Seasonal consumption of mycorrhizal fungi by a marsupial-dominated mammal community

Nest, Conor; Elliott, Todd F.; Cooper, Tani; Vernes, Karl

doi:10.1016/j.funeco.2023.101247

Cited by 1 publication

(1 citation statement)

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“…Six species of subterranean fungi were raked from the topsoil at the base of eucalypts (Eucalyptus spp.) and identified to either genus or species based on morphological characters of sporocarps, microscopic examination of spores, and comparisons with collections made during previous studies in this region (Danks et al 2010(Danks et al , 2013Nest et al 2023). Samples of browse and fruit were also collected from the Simpson Desert and brought to Armidale at time of sampling.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The mechanical properties of bettong and potoroo foods

Mitchell,

Ledogar,

Andrew

et al. 2024

Aust. Mammal.

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Potoroid marsupials (bettongs and potoroos of the family Potoroidae) are considered ecosystem engineers because of the roles they play in maintaining biodiversity. However, severe declines since European arrival have necessitated intense conservation efforts. Vital to these efforts is an understanding of the physical challenges that define their niches. The mechanical properties of their foods, such as toughness and stiffness, represent a physical interface with the environment that can contribute to quantitatively defining their niches. Here, we provide mechanical property data from wild bettong and potoroo foods, such as roots and tubers, fruit, fungi, invertebrates, seeds, and leaves. Toughness ranged from approximately 56.58 J/m2 (fungal sporocarp of Descolea sp.) to 2568.15 J/m2 (tubers of the blue yam, Brunoniella australis). Similarly, stiffness of the wild foods ranged from 1.15 MPa for Descolea sp. to 30.4 MPa for B. australis. However, the mechanical demands of accessing the kernels from within the shells (testae) of sandalwood and quandong (Santalum spp.) seeds far exceed measurements of any foods tested. We also tested some farmed foods, alongside inclusion of data from previous studies. Taken together, these data can also improve selection of comparable foods in designing diets for potoroids, and other species, in captivity.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%