Author Identifier (ORCID)
Rebecca J. Quah: https://orcid.org/0009-0006-6312-1717
Aaron J. Brace: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9552-5800
Robert A. Davis: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9062-5754
Anna Hopkins: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8090-5544
Abstract
Understanding resource use and availability is critical for the success of wildlife translocations, especially for species with complex diets. Mycophagous (fungus-feeding) diets are particularly challenging to study due to the difficulty in identifying fungal species, many of which remain undescribed. Environmental DNA (eDNA) metabarcoding techniques applied to scat samples, offer a promising solution to overcome the limitations of traditional dietary analysis involving microscopic identification of undigested material in scats. This allows for the detailed characterization of fungal composition in the diets of mycophagous species. Here we present results of a dietary study focused on Gilbert’s potoroo (Potorous gilbertii) that also investigated the diets of three sympatric mycophagous mammals: quokka (Setonix brachyurus), quenda (Isoodon fusciventer), and bush rat (Rattus fuscipes). Our multispecies approach allowed us to leverage the collective dietary footprint of these species as a composite indicator of resource and habitat suitability for translocations without requiring exhaustive fungal surveys. This provided a more accurate assessment of resource availability than relying on a single species indicator, which may ultimately improve translocation outcomes for Gilbert’s potoroo. Furthermore, this method can be extended to other species with complex and specialized diets, offering an efficient tool for studying feeding ecology and identifying suitable release sites with available resources.
Document Type
Journal Article
Date of Publication
11-1-2025
Volume
34
Issue
13
Publication Title
Biodiversity and Conservation
Publisher
Springer
School
Conservation and Biodiversity Research Centre / School of Science
RAS ID
84432
Funders
Royal Society of Western Australia’s John Glover Research Grant (G1007039/24914)
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.
First Page
5007
Last Page
5029
Comments
Quah, R. J., Friend, J. A., Brace, A. J., Cowen, S. J., Davis, R. A., Mills, H. R., & Hopkins, A. J. M. (2025). Gilbert’s Potoroo and the fun-guys: Co-existing mycophagous mammals as indicators of potentially available fungal food resources. Biodiversity and Conservation, 34, 5007–5029. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10531-025-03193-9