatula) and the threatened eastern grass owl (Tyto longimembris) are predators that may have occupancy patterns linked with prey abundance. It is important to identify the resources that cause increases in primary prey items to further understanding of the ecology of these species. Here I test the hypothesis that grass seeds cause increased abundances of wetland-dwelling house mice (Mus musculus) in austral summer, and identify a wetland monocot that provides a food recourse to achieve this effect, as well as report eastern grass owl and barn owl observations. A 2.6 ha wetland area (on Kooragang Island, New South Wales) was surveyed almost weekly to quantify abundance of prey items from September to April for three years (2016–2019). Typha sp. (a monocot) had flowering periods that coincided with increases in house mouse observations (n = 90 in flowering, n = 2 in non-flowering), where 22% were detected feeding on Typha flowers/seeds or fleeing from flower stalks. Eastern grass owls were only observed during a Typha flowering period (n = 3). These observations confirmed the original hypothesis and led to the formulation of another hypothesis: wetland occupancy by eastern grass owls is influenced by Typha flowering. Future studies should aim to test this hypothesis and identify other wetland plants that provide an important food source for wetland-dwelling rodents.
{"title":"Increased house mouse (Mus musculus) abundance in wetlands in response to Typha sp. flowering: implications for understanding wetland occupancy patterns of the eastern grass owl (Tyto longimembris)","authors":"C. Beranek","doi":"10.1071/ZO20063","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1071/ZO20063","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract. Rises in abundance of a population in response to increased resources is often followed by a rise in predator abundance. The non-threatened eastern barn owl (Tyto alba delicatula) and the threatened eastern grass owl (Tyto longimembris) are predators that may have occupancy patterns linked with prey abundance. It is important to identify the resources that cause increases in primary prey items to further understanding of the ecology of these species. Here I test the hypothesis that grass seeds cause increased abundances of wetland-dwelling house mice (Mus musculus) in austral summer, and identify a wetland monocot that provides a food recourse to achieve this effect, as well as report eastern grass owl and barn owl observations. A 2.6 ha wetland area (on Kooragang Island, New South Wales) was surveyed almost weekly to quantify abundance of prey items from September to April for three years (2016–2019). Typha sp. (a monocot) had flowering periods that coincided with increases in house mouse observations (n = 90 in flowering, n = 2 in non-flowering), where 22% were detected feeding on Typha flowers/seeds or fleeing from flower stalks. Eastern grass owls were only observed during a Typha flowering period (n = 3). These observations confirmed the original hypothesis and led to the formulation of another hypothesis: wetland occupancy by eastern grass owls is influenced by Typha flowering. Future studies should aim to test this hypothesis and identify other wetland plants that provide an important food source for wetland-dwelling rodents.","PeriodicalId":55420,"journal":{"name":"Australian Journal of Zoology","volume":"8 1","pages":"210 - 214"},"PeriodicalIF":0.8,"publicationDate":"2020-07-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"75635235","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Abstract. Five species are currently recognised in the dasyurid genus Murexia, i.e. longicaudata, naso, habbema, melanurus and rothschildi. Morphological data, including spacing of premolar teeth, the footpads and aspects of external appearance, together with nuclear and mitochondrial DNA sequences from multiple exemplars from across the range of each species, suggest that at least three of these represent species groups rather than individual species. Some of the taxa currently synonymised in the five species may warrant reinstatement, including M. murex, M. aspera, M. maxima in the ‘M. longicaudata’ group, M. tafa in the ‘M. naso’ group and M. wilhelmina in the ‘M. melanurus’ group. Our data also suggest the presence of other, synonymised or undescribed taxa within the ‘longicaudata’, ‘naso’, ‘melanurus’ and ‘habbema’ species groups whose species boundaries require clarification by further collections and study.
