Academic literature on the topic 'Onychogalea fraenata'

Patterns of dietary selection were examined in the rare bridled nailtail wallaby (Onychogalea fraenata) and compared with those of the black-striped wallaby (Macropus dorsalis) and cattle on the Taunton Scientific Reserve in central Queensland. These two species were considered as possible competitors of 0, fraenata. The dietary niche breadth, the similarity of diet to resources, of 0. fraenata was always narrower than those of the larger species. However, the niche breadths of all species broadened significantly during the driest seasonal conditions, which accounts for the increased dietary overlaps previously reported in these conditions. An analysis of dietary preferences (electivities) showed that 0. fraenata had a high preference for herbaceous plants (forbs and malvaceous species), whereas M. dorsalis and cattle had high preference for grass. During dry conditions the preferred diet of 0. fraenata was considerably different to its actual diet, indicating that the diet was suboptimal. This pattern was not as pronounced in the other herbivores, suggesting that 0. fraenata could be at a competitive disadvantage during these conditions in its last refuge.

The reproduction of the endangered macropod Onychogalea fraenata was studied in captivity. O. fraenata breeds throughout the year. A post-partum oestrus was not recorded, although mating during the pouch life was observed when the pouch young were 80–92 days old. The mean length of the oestrous cycle was determined to be 36·2 days, while the mean length of a gestation period was 23·6 days. Pouch life ranged between 119 and 126 days, and the young males and females matured as early as 270 days and 136 days, respectively.

The bridled nailtail wallaby (Onychogalea fraenata), an endangered macropod, has been reintroduced into the wild after a captive-breeding program. As part of a management program to assess the risks to its survival O. fraenata were trapped and examined for ecto- and endoparasites. From February to September 1996, 55 wallabies from Taunton National Park, central Queensland, some trapped more than once, were visually examined for ectoparasites. The blood of 39 O. fraenata was tested for antibodies against Toxoplasma gondii and Echinococcus granulosus and a total of 82 faecal samples were examined microscopically. In addition, in a second study a complete carcase, three complete gastro-intestinal tracts, and a single stomach, obtained from various sources, including Idalia National Park, were examined for helminth parasites. The most prevalent ectoparasites were the ticksAmbylomma triguttatum and Haemaphysalis bancrofti. Other ectoparasites included four species of trombiculid mites and a louse, Heterodoxus sp. A single instance of the nippoboscid fly, Ortholfersia minuta, was found. From the serological surveys, antibodies against Toxoplasma and Echinococcus were detected in 15% and 21% respectively. No trematode or cestode eggs or protozoal cysts were found in faeces. Nematode eggs had a prevalence of 92% with a mean egg density of 500 eggs per gram. Strongyloides sp. (larvae) was the most prevalent nematode in faeces. In the postmortem study, seven nematode species (Cloacina polyxo, Hypodontus macropi, Labiostrongylus onychogale, Macropostrongyloides baylisi, Macropoxyuris sp., Rugopharynx australis and Zoniolaimus buccalis) and four cestode species (Progamotaenia bancrofti, P. zschokkei, P. abietiformis and larval E. granulosus) were found. Six of the nematode species are new host records. The presence of infection with the introduced parasites T. gondii and E. granulosus, both recognised as serious pathogens, is of management significance. Since the definitive hosts of these parasites are cats and canids respectively, control of cat, dog and dingo populations within the Park will lessen the incidence of infection with these parasites.

The bridled nailtail wallaby (Onychogalea fraenata) is one of Australia's rarest marsupials, persisting only in a small area in central Queensland. Its diet and those of two sympatric herbivores, the blackstriped wallaby (Macropus dorsalis) and domestic cattle (Bos taurus/indicus), were assessed by identifying plant fragments in their faeces. The diet of 0 . fraenata was diverse, consisting of herbaceous plants, grasses and browse. In good seasons the intake was biased towards forbs and other herbaceous plants. Browse was only important when vegetation availability was low. Grass could be a major part of the diet when forbs were scarse. Black-striped wallabies and cattle were largely grass eaters. When conditions were dry, browse contributed up to 16% of the diet of M. dorsalis and 10% of the diet of cattle. Dietary overlap with 0. fraenata was greatest at such times, being above 50% for both species. Potential for dietary competition was apparent and it is suggested that this may have been a factor in the decline of 0 . fraenata with the advancement of European settlement and spread of domestic stock.

Helminth parasites were examined from 4 Hypsiprymnodon moschatus, 18 Aepyprymnus rufescens, 13 Thylogale stigmatica, 13 Onychogalea unguifera, 2 0. fraenata, 8 Lagorchestes conspicillatus and 7 Dendrolagus lumholtzi from north and central Queensland. In all, 63 species of nematodes, ten species of cestodes and a single species of trematode were encountered. Helminth communities in H. moschatus and A. rufescens were characterised by few, highly specific parasites; D. lumholtzi similarly harboured few parasites; those of Onychogalea spp. and L. conspicillatus were more diverse and included a number of taxa shared with other macropodine hosts. The helminth community of T. stigmatica was extremely diverse and was dominated by helminths specific to Thylogale spp. The helminth communities of the various host genera showed little similarity to one another, even in the case of host species that were broadly sympatric. This lack of similarity is probably due to a mixture of factors, some related to host phylogeny and others ecological, particularly habitat type and feeding behaviour. The data presented illustrate a wider range of types of helminth communities in macropodoids than reported to date, and little evidence of exchange of parasites with rock-wallabies, Petrogale spp., examined from the same regions of Queensland.

Home ranges and movement schedules of sympatric bridled nailtail wallabies, Onychogalea fraenata, and black-striped wallabies, Macropus dorsalis, were studied during wet and dry seasons by radio-tracking. Home ranges of black-striped wallabies (91 ha) were much larger than those of bridled nailtail wallabies (40 ha). Home-range size differed between sexes for bridled nailtail wallabies (males, 59 ha; females, 26 ha), but not for black-striped wallabies. Intraspecific seasonal differences in home-range size were not significant. All home ranges included diurnal shelter habitat, although the preferred type of shelter habitat was different for each species. Movement schedules differed significantly between wet and dry seasons for black-striped wallabies (which made a higher frequency of longer-distance movements during the dry season than during the wet season), but not for bridled nailtail wallabies.

Morphological growth and qualitative development of the pouch young of captive Onychogalea fraenata are described from birth to permanent pouch emergence. Intuitively, age is a determining factor of growth and development, which precludes it from being the regressand in regression analysis. Therefore, age prediction can only be achieved by estimating expected growth for various ages and examining the confidence limits to this growth. Age values corresponding to these confidence limits are derived from the growth equations and used as limits for the ages. On the basis of these intervals the reliability of age predictions, for ages measured in different day-based units can be assessed. A statistical method is selected so that a small amount of irregularity in the frequency of measurement can be tolerated, and accounted for, in the model, as well taking into account inter-animal variation in growth parameters.

The bridled nail tail wallby, Onychogalea fraenata, was once locally common throughout most of its range. That range included much of eastern Australia from south of the Murray River in Victoria to Charters Towers in North Queensland. Today one small population is known to survive on an area of approximately 100 sq.km near the small township of Dingo in Central Queensland. Taunton Scientific Reserve was gazetted in 1979 to preserve much of the remaining bridled nailtail wallaby population and the habitat in which it survives. The study area for this work covered 3 129.3 ha and included all of the western end of the scientific reserve. The objectives of the project were to determine the distribution of the bridled nailtail wallaby population in the study area, to identify habitats used for shelter during daylight hours, to describe the preferred raicrohabitats in terms of the structural characteristics of the vegetation, and to investigate the use of habitat including activity patterns, diet and water usage. To determine the distribution and habitat preferences of the bridled nailtail wallaby a compass transect grid system with 130 m between transects was developed to ensure all of the study area was sampled. The transects were sampled three times per year over two years. Each sampling session required 21 days to complete with the first session in October 1980 and the last in May 1982. The locations of all nailtails encountered were mapped and the vegetation type noted. There was a total of 144 bridled nailtail wallaby sightings during the six sampling session. The vegetation on Taunton was classified into four major types, (a) dense Acacia forest, (b) open grassy Eucalyptus woodland, (c) cleared areas and (d) the transitional vegetation type that formed a narrow 'band' between the dense Acacia forest and the open grassy Eucalyptus woodland. Sixty-three percent of bridled nailtail wallaby sightings occurred in the transitional vegetation type that covered only 14 percent of the study area. A further 25 percent of sightings occurred in the open grassy Eucalyptus woodland with an area of 39 percent. As most nailtail sightings occurred in the transitional vegetation type this vegetation type appears to be the habitat type most preferred by bridled nailtail wallabies for daytime shelter. This vegetation type is dominated by brigalow, Acacia harpophylla, and is structurally and floristically similar to the dense Acacia forest. It differs in that the brigalow trees tend to be smaller and clumped with clumps of trees separated by open spaces of approximately the same area as the clumps. This study also examines the microhabitat preferences of the bridled nailtail wallaby in the four major vegetation types on Taunton. Twenty -two variables describing proximate habitat structure were measured at each bridled nailtail wallaby sighting. They described the physical characteristics of the vegetation in a circular quadrat of 20 m diameter centered on the resting place (form) from where the nailtail had been flushed. As a control similar sized quadrats at randomly chosen sites were sampled for the same microhabitat variables. Thirty-two different sites were chosen for each session giving a total of 192 sites for the six sampling sessions. For the nailtail sightings there were significant differences between sightings in the four major habitat types on 13 of the variables. For the randomly chosen sites there were significant differences between the major vegetation types on 18 of the variables. To obtain a tighter definition of microhabitat types, cluster analysis was used to group sightings that had similar vegetation structure. Each major vegetation type was analyzed separately. This technique proved effective and microhabitat types preferred for resting and sheltering during the day were described for three of the four major vegetation types. Eighty -two percent of bridled nailtail wallaby sightings occurred within 100 m of the edge between the dense and open vegetation types. The importance of the edge to the nailtail and how it uses its preferred habitat were investigated and are discussed in terms of shelter and predation. The bridled nailtail wallaby was found to be a solitary animal with a bimodal activity cycle tied to a solar rhythm. Typically, it feeds in the ope~ Eucalyptus woodland at night and rests and shelters in the dense Acacia forest by day. The nailtails' colouration and behaviour are well adapted to avoiding detection by predators. Destruction of habitat quality increases the nailtails' susceptibility to predation by the dingo. This is suggested as a major contributing factor in the decline of the species. Aspects of diet, the seasonality of reproduction, and competition from the black-striped wallaby (Macropus dorsalis) and feral cattle were also investigated. The bridled nailtail wallabys' diet consists of 40 percent - 50 percent graze and the rest browse. The nailtails' main obvious competitor for food and space is M.dorsalis. That species' diet was found to consist of between 81 percent and 96 percent graze, depending on the season, with the remainder made up of browse. The diet of cattle was found to consist almost entirely of grasses. Neither of these species demonstrated significant competition with the bridled nailtail wallaby, either for food or for space. Competition for space occurs infteqnently, mainly towards the end of the dry season when better quality food is scarce. Although bridled nailtail wallaby pouch young were observed during most seasons, the majority of large pouch young were observed during mid- to late summer with a smaller peak during winter.

