Food of the platypus (Ornithorhynchus anatinus) with notes on the food of brown trout (Salmo trutta) in the Shoalhaven River, N.S.W.

Faragher, R. A.; Grant, Tom; Carrick, F. N.

doi:10.1111/j.1442-9993.1979.tb01207.x

Cited by 55 publications

(40 citation statements)

References 10 publications

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“…The captive individuals in this study also showed marked diving bradycardia, an ability to inspire a large quantity of air prior to diving and the capacity for dives longer than those recorded in ¢eld observations (Evans et al 1994). Kruuk (1993) used a ratio of time under water to time on the surface as a measure of foraging e¤ciency in the platypus, which normally needs to collect several small food items during each dive, rather than single large prey items (Faragher et al 1979;Grant 1982). He indicated that foraging e¤ciency was increased in eutrophic waters, owing to a presumed high abundance of benthic invertebrates, but also found that the distances covered during foraging dives were greater in his eutrophic sites than in the more oligotrophic ones.…”

Section: Food and Foraging Activitiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Food items are stored in these pouches during foraging but are then masticated and ¢nely ground by the time they are ingested, so that the majority of material in the digestive system is not recognizable. The presence of benthic invertebrate species, especially insect larvae, in the cheek pouches have been noted by most investigators (Bennett 1835;Crowther 1879;Allport 1878;Semon 1899;Burrell 1927;Fleay 1944;Faragher et al 1979;Grant 1982), although free-swimming species, such as shrimps (Crowther 1879;Fleay 1944;Faragher et al 1979), cray¢sh (Burrell 1927;Fleay 1944Fleay , 1980, beetles (Crowther 1879), water bugs (Burrell 1927), and tadpoles (Fleay 1944), also appear to be included in the diet. After watching a platypus foraging in the gravel bottom of a stream in Tasmania during the spawning season of the grayling, Allport (1878) indicated that the species may take ¢sh eggs and indicated that he could not`conscientiously recommend the owners of trout streams to encourage the presence of Ornithorhynchus anatinus'.…”

Section: Food and Foraging Activitiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…7.6 cm) in length (Nicholls 1958), but this has not yet been con¢rmed by other ¢eld observations. The introduction of a variety of salmonid ¢sh species (mainly Salmo trutta and Onchorhynchus mykiss) into the rivers and lakes of Australia has probably inadvertently bene¢ted the platypus, in spite of some overlap in their diets (Faragher et al 1979). Outlawing the netting of ¢sh in rivers, by such legislation as the 1902 Fisheries Act in New South Wales, was aimed at the conservation of introduced salmonid species, but also must have reduced the incidence of the drowning of platypus (Faragher 1986;Grant 1993).…”

Section: Food and Foraging Activitiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…There are a large number of habitat variables that in£u-ence the production of benthic invertebrate species, which are the major food resource of the platypus (Faragher et al 1979;Grant 1982). These include biotic variables, such as logs, twigs, roots, and in-stream vegetation, as well as abiotic ones, including substrate types.…”

Section: Habitat Requirementsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Field biology of the platypus (Ornithorhynchus anatinus): historical and current perspectives

Grant

Temple-Smith

1998

Phil. Trans. R. Soc. Lond. B

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The ¢eld biology of the platypus, Ornithorhynchus anatinus, was ¢rst studied by a number of expatriate biologists who visited the Australian colonies to collect specimens in the 1800s. Their work was followed in the early to mid-1900s by a group of resident natural historians and later by an increasing number of academic biologists. All of these workers contributed signi¢cantly to the current understanding of the ¢eld biology of this unique Australian species. The platypus occupies much the same general distribution as it did prior to European occupation of Australia, except for its loss from the state of South Australia. However, local changes and fragmentation of distribution due to human modi¢cation of its habitat are documented. The species currently inhabits eastern Australia from around Cooktown in the north to Tasmania in the south. Although not found in the west-£owing rivers of northern Queensland, it inhabits the upper reaches of rivers £owing to the west and north of the dividing ranges in the south of the state and in New South Wales and Victoria. Its current and historical abundance, however, is less well known and it has probably declined in numbers, although still being considered as common over most of its current range. The species was extensively hunted for its fur until around this turn of this century. The platypus is mostly nocturnal in its foraging activities, being predominantly an opportunistic carnivore of benthic invertebrates. The species is homeothermic, maintaining its low body temperature (32 8C), even while foraging for hours in water below 5 8C. Its major habitat requirements include both riverine and riparian features which maintain a supply of benthic prey species and consolidated banks into which resting and nesting burrows can be excavated. The species exhibits a single breeding season, with mating occurring in late winter or spring and young ¢rst emerging into the water after 3^4 months of nurture by the lactating females in the nesting burrows. Natural history observations, mark and recapture studies and preliminary investigations of population genetics indicate the possibility of resident and transient members of populations and suggest a polygynous mating system. Recent ¢eld studies have largely con¢rmed and extended the work of the early biologists and natural historians.

