Journal article
The response of native Australian rodents to predator odours varies seasonally: a by-product of life history variation?
Animal Behaviour, Vol.71(6), pp.1307-1314
2006
Abstract
Small mammals are subject to predation from mammalian, avian and reptilian predators. There is an obvious advantage for prey species to detect the presence of predators in their environment, enabling them to make decisions about movement and foraging behaviour based on perceived risk of predation. We examined the effect of faecal odours from marsupial and eutherian predators, and a native reptilian predator, on the behaviour of three endemic Australian rodent species (the fawn-footed melomys, Melomys cervinipes, the bush rat, Rattus fuscipes, and the giant white-tailed rat, Uromys caudimaculatus) in rainforest remnants on the Atherton Tableland, North Queensland, Australia. Infrared camera traps were used to assess visit rates of rodents to odour stations containing faecal and control odours. Rodents avoided odour stations containing predator faeces, but did not avoid herbivore or control odours. The responses of the three prey species differed: in the late wet season U. caudimaculatus avoided predator odours, whereas R. fuscipes and M. cervinipes did not. In contrast, in the late dry season all three species avoided odour stations containing predator odours. We speculate that these different responses may result from variation in Elsevier Ltd.life history traits between the species.
Details
- Title
- The response of native Australian rodents to predator odours varies seasonally: a by-product of life history variation?
- Authors
- R Andrew Hayes (Author) - Queensland University of TechnologyHelen F Nahrung (Author) - Queensland University of TechnologyJ C Wilson (Author) - Queensland University of Technology
- Publication details
- Animal Behaviour, Vol.71(6), pp.1307-1314
- Publisher
- Elsevier Ltd.
- Date published
- 2006
- DOI
- 10.1016/j.anbehav.2005.08.017
- ISSN
- 0003-3472
- Organisation Unit
- University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland; Forest Industries Research Centre; Forest Research Institute
- Language
- English
- Record Identifier
- 99450159902621
- Output Type
- Journal article
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