Using climate variables to predict small mammal occurrence in hot, dry environments

Limited influence of landscape on the genetic structure of three small mammals in a heterogeneous arid environment

“…Geographic distance, annual precipitation, clay content ( N. timealeyi ) and distance to major drainage lines ( P. chapmani ) had minor influence on the distribution of genetic variation across the landscape for P. chapmani and N. timealeyi , but P. hermannsburgensis did not respond to any of the measured environmental variables. Previous studies show that vegetation cover and substrate type are more important in predicting species presence than climate variables in small mammal communities in the Australian arid zone, although these relationships are weaker in widespread species compared to those with restricted distributions (Gibson & Mckenzie, ; Haby, Foulkes, & Brook, ). We had expected that substrate type may have been a significant predictor of genetic structuring of P. chapmani that has a specific habitat preference for stony soils in range uplands (Start et al., ) and possibly for P. hermannsburgensis that is commonly found on sand (Gibson & Mckenzie, ).…”

A review of factors influencing the stress response in Australian marsupials

“…Climate can affect marsupial health; for example, seasonal debility has been recorded in quokka in association with elevated plasma cortisol, weight loss, dehydration, parasite and bacterial infection ( Miller and Bradshaw, 1979 ). Furthermore, climate change can influence the occurrence and distribution of wildlife populations ( Loyola et al , 2012 ; Haby et al , 2013 ). Indeed, climate change has been suggested as a contributory factor in past, present and future range contractions and local extinctions of Australian marsupials, including northern bettongs ( Bettongia tropica ; Abell et al , 2006 ; Bateman et al , 2012 ), koalas ( Adams-Hosking et al , 2011 ) and quokkas ( Gibson, 2001 ).…”