Spatial and temporal differences in the foraging behaviour of birds in a mixed eucalypt forest and woodland on the Southern Tablelands of New South Wales

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Harry F. Recher
Keyword(s):  
Foraging Behaviour ◽  
New South ◽  
New South Wales ◽  
Temporal Differences ◽  
Eucalypt Forest ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Spatial Differences ◽  
Avian Biodiversity ◽  
Temporal And Spatial ◽  
Eucalypt Forests

ABSTRACT In Australia’s eucalypt forests and woodlands, co-habiting birds differ in the foraging manoeuvres or methods used to search for and take prey, the substrates and plants on which prey are found, and the heights at which foraging takes place. On the Southern Tablelands of New South Wales, eucalypt forest and woodland birds foraged on different substrates between study plots, seasons, and years. As a result, the proportions of foraging manoeuvres differed in space and time as different foraging methods were used to obtain food from different substrates. Of the 32 species tested for the summer of 1980/81, 24 foraged differently between one or more of the three plots studied. In winter, nine of 15 species on two plots foraged differently between plots. Differences in foraging were found between seasons and/or years for 20 species, including when data from individual plots were combined to test for differences in foraging between summer and winter. Of 70 comparisons of foraging behaviour for individual plots, that is, excluding combined plot data, 50 differed between seasons and/or years. Significant spatial and temporal differences in foraging were recorded for all foraging guilds. Bark and foliage foragers differed most frequently between pairs of plots in all seasons and years, with aerial foragers showing the fewest differences. Between seasons and years differences were greatest among ground-foragers and foliage-foragers where respectively 76% and 80% of intraspecies comparisons on individual plots differed. The differences were the result of temporal and spatial differences in the types and abundances of foraging substrates and the prey available to foraging birds. Each species has its own unique requirements and management targeted at one or a few species will disadvantage others. Consequently temporal and spatial habitat heterogeneity is necessary for the conservation of avian biodiversity.

Foraging Behavior of Glossy Black-Cockatoos

1989 ◽  
Vol 16 (4) ◽  
pp. 467 ◽  
Author(s):  
MN Clout ◽  
MN Clout
Keyword(s):  
Foraging Behavior ◽  
Seed Weight ◽  
Foraging Behaviour ◽  
New South ◽  
New South Wales ◽  
High Ratio ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Eucalypt Forests ◽  
Total Seed

The foraging behaviour of glossy black-cockatoos (Calyptorhynchus lathami) was studied in eucalypt forests near Eden, New South Wales, Australia, from June 1982 to February 1983. In this area, the cockatoos fed solely on Allocasuarina littoralis seeds that they extracted from closed cones, leaving characteristic feeding litter beneath favoured trees. The cockatoos bred in winter and apparently raised their young entirely on A. littoralis seeds. They spent 88% of the day foraging. The basis on which the cockatoos selected particular A. littoralis trees in which to forage was investigated. They chose trees with larger cone crops but showed no evidence of selecting trees on the basis of cone size. They concentrated their foraging in trees bearing cones with a high ratio of total seed weight to cone weight, which is an index of the potential return (i.e. seeds) from each cone-opening effort.

Mammal surveys in the forests of the Carrai Plateau and Richmond Range in north-east New South Wales.

1994 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 19
Author(s):  
J. Barker ◽  
D. Lunney ◽  
T. Bubela
Keyword(s):  
Native Species ◽  
New South ◽  
New South Wales ◽  
North East ◽  
Mammal Fauna ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Species Lists ◽  
Fauna Composition ◽  
Eucalypt Forests ◽  
Open Forests

