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    Influence of season and weather on activity patterns of the numbat (Myrmecobius fasciatus) in captivity

    147078_147078.pdf (385.1Kb)
    Access Status
    Open access
    Authors
    Cooper, Christine
    Withers, P.
    Date
    2004
    Type
    Journal Article
    
    Metadata
    Show full item record
    Citation
    Cooper, C.E. and Withers, P.C. 2004. Influence of season and weather on activity patterns of the numbat (Myrmecobius fasciatus) in captivity. Australian Journal of Zoology. 52 (5): pp. 475-485.
    DOI
    10.1071/ZO04038
    Faculty
    School of Agriculture and Environment
    Faculty of Science and Engineering
    Department of Environmental Biology
    Remarks

    Email: c.cooper@curtin.edu.au

    Copyright © 2011 CSIRO

    URI
    http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/32230
    Collection
    • Curtin Research Publications
    Abstract

    The influence of season and weather on activity was examined for captive numbats, to separate the influence of weather from predation pressure and food availability, since these confound the interpretation of activity data for wild numbats. Unlike other Australian marsupials, numbats are exclusively diurnal, being active for an average of 21.2 % of the 24 h day. However, activity duration varied seasonally, with numbats being active for longer periods in summer (39-65 % of the available daylight) than winter (17-59 %). Captive numbats were active for shorter periods than wild numbats in winter (presumably as captive numbats don’t have to forage for food) but did not cease activity in the middle of the day in summer (suggesting that summer midday inactivity of wild numbats is a response to food availability rather than a thermoregulatory response). Captive numbats were more active in summer than in winter, which may reflect their summer breeding season. Environmental conditions significantly affected daily activity, with low levels on days of low light intensity and high relative humidity. The majority of numbat activity occurred at ambient temperatures below thermoneutrality (< 30 ºC). The associated costs of thermoregulation for active numbats were calculated, from activity time, to be higher in winter (0.586 ml O2 g-1 h-1) than in summer (0.274 ml O2 g-1 h-1).

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