Specialist resources are key to improving small mammal distribution models

Austral Ecology

Volumn 37, Issue 2, 2012, Pages 216-226

  Haby, Nerissa A ^a   Delean, Steven ^a   Brook, Barry W ^a  

^a UNIVERSITY OF ADELAIDE   (Australia)

Author keywords

Biotic information; Boosted regression tree; Generalized linear modelling; Scale

Indexed keywords

CLIMATE MODELING; DATA SET; ENVIRONMENTAL FACTOR; GENERALIST; HABITAT TYPE; IDENTIFICATION KEY; LANDSCAPE; NUMERICAL MODEL; POPULATION DISTRIBUTION; REGRESSION ANALYSIS; RESOLUTION; RESOURCE AVAILABILITY; RESOURCE USE; SMALL MAMMAL; VULNERABILITY; WOODLAND;

MAMMALIA;

EID: 84858863832     PISSN: 14429985     EISSN: 14429993     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1111/j.1442-9993.2011.02267.x     Document Type: Article

References (90)

1. Acevedo P., Alzaga V., Cassinello J. & Gortázar C. (2007) Habitat suitability modelling reveals a strong niche overlap between two poorly known species, the broom hare and the Pyrenean grey partridge, in the north of Spain. Acta Oecol. 31, 174-84.
2. Anderson R. P., Peterson A. T. & Gómez-Laverde M. (2002) Using niche-based GIS modelling to test geographic predictions to competitive exclusion and competitive release in South American pocket mice. Oikos 98, 3-16.
3. Andrews P. & O'Brien E. M. (2000) Climate, vegetation, and predictable gradients in mammal species richness in southern Africa. J. Zool. 251, 205-31.
4. Austin M. P. (2002) Spatial prediction of species distribution: an interface between ecological theory and statistical modelling. Ecol. Modell. 157, 101-18.
5. Beever E. A., Brussard P. F. & Berger J. (2003) Patterns of apparent extirpation among isolated populations of pikas (Ochotona princeps) in the Great Basin. J. Mammal. 84, 37-54.
6. Bentley J. M. (2008) Role of movement, interremnant dispersal and edge effects in determining sensitivity to habitat fragmentation in two forest-dependent rodents. Austral Ecol. 33, 184-96.
7. Bowman J., Forbes G. J. & Dilworth T. G. (2001) The spatial component of variation in small-mammal abundance measured at three scales. Can. J. Zool. 79, 137-44.
8. Braithwaite R. W. & Gullan P. K. (1978) Habitat selection by small mammals in a Victorian heathland. Aust. J. Ecol. 3, 109-27.
9. Braithwaite R. W. & Lee A. K. (1979) The ecology of Rattus lutreolus I. A Victorian heathland population. Aust. J. Wildl. Res. 6, 173-89.
10. Brannon M. P. (2005) Distribution and microhabitat of the woodland jumping mouse, Napaeozapus insignis, and the white-footed mouse, Peromyscus leucopus, in the southern Appalachians. Southeast. Nat. 4, 479-86.
11. Brook B. W., O'Grady J. J., Chapman A. P., Burgman M. A., Akçakaya H. R. & Frankham R. (2000) Predictive accuracy of population viability analysis in conservation biology. Nature 404, 385-7.
12. Broughton S. K. & Dickman C. R. (1991) The effect of supplementary food on home range of the southern brown bandicoot, Isoodon obesulus (Marsupialia: Peramelidae). Austral Ecol. 16, 71-8.
13. Burnham K. P. & Anderson D. R. (2002) Model Selection and Multimodel Inference: A Practical Information-Theoretic Approach, 2nd edn. Springer, New York.
14. Carbajo A. E. & Pardiñas U. F. J. (2007) Spatial distribution model of a hantavirus reservoir, the long-tailed colilargo (Oligoryzomys longicaudats), in Argentina. J. Mammal. 88, 1555-68.
15. Carron P. L., Happold D. C. D. & Bubela T. M. (1990) Diet of two sympatric Australian subalpine rodents, Mastacomys fuscus and Rattus fuscipes. Aust. Wildl. Res. 17, 479-89.
16. Catling P. C., Burt R. J. & Forrester R. I. (2000) Models of the distribution and abundance of ground-dwelling mammals in the eucalypt forests of north-eastern New South Wales in relation to habitat variables. Wildl. Res. 27, 639-54.
17. Caughley G., Short J., Grigg G. C. & Nix H. (1987) Kangaroos and climate: an analysis of distribution. J. Anim. Ecol. 56, 751-61.
18. Cheal D. C. (1987) The diets and dietary preferences of Rattus fuscipes and Rattus lutreolus at Walkerville in Victoria. Aust. Wildl. Res. 14, 35-44.
