Journal
AUSTRALIAN MAMMALOGY
Volume -, Issue -, Pages -Publisher
CSIRO PUBLISHING
DOI: 10.1071/AM23018
Keywords
eastern barred bandicoot; fungal dispersers; fungal ecology; mammal ecology; Marsupialia; mycophagy; southern brown bandicoot; spore dispersal
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By examining the stomach and scat contents of southern brown bandicoots and eastern barred bandicoots, we found that both species consume fungi and play a key role in ecosystem function through their dispersal of mycorrhizal fungal spores.
Mycophagous mammals perform important ecosystem services through their dispersal of mycorrhizal fungi (particularly truffles). In order to better understand the role of Tasmanian bandicoots in these associations, we examined the stomach and scat contents of specimens of southern brown bandicoots (Isoodon obesulus) and eastern barred bandicoots (Perameles gunnii) preserved in the mammal collections of the Queen Victoria Museum and Art Gallery. Our study shows that fungi are consumed by both species and that these mammals likely play a key role in ecosystem function through their dispersal of mycorrhizal fungal spores.
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