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Responses to threat by female bobucks, Trichosurus caninus, during different stages of offspring development

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Abstract

The costs of reproduction are widely recognised as a major selective force in the evolution of various behavioural and life-history characteristics. In particular, the behaviour of reproductively active animals is likely to change when breeding increases risk of predation. We investigated the effect of an experimentally derived threat on the vigilance and escape behaviour of female Trichosurus caninus with and without dependent offspring and at different stages of offspring development. Females with offspring showed a heightened response to the threat in comparison to females without offspring. In addition, females with offspring displayed a stronger response at earlier stages of their offspring’s development.

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Acknowledgements

We thank Blair Patullo, Dave Semmens, Claire Maries, Andrew Vance, Simon Hart and especially Roger Martin for their help in the field. We thank Noel Osbourne for allowing us access to his property, and the Lobert family for their kind hospitality. We also thank Dave Forsyth and Graeme Coulson for their helpful advice and comments on earlier drafts of this manuscript. This research was conducted with the permission of the Department of Natural Resources and Environment (permit no. 10000466) and the University of Melbourne AEEC (registration no. 99010).

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  1. Eve McDonald-Madden

    Present address: Arthur Rylah Institute for Environmental Research, 123 Brown Street, 3084, Heidelberg, Victoria , Australia

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Zoology, University of Melbourne, 3010, Parkville, Australia

    Eve McDonald-Madden, Mark A. Elgar & Kathrine A. Handasyde

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  1. Eve McDonald-Madden
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  2. Mark A. Elgar
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  3. Kathrine A. Handasyde
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Correspondence to Eve McDonald-Madden.

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Communicated by P. Bednekoff

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McDonald-Madden, E., Elgar, M.A. & Handasyde, K.A. Responses to threat by female bobucks, Trichosurus caninus, during different stages of offspring development. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 56, 322–327 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00265-004-0799-0

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