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Size matters : extraordinary rodent abundance on an Australian tropical floodplain
journal contribution
posted on 2006-05-01, 00:00 authored by Thomas MadsenThomas Madsen, Beata UjvariBeata Ujvari, R Shine, William Buttemer, M OlssonPublished estimates of the total biomass of natural populations of mammalian herbivores generally have ignored small-bodied taxa (especially, rodents). Including such taxa may dramatically change our understanding of total biomass and energy flow in such systems. Dusky rats (Rattus colletti) are small (up to 210 g) native Australian mammals, and our 5-year mark-recapture study on a tropical flood plain (Adelaide River, Northern Territory) revealed that rat biomass can reach extraordinary levels (up to 4.7 t km−2). Because their small body size results in high mass-specific metabolic rates, a given biomass of rodents has a several-fold higher total energy requirement than the same mass of large-bodied herbivores. Accordingly, during some years dusky rat biomass can be double that estimated for large herbivores on the world's most productive savannas in eastern and southern Africa. The huge rodent biomass strongly suggests that the Adelaide River flood plain must be an incredibly productive habitat. Considering the immense biological importance of these productive ecosystems, flood plain conservation must be placed high on the priority list of habitats that require immediate protection.
History
Journal
Austral ecologyVolume
31Issue
3Pagination
361 - 365Publisher
Wiley-Blackwell Publishing AsiaLocation
Milton, QldPublisher DOI
ISSN
1442-9985eISSN
1442-9993Language
engPublication classification
C1.1 Refereed article in a scholarly journalCopyright notice
2006, Ecological Society of AustraliaUsage metrics
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