 The Bridled Nailtail Wallaby, Onychogalea fraenata, was once widespread throughout eastern and south-eastern Australia, but is now found primarily at Taunton National Park (Scientific). With a population reduced to fewer than 500 individuals, survival of the species is dependent on the sustainability of suitable habitat in the present, and its continued availability in the long-term. 

While dietary selection and habitat utilisation have been investigated, the interrelationships between nailtail habitat components have not been examined. This study was conducted to address that issue. The aim was to develop a method of predicting nailtail populations in diverse habitats, with the ultimate goal being the identification of habitat conducive to continued nailtail survival. 

Data were gathered from six sites on Taunton National Park. Two sites corresponded to each of the following categories: low, medium and high nailtail population levels. These sites were examined to determine trends or patterns resulting in significant correlations between nailtail density and the floristic and shelter components. Components were found to fall within two basic habitat types: one favourable and the other unfavourable to the nailtail. 

In the favourable "Acacia habitat," interrelated floristic components consisted of Acacia trees and shrubs, Capparis, Opuntia, Schlerolaena and Parsonsia herbs, Capparis, Schlerolaena and Carissa shrubs, and Cenchrus, Cyperus, Paspalidium  and Sporobolus grass. Shelter components were comprised of Solid Logs, combined Solid Log -Hollow Log, combined Solid Log -Hollow Log -Woodpile, Shrub and combined Brigalow Regrowth -Shrub. 

In the unfavourable "gum -tree habitat", floristic components consisted of Eucalyptus, Cotymbia and Grevillea trees, Alphitonia, Eucalyptus, Grewia, Sida and Phyllanthus shrubs, Euphorbia, Cheilanthes and Hybanthus herbs, and Aristida, Eragrostis and Eriachne grass. Shelter components consisted of Trees, and variations of tree shelters to include Fallen Tree Crown, combined Tree -Live Tree Crown, combined Tree -Live Tree Root, and combined Tree -Live Tree Crown -Live Tree Root. 

To validate these proposed habitats, three additional study sites were selected on the Pine Grove, Red Rock Park and Rockview cattle properties adjacent to Taunton National Park. Based on habitat composition at these sites, the Pine Grove site was determined to be a low -to -medium nailtail density site; Red Rock Park a low -to - medium nailtail density site with the potential to support a high density of nailtails; and Rockview a medium nailtail density site. 

Based on the results of this study it is recommended that management of existing nailtail habitat incorporate the balanced mix of habitat components noted in the "Acacia habitat" while controlling the spread of "gum -tree habitat" components. Emphasis on floristic and shelter interrelationships is also considered essential in the establishment of future nailtail populations.