Are introduced black rats ('Rattus rattus') a functional replacement for mycophagous native rodents in fragmented forests?
The fungal diet of the introduced black rat ('Rattus rattus') was examined in a fragmented forest in northeastern New South Wales, Australia, to determine whether this species was consuming and dispersing the spores of native truffles. Because of the absence of native rodents at the site,...
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ftunivnewengland:oai:rune.une.edu.au:1959.11/5141 2023-08-27T04:11:40+02:00 Are introduced black rats ('Rattus rattus') a functional replacement for mycophagous native rodents in fragmented forests? Vernes, Karl A School of Environmental and Rural Science orcid:0000-0003-1635-9950 McGrath, Katrina A Environmental and Rural Science 2009 https://hdl.handle.net/1959.11/5141 en eng Elsevier Ltd 10.1016/j.funeco.2009.03.001 https://hdl.handle.net/1959.11/5141 une:5259 Terrestrial Ecology Natural Resource Management Wildlife and Habitat Management Journal Article 2009 ftunivnewengland 2023-08-10T19:33:08Z The fungal diet of the introduced black rat ('Rattus rattus') was examined in a fragmented forest in northeastern New South Wales, Australia, to determine whether this species was consuming and dispersing the spores of native truffles. Because of the absence of native rodents at the site, the diet of the swamp wallaby ('Wallabia bicolor'), a known mycophagist in the region, was examined simultaneously as a benchmark against which to compare fungal consumption by black rats. All 19 scats collected from black rats contained fungal spores, while 29 of the 34 swamp wallaby scats contained fungal spores. Most spores were from hypogeous ('truffle-like') fungal species, although both black rats and swamp wallabies each consumed a few epigeous ('mushroom-like') taxa. While rat and wallaby diets contained many of the same taxa, their diets were significantly different in terms of the fungal taxa that comprised each sample. Our results suggest that black rats might perform an important spore dispersal role in degraded and fragmented landscapes where native rodents have been extirpated, and might complement the dispersal role played by larger mycophagous mammals like swamp wallabies. Article in Journal/Newspaper Rattus rattus Research UNE - University of New England at Armidale, NSW Australia |
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Open Polar |
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Research UNE - University of New England at Armidale, NSW Australia |
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ftunivnewengland |
language |
English |
topic |
Terrestrial Ecology Natural Resource Management Wildlife and Habitat Management |
spellingShingle |
Terrestrial Ecology Natural Resource Management Wildlife and Habitat Management Vernes, Karl A School of Environmental and Rural Science orcid:0000-0003-1635-9950 McGrath, Katrina A Environmental and Rural Science Are introduced black rats ('Rattus rattus') a functional replacement for mycophagous native rodents in fragmented forests? |
topic_facet |
Terrestrial Ecology Natural Resource Management Wildlife and Habitat Management |
description |
The fungal diet of the introduced black rat ('Rattus rattus') was examined in a fragmented forest in northeastern New South Wales, Australia, to determine whether this species was consuming and dispersing the spores of native truffles. Because of the absence of native rodents at the site, the diet of the swamp wallaby ('Wallabia bicolor'), a known mycophagist in the region, was examined simultaneously as a benchmark against which to compare fungal consumption by black rats. All 19 scats collected from black rats contained fungal spores, while 29 of the 34 swamp wallaby scats contained fungal spores. Most spores were from hypogeous ('truffle-like') fungal species, although both black rats and swamp wallabies each consumed a few epigeous ('mushroom-like') taxa. While rat and wallaby diets contained many of the same taxa, their diets were significantly different in terms of the fungal taxa that comprised each sample. Our results suggest that black rats might perform an important spore dispersal role in degraded and fragmented landscapes where native rodents have been extirpated, and might complement the dispersal role played by larger mycophagous mammals like swamp wallabies. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Vernes, Karl A School of Environmental and Rural Science orcid:0000-0003-1635-9950 McGrath, Katrina A Environmental and Rural Science |
author_facet |
Vernes, Karl A School of Environmental and Rural Science orcid:0000-0003-1635-9950 McGrath, Katrina A Environmental and Rural Science |
author_sort |
Vernes, Karl A |
title |
Are introduced black rats ('Rattus rattus') a functional replacement for mycophagous native rodents in fragmented forests? |
title_short |
Are introduced black rats ('Rattus rattus') a functional replacement for mycophagous native rodents in fragmented forests? |
title_full |
Are introduced black rats ('Rattus rattus') a functional replacement for mycophagous native rodents in fragmented forests? |
title_fullStr |
Are introduced black rats ('Rattus rattus') a functional replacement for mycophagous native rodents in fragmented forests? |
title_full_unstemmed |
Are introduced black rats ('Rattus rattus') a functional replacement for mycophagous native rodents in fragmented forests? |
title_sort |
are introduced black rats ('rattus rattus') a functional replacement for mycophagous native rodents in fragmented forests? |
publisher |
Elsevier Ltd |
publishDate |
2009 |
url |
https://hdl.handle.net/1959.11/5141 |
genre |
Rattus rattus |
genre_facet |
Rattus rattus |
op_relation |
10.1016/j.funeco.2009.03.001 https://hdl.handle.net/1959.11/5141 une:5259 |
_version_ |
1775354653878255616 |