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Foraging ecology of the agile wallaby (Macropus agilis) in the wet-dry tropics

Stirrat, SC (2002). Foraging ecology of the agile wallaby (Macropus agilis) in the wet-dry tropics. Wildlife Research,29(4):347-361.

Document type: Journal Article
Citation counts: Scopus Citation Count Cited 11 times in Scopus Article | Citations

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Title Foraging ecology of the agile wallaby (Macropus agilis) in the wet-dry tropics
Author Stirrat, SC
Journal Name Wildlife Research
Publication Date 2002
Volume Number 29
Issue Number 4
ISSN 1035-3712   (check CDU catalogue open catalogue search in new window)
Scopus ID 2-s2.0-0036908925
Start Page 347
End Page 361
Total Pages 15
Place of Publication Collingwood
Publisher CSIRO Publishing
HERDC Category C1 - Journal Article (DEST)
Abstract Seasonal changes in diet composition and diet preferences of the agile wallaby ( Macropus agilis) were investigated in East Point Reserve, Darwin. The wallabies were almost exclusively grazers in the wet season when the nitrogen content and in vitro digestibility of herbage were high. Evidence suggests that wallabies rarely browsed in the wet season. The diet consisted mainly of non-leguminous forbs, reflecting the abundance of these plants in the study site, but the wallabies showed higher preference for grasses and legumes. In the dry season herbage quality was poor and the wallabies grazed on available green grasses and forbs but also broadened their diet considerably to include a range of alternative foods, including browse, leaf litter, fruits, flowers and roots. A flexible foraging strategy allows agile wallabies to exploit a range of resources in this highly seasonal environment where periods of food shortage may be long and their duration unpredictable.
Keywords monsoon rain-forest
northern australia
diet
cattle
phosphorus
trees
DOI http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/WR01028   (check subscription with CDU E-Gateway service for CDU Staff and Students  check subscription with CDU E-Gateway in new window)
 
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Created: Wed, 28 Nov 2007, 14:16:08 CST