Patch quality and habitat fragmentation shape the foraging patterns of a specialist folivore.

ABSTRACT: Research on use of foraging patches has focused on why herbivores visit or quit patches, yet little is known about visits to patches over time. Food quality, as reflected by higher nutritional quality and lower plant defenses, and physical patch characteristics, which offer protection from predators and weather, affect patch use and hence should influence their revisitation. Due to the potentially high costs of moving between patches, fragmented habitats are predicted to complicate foraging decisions of many animals. We aimed to determine how food quality, shelter availability and habitat fragmentation influence tree reuse by a specialist folivore, the koala, in a fragmented agricultural landscape. We GPS-tracked 23 koalas in northern New South Wales, Australia and collated number of revis

SUBMITTER: Crowther MS 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9639584 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Sep-Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature