Finding food in a novel environment: The diet of a reintroduced endangered meso-predator to mainland Australia, with notes on foraging behaviour

Abstract

Translocated captive-bred predators are less skilled at hunting than wild-born predators and more prone to starvation post-release. Foraging in an unfamiliar environment presents many further risks to translocated animals. Knowledge of the diet and foraging behaviour of translocated animals is therefore an important consideration of reintroductions. We investigated the diet of the endangered meso-predator, the eastern quoll Dasyurus viverrinus. We also opportunistically observed foraging behaviour, enabling us to examine risks associated with foraging. Sixty captive-bred eastern quolls were reintroduced to an unfenced reserve on mainland Australia (where introduced predators are managed) over a two year period (2018, 2019). Quolls were supplementary fed macropod meat but were also able to forage freely. Dietary analysis of scats (n = 56) revealed that quolls ate macropods, small mammals, birds, invertebrates, fish, reptiles and frogs, with some between-year differences in the frequency of different diet categories. We also observed quolls hunting live prey. Quolls utilised supplementary feeding stations, indicating that this may be an important strategy during the establishment phase. Our study demonstrated that, in a novel environment, captive-bred quolls were able to locate food and hunt live prey. However, foraging was not without risks; with the ingestion of toxic substances and foraging in dangerous environments found to be potentially harmful. Knowledge of the diet of reintroduced fauna in natural landscapes is important for understanding foraging behaviour and evaluating habitat suitability for future translocations and management.

Genome of the endangered eastern quoll (Dasyurus viverrinus) reveals signatures of historical decline and pelage color evolution

“…The eastern quoll has been flagged as one of 20 priority mammal species in the Australian Government’s Threatened Species Strategy, with conservation efforts including population supplementation studies, an extensive captive breeding program spanning multiple sanctuaries, and fenced safe havens free of cats and foxes 16 , 17 . The species has also recently been the subject of an ambitious project aimed at re-establishing wild populations in parts of its former mainland range, with two pilot releases of captive-bred animals in Booderee National Park on the south coast of New South Wales 18 , 19 .…”

Genome of the endangered eastern quoll (Dasyurus viverrinus) reveals signatures of historical decline and pelage color evolution

“…The eastern quoll has been flagged as one of 20 priority mammal species in the Australian Government’s Threatened Species Strategy, with conservation efforts including population supplementation studies, an extensive captive breeding program spanning multiple sanctuaries, and fenced safe havens free of cats and foxes 18; 19 . The species has also recently been the subject of an ambitious project aimed at re-establishing wild populations in parts of its former mainland range, with two pilot releases of captive-bred animals in Booderee National Park on the south coast of New South Wales 20; 21 . However, potential challenges to the long-term fitness and adaptive viability of eastern quolls in both Tasmania and mainland Australia remain largely unexplored.…”

Reconstructing lost ecosystems: A risk analysis framework for planning multispecies reintroductions under severe uncertainty

“…While most reintroductions (defined here as the re-establishment of a population in an area following local extinction; IUCN, 2013), have focused on single species (Seddon et al, 2005(Seddon et al, , 2014, multispecies approaches are increasingly common (Ostendorf et al, 2016;Robinson et al, 2020;Zamboni et al, 2017). 'Rewilding' campaigns have commenced across the world, with each emphasising the role of multispecies reintroductions in restoring ecosystems (e.g.…”

“…As global biodiversity loss continues apace (Díaz et al, 2019), conservation efforts have turned to not just managing threatening processes contributing to these losses, but actively restoring individual populations through conservation reintroductions (Corlett, 2016). While most reintroductions (defined here as the re‐establishment of a population in an area following local extinction; IUCN, 2013), have focused on single species (Seddon et al., 2005, 2014), multispecies approaches are increasingly common (Ostendorf et al., 2016; Robinson et al., 2020; Zamboni et al., 2017). ‘Rewilding’ campaigns have commenced across the world, with each emphasising the role of multispecies reintroductions in restoring ecosystems (e.g.…”