Mammal surveys were carried out on the Carrai Plateau and Richmond Range in north-east New South Wales between March 1988 and November 1989. The emphasis was placed on rainforest mammals, following the recognition by Adam ( 1987) that the species lists of mammals in the state's rainforests were incomplete and that more research was needed. The mammals were surveyed primarily by analysis of prey remains in Dog and Fox scats, collected from roads throughout the forests, and from bat trapping. The bat fauna at both the Carrai Plateau and Richmond Range is rich (1 0 species and nine species respectively, including the rare Golden-tipped Bat, Kerivoula papuensis, in the Richmond Range). Scat analysis revealed the presence of 24 native species on the Carrai Plateau, and on the Richmond Range there were 17 species, including high numbers of two pademelon species. Feral prey species are almost completely absent, although the Fox is an established predator in both areas. A sharp division was identified between the mammal faunas of closed and open forests. Differences were found also between the mammal fauna composition of the two rainforest sites, and with those of nearby eucalypt forests. The mammal fauna of New South Wales rainforests is distinct from open forests and future mammal surveys are needed to ensure an adequate level of knowledge to identify and conserve these areas.

Models of the distribution and abundance of ground-dwelling mammals in the eucalypt forests of north-eastern New South Wales in relation to environmental variables

2002 ◽  
Vol 29 (3) ◽  
pp. 313 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. C. Catling ◽  
R. J. Burt ◽  
R. I. Forrester
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Variables ◽  
New South ◽  
New South Wales ◽  
Slope Position ◽  
Slope Aspect ◽  
Significant Variable ◽  
South Wales ◽  
North Eastern ◽  
Eucalypt Forests ◽  
A Site

Statistical models are presented of the distribution and abundance of ground-dwelling mammals in eucalypt forests in relation to environmental variables within an area of approximately 24 000 km2 in north-eastern New South Wales. Environmental variables are defined as climatic or topographic variables that may be useful to map the distribution of fauna. The environmental variables examined were season, temperature, rainfall, elevation, lithology, steepness of slope, position on slope, aspect and landform profile. The probability of recording some species was higher in spring than autumn and many species were in highest abundance in areas of low temperature (high elevation). Although aspect was a significant variable in a number of models, no species was absent from any aspect category. Mid-slopes down to and including creeks and drainage lines were particularly important for many species, as were areas with flatter terrain. Although we have modelled environmental variables only there will no doubt be longer-term interactions between habitat and environmental variables. Fundamentally, environmental variables will determine the type of habitat present at a site, and the distribution of canopy communities, at least, can be predicted from environmental variables. However, other studies have shown for ground-dwelling mammals that environmental variables contribute little and it is the state of the habitat locally, and particularly the understorey, that determines their presence and abundance at a site. The results are discussed in relation to similar models using habitat variables and in relation to the use of such models in the management of ground-dwelling fauna in forests.

Temporal and spatial variability of the sediments budget of the subaerial beach at Warilla, New South Wales

1982 ◽  
Vol 33 (6) ◽  
pp. 945 ◽  
Author(s):  
IG Eliot ◽  
DJ Clarke
Keyword(s):  
Time Series ◽  
Least Squares ◽  
New South ◽  
New South Wales ◽  
Eof Analysis ◽  
Sediment Volume ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Periodic Fluctuations ◽  
Temporal And Spatial ◽  
Phase Differences

A 5-year set of profile data from Warilla Beach, N.S.W., measured fortnightly, has been statistically analysed by using Fourier transform, least-squares, and empirical orthogonal function (eigenfunction or EOF) techniques to identify characteristic patterns of temporal and spatial variation in the sediment volume of the subaerial beach. Least-squares analysis enabled separation of the variation in the subaerial beach at Warilla into a 5-year trend, periodic fluctuations and aperiodic events. The periodic fluctuations are dominated by biennial and annual components. The biennial component accounts for 40% of the sediment budget of the subaerial beach, the annual component 30%, 13% is due to the long-term trend over the 5 years, and about 20% is estimated as aperiodic fluctuations mainly related to changes in the wave regime. Phase differences were identified for periodic oscillations on adjacent beach segments and a chronology of change in sediment volume deduced from the phase differences. The results show that variation in the sediment volume of the subaerial beach is determined by interaction between the biennial and seasonal exchanges although the resulting pattern of exchange may be obscured by higher-frequency beach changes. In alternate years the focus of onshore-offshore sediment exchange shifts from the centre of the beach to the exposed, northern sector. The major depositional zone associated with this exchange is located on the southern+entral sector of the beach and the major erosion zone is on the northern part of the beach. The pattern of alongshore sediment exchange was more closely investigated by EOF analysis. The method facilitated separation of onshore-offshore and alongshore modes of sediment transfer and identification of the patterns of alongshore sediment exchange. The first four EOF's for the data on the subaerial beach at Warilla contain 95.3% of the total variance. The fundamental pattern of sediment movement identified in the EOF analysis involves an onshore-offshore transfer of sediment in biennial, seasonal and 6-monthly cycles. The transfer accounts for 61.7% of the variance for the sediment store of the subaerial beach. The amplitude spectrum of the associated time series for this eigenfunction mode shows that the biennial component is dominant. This result supports the results from the least-squares analysis. It could not have been anticipated from previous studies of beach change from New South Wales or elsewhere and is the subject of ongoing investigation. Subsequent eigenfunction modes identify alongshore movements, with three patterns accounting for a further 33.8% of the remaining variance. They are associated with the prevailing system of inshore water circulation and identify major, recurrent rip and bar locations. Time series associated with the eigenfunction modes confirm the dominance of biennial, annual, and biannual sediment transfers occurring on Warilla Beach.