19. Claridge A. W. & Barry S. C. (2000) Factors influencing the distribution of medium-sized ground-dwelling mammals in southeastern mainland Australia. Austral Ecol. 25, 676-88.
20. Cockburn A. (1981) Population regulation and dispersion of the smoky mouse, Pseudomys fumeus. I. Dietary determinants of microhabitat preference. Aust. J. Ecol. 6, 231-54.
21. Dennis R. L. H., Shreeve T. G. & Van Dyck H. (2003) Towards a functional resource-based concept for habitat: a butterfly biology viewpoint. Oikos 12, 417-26.
22. Elith J., Leathwick J. R. & Hastie T. (2008) A working guide to boosted regression trees. J. Anim. Ecol. 77, 802-13.
23. ESRI (2009) AcrMap 9.2. ESRI, Redlands. [Cited 1 Jan 2009.] Available from URL:
24. Ferraz K. M. P. M. B., Peterson A. T., Scachetti-Pereira R., Vettorazzi C. A. & Verdade L. M. (2009) Distribution of capybaras in an agroecosystem, southeastern Brazil, based on ecological niche modelling. J. Mammal. 90, 189-94.
25. Fitzgibbon S. I., Putland D. A. & Goldizen A. W. (2007) The importance of functional connectivity in the conservation of a ground-dwelling mammal in an urban Australia landscape. Landsc. Ecol. 22, 1513-25.
26. Fordham D. A., Akçakaya H. R., Araújo M. & Brook B. W. (in press) Modelling range shifts for invasive vertebrates in response to climate change. In: Wildlife Conservation in a Changing Climate (eds J. Brodie, E. Post & D. Doak ). University of Chicago Press, Chicago.
27. Foulkes J. & Heard L. (2003) A Biological Survey of the South East, South Australia, 1991 and 1997. Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Adelaide.
28. Fox B. J. (1998) The distribution of fauna in natural and disturbed landscapes in relation to appropriate habitat. In: Fauna Habitat Reconstruction Workshop (eds C. J. Ashed & L. C. Bell ) pp. 1-11. Australian Centre for Mining Environmental Research, Brisbane.
29. Fox B. J. & Monamy V. (2007) A review of habitat selection by the swamp rat, Rattus lutreolus (Rodentia: Muridae). Austral Ecol. 32, 837-49.
30. Frazer D. S. & Petit S. (2007) Use of Xanthorrhoea semiplana (grass-trees) for refuge by Rattus fuscipes (southern bush rat). Wildl. Res. 34, 379-86.
31. Garnett S. T. & Brook B. W. (2007) Modelling to forestall extinction of Australian tropical birds. J. Ornithol. 148, S311-20.
32. Geoscience Australia (2008) GEODATA 9 Second DEM and D8: Digital Elevation Model Version 3 and Flow Direction Grid. Geoscience Australia, Department of Resources, Energy and Tourism, Canberra.
33. Guisan A. & Zimmermann N. E. (2000) Predictive habitat distribution models in ecology. Ecol. Modell. 135, 147-86.
34. Haythornthwaite A. D. & Dickman C. R. (2006) Distribution, abundance, and individual strategies: a multi-scale analysis of dasyurid marsupials in arid central Australia. Ecography 29, 285-300.
35. Heard L. M. & Channon B. (1997) Guide to a Native Vegetation Survey (Agricultural Region) Using the Biological Survey of South Australia Methodology. Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Adelaide.
36. Heinsohn G. E. (1966) Ecology and reproduction of the Tasmanian bandicoots (Perameles gunni and Isoodon obesulus). Univ. Calif. Publ. Zool. 80, 1-96.
37. Hirzel A. H. & Le Lay G. (2008) Habitat suitability modelling and niche theory. J. Appl. Ecol. 45, 1372-81.
38. Hockings M. (1981) Habitat distribution and species diversity of small mammals in south-east Queensland in relation to vegetation structure. Aust. Wildl. Res. 8, 97-108.
39. Holland G. & Bennett A. (2007) Occurrence of small mammals in a fragmented landscape: the role of vegetation heterogeneity. Wildl. Res. 34, 387-97.
40. Hutchinson M. (2006) Anusplin Version 4.36. Centre for Resource and Environmental Studies. The Australian National University, Canberra.
41. Imperical College & MRC (1996) WinBUGS with DoodleBUGS. Version 1.4. [Cited 1 Jan 2009.] Available from URL:
42. Jorgensen E. E. (2004) Small mammal use of microhabitat reviewed. J. Mammal. 85, 531-9.
