Authors
Zak S Atkins, Nick Clemann, Mellesa Schroder, David G Chapple, Naomi E Davis, Wayne A Robinson, John Wainer, Kylie A Robert
Publication date
2018/5
Journal
Austral Ecology
Volume
43
Issue
3
Pages
339-351
Description
A species' diet and feeding strategy directly affect fitness and environmental interactions. Understanding spatial and temporal variation in diets can identify key resources, inform trophic relationships, and assist in managing threatened species. The nationally endangered Guthega skink, Liopholis guthega, is restricted to two isolated Australian alpine plateaux, the Bogong High Plains (BHP) in Victoria and Kosciuszko National Park (KNP) in New South Wales. We compared this species' foraging ecology over the summer period between these ‘sky‐islands’ separated by ~100 km of lowland valleys. Scat composition did not differ between the two lizard populations, despite differences in the invertebrate assemblages present. However, L. guthega diet varied temporally over summer at both locations. Invertebrates, predominantly Hymenoptera and Coleoptera, were the dominant food group in early summer (78 …
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