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Does aridity affect spatial ecology? Scaling of home range size in small carnivorous marsupials

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Abstract

The aim of our study was to determine how body mass affects home range size in carnivorous marsupials (dasyurids) and whether those species living in desert environments require relatively larger areas than their mesic counterparts. The movement patterns of two sympatric species of desert dasyurids (body mass 16 and 105 g) were investigated via radio-telemetry in southwestern Queensland and compared with published records for other Australian dasyurids. Both species monitored occupied stable home ranges. For all dasyurids, home range size scaled with body mass with a coefficient of > 1.2, almost twice that for metabolic rate. Generally, males occupied larger home ranges than females, even after accounting for the size dimorphism common in dasyurids. Of the three environmental variables tested, primary productivity and habitat, a categorical variable based on the 500 mm rainfall isopleth, further improved model performance demonstrating that arid species generally occupy larger home ranges. Similar patterns were still present in the dataset after correcting for phylogeny. Consequently, the trend towards relatively larger home ranges with decreasing habitat productivity can be attributed to environmental factors and was not a result of taxonomic affiliation. We therefore conclude that alternative avenues to reduce energy requirements on an individual and population level (i.e. torpor, basking and population density) do not fully compensate for the low resource availability of deserts demanding an increase in home range size.

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Acknowledgements

Fieldwork was conducted under permits form the Queensland Environmental Protection Agency and University of New England (UNE) Animal Ethics Committee. Paul Story assisted with trapping and radio-tracking. Phil Withers and Christine Cooper provided us statistical advice for the analysis of independent contrasts and Stuart Cairns with other statistical procedures. The study was supported by the Australian Research Council to F.G. and a fellowship from the Vice Chancellor of UNE to G. K.

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  1. Aaron Trachtenberg

    Present address: Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada

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  1. Centre for Behavioural and Physiological Ecology, Zoology W077, University of New England, Armidale, NSW, 2351, Australia

    Gerhard Körtner, Aaron Trachtenberg & Fritz Geiser

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  1. Gerhard Körtner
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Correspondence to Gerhard Körtner.

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Communicated by: Matthias Waltert

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Körtner, G., Trachtenberg, A. & Geiser, F. Does aridity affect spatial ecology? Scaling of home range size in small carnivorous marsupials. Sci Nat 106, 42 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00114-019-1636-7

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