43. Kelly L. T. & Bennett A. F. (2008) Habitat requirements of the yellow-footed antechinus (Antechinus flavipes) in box-ironbark forest, Victoria, Australia. Wildl. Res. 35, 128-33.
44. Kirk T. A. & Zielinski W. J. (2009) Developing and testing a landscape habitat suitability model for the American marten (Martes Americana) in the Cascades mountains of California. Landsc. Ecol. 24, 759-73.
45. Kotliar N. B. & Wiens J. A. (1990) Multiple scales of patchiness and patch structure: a hierarchical framework for the study of heterogeneity. Oikos 59, 253-60.
46. Larrucea E. S. & Brussard P. F. (2008) Habitat selection and current distribution of the pygmy rabbit in Nevada and California, USA. J. Mammal. 89, 691-9.
47. Leban F. (1999) Resource Selection for Windows (RSW), Version 1.00 Beta 8.4. University of Idaho, Moscow.
48. Lindenmayer D. B., MacGregor C., Welsh A. etal. (2008) Contrasting mammal responses to vegetation type and fire. Wildl. Res. 35, 395-408.
49. Lobert B. (1985) The ecology of the southern brown bandicoot in south-east Australian heathland. Masters Thesis. Monash University, Melbourne.
50. Lunney D. (2008) Swamp Rat, Rattus lutreolus (Gray, 1841. In: The Mammals of Australia, 3rd edn (eds S. Van Dyke & R. Strahan ) pp. 690-2. Reed New Holland, Sydney.
51. McCarthy M. A. (2007) Bayesian Methods in Ecology. Cambridge University Press, New York.
52. Mac Nally R., Parkinson A., Horrocks G., Conole L. & Tzaros C. (2001) Relationships between terrestrial vertebrate diversity, abundance and availability of coarse woody debris on south-eastern Australian floodplains. Biol. Conserv. 99, 191-205.
53. Maitz W. E. & Dickman C. R. (2001) Competition and habitat use in native Australian Rattus: is competition intense, or important? Oecologia 128, 526-38.
54. Manning J. A. & Edge W. D. (2004) Small mammal survival and downed wood at multiple scales in managed forests. J. Mammal. 85, 87-96.
55. Mapelli F. J. & Kittlein M. J. (2009) Influence of patch and landscape characteristics on the distribution of the subterranean rodent Ctenomys porteousi. Landscape Ecol. 24, 723-33.
56. Marchesan D. & Carthew S. (2004) Autecology of the yellow-footed antechinus (Antechinus flavipes) in a fragmented landscape in southern Australia. Wildl. Res. 31, 273-82.
57. Marchesan D. & Carthew S. (2008) Use of space by the yellow-footed antechinus, Antechinus flavipes, in a fragmented landscape in South Australia. Landsc. Ecol. 23, 741-52.
58. Masters P. (2008) Crest-tailed mulgara: Dasycercus cristicauda (Krefft, 1867). In: The Mammals of Australia, 3rd edn (eds S. Van Dyke & R. Strahan ) pp. 49-50. Reed New Holland, Sydney.
59. Monamy V. (1995) Population dynamics of, and habitat use by, Australian native rodents in wet sclerophyll forest, Tasmania. I. Rattus lutreolus velutinus (Rodentia: Muridae). Wildl. Res. 22, 647-60.
60. Moro D. (1991) The distribution of small mammal species in relation to heath vegetation near Cape Otway, Victoria. Wildl. Res. 18, 605-18.
61. Morris D. W. (1987) Ecological scale and habitat use. Ecology 69, 362-9.
62. Norton T. W. (1987a) The effect of trap placement on trapping success of Rattus lutreolus velutinus (Thomas) (Muridae: Rodentia) in north-east Tasmania. Aust. Wildl. Res. 14, 305-10.
63. Norton T. W. (1987b) The ecology of small mammals in north-eastern Tasmania I. Rattus lutreolus velutinus. Aust. Wildl. Res. 14, 415-33.
64. Orians G. H. & Wittenberger J. F. (1991) Spatial and temporal scales in habitat selection. Am. Nat. 137, S29-49.
65. Orrock J. L., Pagels J. F., McShea W. J. & Harper E. K. (2000) Predicting presence and abundance of a small mammals species: the effect of scale and resolution. Ecol. Appl. 10, 1356-66.
66. Owens H. M. (2000) Guidelines for Vertebrates Surveys in South Australia Using the Biological Survey of South Australia. Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Adelaide.
67. Paull D. (1992) The distribution, ecology and conservation of the southern brown bandicoot (Isoodon obesulus obesulus) in South Australia. Masters Thesis. University of Adelaide, Adelaide.