摘要目前已知的有五种,即longicaudata, naso, habbema, melanurus和rothschild。形态学数据,包括前磨牙的间距,脚垫和外观的各个方面,以及来自每个物种范围内的多个样本的细胞核和线粒体DNA序列,表明其中至少有三个代表物种群体,而不是单个物种。在这5个物种中,一些目前同义的分类群可能需要恢复,包括M. murex, M. aspera, M. maxima。longicaudata '组,M. tafa在' M。naso组和M. wilhelmina组。melanurus”组。我们的数据还表明,在“longicaudata”、“naso”、“melanurus”和“habbema”种群中存在其他同义或未描述的分类群,其物种边界需要进一步的收集和研究来澄清。
{"title":"The endemic New Guinean genus Murexia (Dasyuromorphia : Dasyuridae). How many species? An analysis based on morphological, distributional and molecular data","authors":"P. Woolley, C. Krajewski, M. Westerman","doi":"10.1071/ZO20013","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1071/ZO20013","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract. Five species are currently recognised in the dasyurid genus Murexia, i.e. longicaudata, naso, habbema, melanurus and rothschildi. Morphological data, including spacing of premolar teeth, the footpads and aspects of external appearance, together with nuclear and mitochondrial DNA sequences from multiple exemplars from across the range of each species, suggest that at least three of these represent species groups rather than individual species. Some of the taxa currently synonymised in the five species may warrant reinstatement, including M. murex, M. aspera, M. maxima in the ‘M. longicaudata’ group, M. tafa in the ‘M. naso’ group and M. wilhelmina in the ‘M. melanurus’ group. Our data also suggest the presence of other, synonymised or undescribed taxa within the ‘longicaudata’, ‘naso’, ‘melanurus’ and ‘habbema’ species groups whose species boundaries require clarification by further collections and study.","PeriodicalId":55420,"journal":{"name":"Australian Journal of Zoology","volume":"89 1","pages":"134 - 144"},"PeriodicalIF":0.8,"publicationDate":"2020-07-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"87755737","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Abstract. Koala scat surveys are important tools for determining koala presence and distribution in large forested areas where it is impractical to conduct direct observation surveys. However, current scat survey methods are problematic due to lack of either accuracy or feasibility, i.e. they are either biased or very time-consuming in the field. This study aimed to establish a new koala scat survey method with improved accuracy compared with existing methods, and practical in the field. We developed a new Balanced Koala Scat Survey method (BKSS), and evaluated it in the field by analysing scat detectability variations and comparing it with a current survey method, the Spot Assessment Technique (SAT), to determine scat searching accuracy. The results revealed that current methods were biased by assigning consistent searching effort for all trees, because effective searching time to detect the first scat was significantly affected by Koala Activity Level (KAL – the proportion of trees found with scats among all 30 trees in a survey site). Compared with BKSS, SAT tended to yield more false negative outcomes; SAT may miss up to 46% of trees with scats when KAL was low. The application of BKSS is expected to greatly enhance the reliability of koala scat surveys in determining koala distribution and thus improve their conservation management.
{"title":"The development of an improved scat survey method for koalas (Phascolarctos cinereus)","authors":"A. Jiang, A. Tribe, P. Murray","doi":"10.1071/ZO20006","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1071/ZO20006","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract. Koala scat surveys are important tools for determining koala presence and distribution in large forested areas where it is impractical to conduct direct observation surveys. However, current scat survey methods are problematic due to lack of either accuracy or feasibility, i.e. they are either biased or very time-consuming in the field. This study aimed to establish a new koala scat survey method with improved accuracy compared with existing methods, and practical in the field. We developed a new Balanced Koala Scat Survey method (BKSS), and evaluated it in the field by analysing scat detectability variations and comparing it with a current survey method, the Spot Assessment Technique (SAT), to determine scat searching accuracy. The results revealed that current methods were biased by assigning consistent searching effort for all trees, because effective searching time to detect the first scat was significantly affected by Koala Activity Level (KAL – the proportion of trees found with scats among all 30 trees in a survey site). Compared with BKSS, SAT tended to yield more false negative outcomes; SAT may miss up to 46% of trees with scats when KAL was low. The application of BKSS is expected to greatly enhance the reliability of koala scat surveys in determining koala distribution and thus improve their conservation management.","PeriodicalId":55420,"journal":{"name":"Australian Journal of Zoology","volume":"2 1","pages":"125 - 133"},"PeriodicalIF":0.8,"publicationDate":"2020-06-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"86240575","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Abstract. Plant secondary metabolites can affect insect feeding but responses are species-specific. Sideroxylonal-A (a formylated phloroglucinol) has been shown to inhibit feeding in several vertebrate and invertebrate herbivores. To investigate whether sideroxylonal-A affected feeding in sawfly larvae, Perga affinis affinis, we fed larvae eucalypt leaves containing various concentrations of sideroxylonal-A, and measured frass production as an indicator of consumption. We found that: (1) at least 80% of the sideroxylonal-A ingested by larvae was stored in the diverticulum; (2) less than 1% was excreted in frass; (3) feeding was unaffected by the concentration of sideroxylonal-A; and (4) larvae produced more frass on natal host leaves than on non-natal host leaves.
{"title":"The effect of sideroxylonal-A on feeding of steelblue sawfly, Perga affinis affinis Kirby (Hymenoptera : Pergidae), larvae","authors":"A. Massaro, P. Cooper","doi":"10.1071/ZO19068","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1071/ZO19068","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract. Plant secondary metabolites can affect insect feeding but responses are species-specific. Sideroxylonal-A (a formylated phloroglucinol) has been shown to inhibit feeding in several vertebrate and invertebrate herbivores. To investigate whether sideroxylonal-A affected feeding in sawfly larvae, Perga affinis affinis, we fed larvae eucalypt leaves containing various concentrations of sideroxylonal-A, and measured frass production as an indicator of consumption. We found that: (1) at least 80% of the sideroxylonal-A ingested by larvae was stored in the diverticulum; (2) less than 1% was excreted in frass; (3) feeding was unaffected by the concentration of sideroxylonal-A; and (4) larvae produced more frass on natal host leaves than on non-natal host leaves.","PeriodicalId":55420,"journal":{"name":"Australian Journal of Zoology","volume":"57 1","pages":"114 - 123"},"PeriodicalIF":0.8,"publicationDate":"2020-06-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"72687556","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
D. Barton, M. Porter, A. Baker, Xiaocheng Zhu, D. Jenkins, S. Shamsi
Abstract. The presence of nymphs of the introduced pentastomid parasite Linguatula serrata is verified in a native Australian animal, the red-necked wallaby (Notamacropus rufogriseus), for the first time. Morphological and genetic analyses confirmed the species identification, with a 100% genetic match to samples collected from various introduced animals from the same location in Kosciuszko National Park. Previous reports of pentastomids, including possible Linguatula sp. infections, in native animals are discussed. More research is required to confirm the validity of these reports.
