Palatability mapping: a koala's eye view of spatial variation in habitat quality
Date
2010
Authors
Moore, Ben
Lawler, I
Wallis, Ian
Beale, Colin M.
Foley, William
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Publisher
Ecological Society of America
Abstract
Ecologists trying to understand the value of habitat to animals must first describe the value of resources contained in the habitat to animals and, second, they must describe spatial variation in resource quality at a resolution relevant to individual animal foraging. We addressed these issues in a study of koalas (Phascolarctos cinereus) in a Eucalyptus woodland. We measured beneficial and deterrent chemical characteristics as well as the palatability of trees using a near-infrared spectroscopic model based on direct feeding experiments. Tree use by koalas was influenced by tree size and foliar quality but was also context-dependent: trees were more likely to be visited if they were surrounded by small, unpalatable trees or by large, palatable trees. Spatial autocorrelation analysis and several mapping approaches demonstrated that foliar quality is spatially structured in the woodland at a scale relevant to foraging decisions by koalas and that the spatial structure is an important component of habitat quality.
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Keywords
Keywords: autocorrelation; habitat quality; marsupial; palatability; patch use; secondary metabolite; spatial variation; woodland; animal; article; demography; ecosystem; Eucalyptus; feeding behavior; koala; physiology; Animals; Demography; Ecosystem; Eucalyptus; F Associational defense; Australian eucalyptus woodland; Formylated phloroglucinol compounds; Generalized additive mixed modeling; Habitat quality; Koala; NIRS; Patch use; Phascolarctos cinereus; Plant secondary metabolites; Spatial autocorrelation
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Source
Ecology
Type
Journal article
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2037-12-31
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