Online Resource material for manuscript:
Ecological specialisation in habitat selection within a macropodid herbivore guild
Sarah Garnick (), Julian Di Stefano, Mark A. Elgar, Graeme Coulson
Online Resource 1.Description and area of habitat types in the study site in Victoria Valley, Grampians National Park, Australia.
Habitat type / Area (ha) / Description (after DSE 2004)Low heathland
(LH) / 13 / Consists of airstrip runways for fire-fighting access. Regular slashing keeps runways treeless. Common low shrubby species include Leptospermum myrsinoides, and L. continentale. Native and weedy grasses, herbaceous species abundant, but kept low due to high grazing pressure. Non-grass monocot species generally absent, except for abundant Leptocarpustenax and Hypolaenafastigata.
Sand heathland
(SH) / 250 / Generally treeless heath with scattered emergent Eucalyptus spp. Low, dense shrub layer very diverse. Herbs and grasses rare, dominant non-grass monocot species include L. tenax,H. fastigata and Gahniasieberriana.
Seasonally damp heathy scrub
(SD) / 47 / Dense shrubland to shrub-dominated woodland. Soils generally waterlogged/inundated in winter, dry in summer. Eucalypts in woodlands to 15 m tall include Eucalyptus leucoxylon, E. melliodora, E. viminalis, and E. camaldulensis. Many tall shrubs. Understory dominated by smaller shrubs, non-grass monocots and annuals.
Herb-rich woodland
(HR) / 22 / Open woodland to 15 m tall, dominated by diverse mix of Eucalyptus spp., patchy shrub layer. Open grassy clearings contain high diversity of native and introduced grass and herb species. Pteridiumesculentum abundant on clearing edges. Non-grass monocot species dominate damper areas along creeks or drainage lines.
Shrubby woodland
(SW) / 175 / Regenerating rapidly after 2006 fire into dense thicket over 2 m tall of Acacia mearnsii, A. provincialis, E. camaldulensis, and E. obliqua, interspersed with numerous tall shrubby species. Smaller shrubs mostly absent. Small number of grasses in more open areas. Non-grass monocots abundant in damper areas.
Heathy woodland
(HW) / 57 / Woodland to 10 m tall dominated by E. obliqua and E. baxteri. Supports diverse range of narrow or ericoid-leaved shrubs. Xanthorrhoeaaustralis common, as are herbaceous and non-grass monocot species. Grasses largely absent, except in open patches dominated by P. esculentum.
Sedge-rich wetland
(SE) / 9 / Only seasonally available for herbivores, when winter-inundated areas dry out in summer and water cover recedes. Nearly treeless, E. camaldulensis, A. mearnsii, and A. provincialis, inhabit patch edges. Large clumps of Juncus spp. and other large non-grass monocots interspersed with patches of largely bare clay. Small aquatic to semi-aquatic herbs and graminoids include Goodeniahumilis, Centrolepisstrigosa and others.
Online Resource 2. Numbers of each macropodid species and sex radio-tracked, mean ± SE numbers of fixes per individual, and mean ± SE total area available at the study site in Victoria Valley, Grampians National Park, Australia. There are no errors for swamp wallaby total area, as we calculated the available area as an aggregate for each sex in this species due to their low sample size.
Species / Sex / Number / Fixes / Area (ha)Red-necked wallaby / F / 6 / 11.5 ± 1.5 / 37 ± 12
M / 6 / 12.5 ± 1.4 / 175 ± 32
Swamp wallaby / F / 4 / 6.3 ± 1.0 / 179
M / 4 / 7.3 ± 1.3 / 428
Western grey kangaroo / F / 7 / 15.1 ± 1.5 / 49 ± 10
M / 7 / 12.3 ± 1.3 / 190 ± 39