{"title":"First report of nymphs of the introduced pentastomid, Linguatula serrata, in red-necked wallabies (Notamacropus rufogriseus) in Australia","authors":"D. Barton, M. Porter, A. Baker, Xiaocheng Zhu, D. Jenkins, S. Shamsi","doi":"10.1071/ZO20017","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1071/ZO20017","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract. The presence of nymphs of the introduced pentastomid parasite Linguatula serrata is verified in a native Australian animal, the red-necked wallaby (Notamacropus rufogriseus), for the first time. Morphological and genetic analyses confirmed the species identification, with a 100% genetic match to samples collected from various introduced animals from the same location in Kosciuszko National Park. Previous reports of pentastomids, including possible Linguatula sp. infections, in native animals are discussed. More research is required to confirm the validity of these reports.","PeriodicalId":55420,"journal":{"name":"Australian Journal of Zoology","volume":"42 1","pages":"106 - 113"},"PeriodicalIF":0.8,"publicationDate":"2020-05-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"73709547","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Abstract. Dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) is a non-invasive technology for measurement of body composition that requires validation against reference methods when applied to a new species. The aim of this work was to validate DXA for the assessment of body composition of the echidna. Body composition was determined in the short-beaked echidna (Tachyglossus aculeatus aculeatus) using a Norland XR36 DXA scanner and validated by proximate chemical analysis for dry matter, ash, crude fat (FM) and protein (as 6.25 × N) and bone mineral content (BMC). Echidnas were opportunistically obtained as ‘road kill’. Body composition data were compared between techniques by correlation and limits of agreement (LOA) analyses. Twenty-eight echidnas (11 males, 13 females, 4 not determined), weighing 520–5517 g, underwent analyses. Mean FM was 489.9 ± 439.5 g and 448.5 ± 337.5 g, lean mass was 2276.0 ± 1021.4 g and 2256.0 ± 1026.0 g, fat-free mass was 2356.3 ± 1055.1 g and 2389.5 ± 1081.1 g and BMC was 80.3 ± 39.5 g and 79.9 ± 42.4 g by DXA and chemical analysis, respectively. The two methods were highly correlated (0.84 to 0.99) and not significantly different, although LOA were large. DXA has the potential to be used to assess body composition of echidnas although further work is required to improve accuracy of measurement.
{"title":"Dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) and chemical composition as measures of body composition of the short-beaked echidna (Tachyglossus aculeatus aculeatus)","authors":"P. Leehong, X. Li, W. Bryden, L. Ward","doi":"10.1071/ZO19034","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1071/ZO19034","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract. Dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) is a non-invasive technology for measurement of body composition that requires validation against reference methods when applied to a new species. The aim of this work was to validate DXA for the assessment of body composition of the echidna. Body composition was determined in the short-beaked echidna (Tachyglossus aculeatus aculeatus) using a Norland XR36 DXA scanner and validated by proximate chemical analysis for dry matter, ash, crude fat (FM) and protein (as 6.25 × N) and bone mineral content (BMC). Echidnas were opportunistically obtained as ‘road kill’. Body composition data were compared between techniques by correlation and limits of agreement (LOA) analyses. Twenty-eight echidnas (11 males, 13 females, 4 not determined), weighing 520–5517 g, underwent analyses. Mean FM was 489.9 ± 439.5 g and 448.5 ± 337.5 g, lean mass was 2276.0 ± 1021.4 g and 2256.0 ± 1026.0 g, fat-free mass was 2356.3 ± 1055.1 g and 2389.5 ± 1081.1 g and BMC was 80.3 ± 39.5 g and 79.9 ± 42.4 g by DXA and chemical analysis, respectively. The two methods were highly correlated (0.84 to 0.99) and not significantly different, although LOA were large. DXA has the potential to be used to assess body composition of echidnas although further work is required to improve accuracy of measurement.","PeriodicalId":55420,"journal":{"name":"Australian Journal of Zoology","volume":"6 1","pages":"73 - 81"},"PeriodicalIF":0.8,"publicationDate":"2020-05-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"81089253","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}