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The Diets and Dietary Preferences of Rattus-Fuscipes and Rattus-Lutreolus at Walkerville in Victoria

The Diets and Dietary Preferences of Rattus-Fuscipes and Rattus-Lutreolus at Walkerville in Victoria <jats:p>The diets of Rattus fuscipes and R. lutreolus from a site in central southern Victoria were investigated by faecal analysis. R. lutreolus was predominantly herbivorous; in heath it selected the basal stems of certain cyperaceous herbs, and in forest it ate non-sclerophyllous grasses. Fungi were an important dietary component and seed might be eaten in some quantity for a short time in spring and early summer. R. fuscipes showed little dietary overlap with R. lutreolus; in forest it was reliant on fungi and fibrous plant material from particular grasses; in heath it relied on particular cyperaceous species in winter, and ate primarily fleshy fruit, seed and arthropods in summer. Dietary preferences are compared with the relative abundance of diet items in the habitat. Both species are selective, and this selectivity changes with season. The effects of the availability of preferred diet items on the species' distributions are discussed.</jats:p> http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Wildlife Research CrossRef

The Diets and Dietary Preferences of Rattus-Fuscipes and Rattus-Lutreolus at Walkerville in Victoria

Wildlife Research , Volume 14 (1): 35 – Jan 1, 1987

The Diets and Dietary Preferences of Rattus-Fuscipes and Rattus-Lutreolus at Walkerville in Victoria


Abstract

<jats:p>The diets of Rattus fuscipes and R. lutreolus from a site in central southern Victoria were investigated
by faecal analysis. R. lutreolus was predominantly herbivorous; in heath it selected the basal stems
of certain cyperaceous herbs, and in forest it ate non-sclerophyllous grasses. Fungi were an important
dietary component and seed might be eaten in some quantity for a short time in spring and early summer.
R. fuscipes showed little dietary overlap with R. lutreolus; in forest it was reliant on fungi and fibrous
plant material from particular grasses; in heath it relied on particular cyperaceous species in winter, and
ate primarily fleshy fruit, seed and arthropods in summer. Dietary preferences are compared with the
relative abundance of diet items in the habitat. Both species are selective, and this selectivity changes
with season. The effects of the availability of preferred diet items on the species' distributions are discussed.</jats:p>

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Publisher
CrossRef
ISSN
1035-3712
DOI
10.1071/wr9870035
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

<jats:p>The diets of Rattus fuscipes and R. lutreolus from a site in central southern Victoria were investigated by faecal analysis. R. lutreolus was predominantly herbivorous; in heath it selected the basal stems of certain cyperaceous herbs, and in forest it ate non-sclerophyllous grasses. Fungi were an important dietary component and seed might be eaten in some quantity for a short time in spring and early summer. R. fuscipes showed little dietary overlap with R. lutreolus; in forest it was reliant on fungi and fibrous plant material from particular grasses; in heath it relied on particular cyperaceous species in winter, and ate primarily fleshy fruit, seed and arthropods in summer. Dietary preferences are compared with the relative abundance of diet items in the habitat. Both species are selective, and this selectivity changes with season. The effects of the availability of preferred diet items on the species' distributions are discussed.</jats:p>

Journal

Wildlife ResearchCrossRef

Published: Jan 1, 1987

There are no references for this article.