Australian rainfall patterns and the southern oscillation. 2. A regional perspective in relation to Luni-solar (Mn) and Solar-cycle (Sc) signals

2008 ◽  
Vol 30 (3) ◽  
pp. 349 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. G. Vines
Keyword(s):  
Southern Oscillation ◽  
New South ◽  
New South Wales ◽  
Sunspot Cycle ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Ecological Aspects ◽  
Eastern Australia ◽  
Cyclic Variations ◽  
Rainfall Patterns ◽  
Eucalypt Forests

This investigation is an extension of earlier work on rainfall patterns in eastern Australia. Using district averages rather than rainfall data for individual cities or towns, further evidence is provided for cyclic variations in precipitation with periods of 18–19, 10–11 and 6–7 years. Results from various regional areas in western Queensland and western New South Wales differ from those found further south in Victoria, and connections are suggested between El Niño/southern oscillation events and the incidence of drought in these two separate areas. Such findings are consistent with ecological aspects of the quasi-periodic occurrence of bushfire seasons as observed in both Victorian eucalypt forests after prolonged drought, or after intermittent widespread rains in the semi-arid Mallee rangelands of western New South Wales. The ~19-year cycles may be at least partly a reflection of solar and lunar tidal components and the ~11-year cycles (connected with the Sunspot cycle) could be the result of absorption of short wavelength solar emissions in the stratosphere and resultant photochemical events magnified to produce sea surface temperature changes. The ~19-year cycles are apparently associated with either increased or decreased rainfall, and such connections appear to reverse in parts of Australia about every 100 years. These reversals have been associated with major droughts at the end of the 19th and 20th centuries.

Studies of the Ground-dwelling Mammals of Eucalypt Forests in North-eastern New South Wales: the Species, their Abundance and Distribution

1997 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
pp. 1 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. C. Catling ◽  
R. J. Burt
Keyword(s):  
Vulpes Vulpes ◽  
New South ◽  
New South Wales ◽  
Felis Catus ◽  
Widespread Distribution ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
North Eastern ◽  
Eucalypt Forests ◽  
Abundance And Distribution

The distribution and abundance of ground-dwelling mammals in the major vegetation alliances in the eucalypt forests within an area of c. 24000 km2 in north-eastern New South Wales were examined. Data for 33 species of mammal from 21 areas containing 30 vegetation alliances were collected. Four notable aspects of the data were the absence or low abundance of the introduced fox (Vulpes vulpes), the widespread distribution and abundance of the cat (Felis catus), the diversity and abundance of medium-sized native mammals and the diversity of small mammals. Although differences occurred between areas and alliances, there was no significant difference in the number of native and introduced species. The ground-dwelling mammals present in the eucalypt forests of north-eastern New South Wales were more diverse and in greater abundance than those found in forests of south-eastern New South Wales. However, some species, such as the spotted-tailed quoll (Dasyurus maculatus), appear to be in urgent need of protection and management if they are to persist.

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