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Section: Food and Foraging Activitiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Food and Foraging Activitiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Food and Foraging Activitiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Habitat Requirementsmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Field biology of the platypus (Ornithorhynchus anatinus): historical and current perspectives

Grant

Temple-Smith

1998

Phil. Trans. R. Soc. Lond. B

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“…Insectivorous bird activity was also closely related to variations in insect emergence ([50% of the biomass was chironomids) from a prairie stream in Kansas (Gray 1993). Some Australian studies (Faragher et al 1979;Ingram and De Silva 2007) also reinforce the importance of chironomids as a source of food for other species. Faragher et al (1979) reported that chironomids and other dipterans were among the most important food sources for platypus and brown trout in the Shoalhaven River (NSW).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 69%

Diel variation in chironomid (Diptera: Insecta) exuviae abundance and taxonomic richness in near-pristine upland streams of the Greater Blue Mountains World Heritage Area, South-Eastern Australia

Wright

Burgin

2009

Aquat Ecol

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We assessed diurnal variation of Chironomidae exuviae in two small upland streams in temperate Australia, during summer. Understanding the diel periodicity of exuviae can be an important consideration for biomonitoring purposes or to investigate adult emergence patterns. We collected 1,813 floating exuviae, comprising 54 taxa from four subfamilies, from flowing water using a drift net. Unlike many northern hemisphere temperate studies, we observed that peak exuviae abundance (7.3 exuviae per m 3 ) and taxon richness (1.7 taxa per m 3 ) occurred in the dusk and night hours, with the lowest numbers (0.9 exuviae per m 3 ) and taxon richness (0.6 taxa per m 3 ) recorded in the late morning to early afternoon. We suggest that this could be an adaptation to avoid stressful weather during the heat of summer days, or it could be to avoid visual predators. The numerically dominant taxa exhibited peak abundance in the dusk/night samples which indicates predominant crepuscular/nocturnal patterns of adult emergence. This pattern was consistent across both streams surveyed. Our taxon inventory rose steeply during the first 24-h occasion, then at a reduced rate during the second and third days of sampling. For flowing water collections of exuviae that utilise drift-netting, we suggest that sampling at all sites includes at least three 24-h cycles and avoids periods of heavy rainfall and increased stream flow.

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A comparison of the positional distribution of fatty acids in milk triglycerides of the extant monotremes platypus (Ornithorhynchus anatinus) and echidna (Tachyglossus aculeatus)

Parodi¹,

Griffiths²

1983

Lipids

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Milk triglycerides from the platypus were subjected to fatty acid and stereospecific analysis to determine the positional distribution of fatty acids in the triglycerides. Of the major fatty acids, 12∶0 was preferentially esterified at thesn-3 position, 14∶0 and 16∶0 were selectively associated with thesn-2 position, and 18∶0 was located predominantly at thesn-1 position. The unsaturated fatty acids, 14∶1, 16∶1, 18∶1, 18∶2 and 18∶3, were preferentially esterified at thesn-3 position. The fatty acid distribution pattern of the platypus, a monotreme, is similar to that of marsupials and eutherians but is in contrast to the only other extant monotreme, the echidna.

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Food of the platypus (Ornithorhynchus anatinus) with notes on the food of brown trout (Salmo trutta) in the Shoalhaven River, N.S.W.

Cited by 55 publications

References 10 publications

Field biology of the platypus (Ornithorhynchus anatinus): historical and current perspectives

Field biology of the platypus (Ornithorhynchus anatinus): historical and current perspectives

Diel variation in chironomid (Diptera: Insecta) exuviae abundance and taxonomic richness in near-pristine upland streams of the Greater Blue Mountains World Heritage Area, South-Eastern Australia

A comparison of the positional distribution of fatty acids in milk triglycerides of the extant monotremes platypus (Ornithorhynchus anatinus) and echidna (Tachyglossus aculeatus)

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