Arid
DOI10.1371/journal.pone.0092341
Mammals of Australia’s Tropical Savannas: A Conceptual Model of Assemblage Structure and Regulatory Factors in the Kimberley Region
Radford, Ian J.1; Dickman, Christopher R.2; Start, Antony N.3; Palmer, Carol4; Carnes, Karin1; Everitt, Corrin1; Fairman, Richard1; Graham, Gordon5; Partridge, Thalie6; Thomson, Allan1
通讯作者Radford, Ian J.
来源期刊PLOS ONE
ISSN1932-6203
出版年2014
卷号9期号:3
英文摘要

We construct a state-and-transition model for mammals in tropical savannas in northern Australia to synthesize ecological knowledge and understand mammalian declines. We aimed to validate the existence of alternative mammal assemblage states similar to those in arid Australian grasslands, and to speculate on transition triggers. Based on the arid grassland model, we hypothesized that assemblages are partitioned across rainfall gradients and between substrates. We also predicted that assemblages typical of arid regions in boom periods would be prevalent in savannas with higher and more regular rainfall. Data from eight mammal surveys from the Kimberley region, Western Australia (1994 to 2011) were collated. Survey sites were partitioned across rainfall zones and habitats. Data allowed us to identify three assemblage states: State 0:- low numbers of mammals, State II:- dominated by omnivorous rodents and State III:- dominated by rodents and larger marsupials. Unlike arid grasslands, assemblage dominance by insectivorous dasyurids (State I) did not occur in savannas. Mammal assemblages were partitioned across rainfall zones and between substrates as predicted, but-unlike arid regions-were not related strongly to yearly rainfall. Mammal assemblage composition showed high regional stability, probably related to high annual rainfall and predictable wet season resource pulses. As a consequence, we speculate that perpetually booming assemblages in savannas allow top-down control of the ecosystem, with suppression of introduced cats by the dingo, the region’s top predator. Under conditions of low or erratic productivity, imposed increasingly by intense fire regimes and introduced herbivore grazing, dingoes may not limit impacts of cats on native mammals. These interacting factors may explain contemporary declines of savanna mammals as well as historical declines in arid Australia. The cat-ecosystem productivity hypothesis raised here differs from the already-articulated cat-habitat structure hypothesis for mammal declines, and we suggest approaches for explicit testing of transition triggers for competing hypotheses.


类型Article
语种英语
国家Australia
收录类别SCI-E
WOS记录号WOS:000333677000041
WOS关键词KAKADU-NATIONAL-PARK ; PSEUDANTECHINUS-MACDONNELLENSIS MARSUPIALIA ; DASYURUS-HALLUCATUS MARSUPIALIA ; NORTHERN AUSTRALIA ; WESTERN-AUSTRALIA ; TRANSITION MODELS ; ARID AUSTRALIA ; MITCHELL PLATEAU ; BIODIVERSITY CONSERVATION ; POPULATION-DYNAMICS
WOS类目Multidisciplinary Sciences
WOS研究方向Science & Technology - Other Topics
资源类型期刊论文
条目标识符http://119.78.100.177/qdio/handle/2XILL650/184343
作者单位1.Dept Pk & Wildlife, Div Sci & Conservat, Kununurra, WA, Australia;
2.Univ Sydney, Sch Biol Sci, Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia;
3.Dept Pk & Wildlife, Div Sci & Conservat, Woodvale, WA, Australia;
4.Northern Terr Govt, Dept Land Resource Management, Palmerston, NT, Australia;
5.Conservat Commiss Western Australia, Crawley, WA, Australia;
6.Macquarie Univ, Dept Biol Sci, Sydney, NSW 2109, Australia
推荐引用方式
GB/T 7714
Radford, Ian J.,Dickman, Christopher R.,Start, Antony N.,等. Mammals of Australia’s Tropical Savannas: A Conceptual Model of Assemblage Structure and Regulatory Factors in the Kimberley Region[J],2014,9(3).
APA Radford, Ian J..,Dickman, Christopher R..,Start, Antony N..,Palmer, Carol.,Carnes, Karin.,...&Thomson, Allan.(2014).Mammals of Australia’s Tropical Savannas: A Conceptual Model of Assemblage Structure and Regulatory Factors in the Kimberley Region.PLOS ONE,9(3).
MLA Radford, Ian J.,et al."Mammals of Australia’s Tropical Savannas: A Conceptual Model of Assemblage Structure and Regulatory Factors in the Kimberley Region".PLOS ONE 9.3(2014).
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