68. Pearce J. L., Cherry K., Drielsma M., Ferrier S. & Whish G. (2001) Incorporating expert opinion and fine-scale vegetation mapping into statistical models of faunal distribution. J. Appl. Ecol. 38, 412-24.
69. Pearson D. J. & McKenzie N. L. (2008) Hairy-footed dunnart: Sminthopsis hirtipes (Thomas, 1898). In: The Mammals of Australia, 3rd edn (eds S. Van Dyke & R. Strahan ) pp. 143-4. Reed New Holland, Sydney.
70. PIRSA (2001) PIRSA Land Information in Analysing and Mapping Soil and Landscape Attribute Data. Department of Primary Industries and Resources, Adelaide.
71. Pulliam H. R. (2000) On the relationship between niche and distribution. Ecol. Lett. 3, 349-61.
72. R Core Development Team (2009) R: A Language and Environment for Statistical Computing. R Foundation for Statistical Computing, Vienna. ISBN 3-900051-07-0. [Cited 1 Jan 2009.] Available from URL:
73. Ridgeway G. (2009) GBM: Generalised Boosted Regression Models. R package version 2.0-1/r21. [Cited 1 Jan 2009.] Available from URL:
74. Santos M. J. & Beier P. (2008) Habitat selection by European badgers at multiple spatial scales in Portuguese Mediterranean ecosystems. Wildl. Res. 35, 835-43.
75. Southgate R., Paltridge R., Masters P. & Carthew S. (2007) Bilby distribution and fire: a test of alternative models of habitat suitability in the Tanami Desert, Australia. Ecography 30, 759-76.
76. Spencer R.-J., Cavanough V. C., Baxter G. S. & Kennedy M. S. (2005) Adult free zones in small mammal populations: response of Australian native rodents to reduced cover. Aust. Ecol. 30, 876-84.
77. Stewart A. P. (1979) Trapping success in relation to trap placement with three species of small mammals, Rattus fuscipes, Antechinus swainsonii and A. stuartii. Aust. Wildl. Res. 6, 165-72.
78. Stoddart D. M. & Braithwaite R. W. (1979) A strategy for utilization of regenerating heathland habitat by the brown bandicoot (Isoodon obesulus; Marsupialia, Peramelidae). J. Anim. Ecol. 48, 165-79.
79. Stokes V., Pech R., Banks P. & Arthur A. (2004) Foraging behaviours and habitat use by Antechinus flavipes and Sminthopsis murina (Marsupialia: Dasyuridae) in response to predation risk in eucalypt woodland. Biol. Conserv. 117, 331-42.
80. Swihart R. K. & Lusk J. J., Duchamp J. E., Rizkalla C. E. & Moore J. E. (2006) The roles of landscape context, niche breadth, and range boundaries in predicting species responses to habitat alteration. Diversity Distrib. 12, 277-87.
81. Taylor J. M. & Calaby J. H. (1988) Rattus fuscipes. Mamm. Species 298, 1-8.
82. Traba J., Avebes P., Campos V. E. & Giannoni S. M. (2010) Habitat selection by two sympatric rodent species in the Monte desert, Argentina. First data for Eligmodontia moreni and Octomys mimax. J. Arid Environ. 74, 179-85.
83. Tyre A. J., Possingham H. P. & Lindenmayer D. B. (2001) Inferring process from pattern: can territory occupancy provide information about life history parameters? Ecol. Appl. 11, 1722-37.
84. Warneke R. M. (1971) Field study of the bush rat (Rattus fuscipes). Wildl. Contrib. 14, 1-115.
85. Watts C. H. S. & Aslin H. J. (1981) The Rodents of Australia. Angus and Robertson Publishers, Sydney.
86. White R. M., Kennaway D. J. & Seamark R. F. (1996) Reproductive seasonality of the bush rat (Rattus fuscipes greyi) in South Australia. Wildl. Res. 23, 317-36.
87. Wiens J. A., Rotenberry J. T. & Van Horne B. (1987) Habitat occupancy patterns of North Maerican shrubsteppe birds: the effects of spatial scale. Oikos 48, 132-47.
88. Wintle B. A., Elith J. & Potts J. M. (2005) Fauna habitat modelling and mapping: a review and case study in the lower hunter central coast region of NSW. Austral Ecol. 30, 719-38.
89. Wood-Jones F. (1923) The Mammals of South Australia: Part 1. The Monotremes and the Carnivorous Marsupials. Government Printer, Adelaide.
90. Wood-Jones F. (1924) The Mammals of South Australia: Part II. The Bandicoots and the Herbivorous Marsupials. Government Printer, Adelaide.