Bettong Endangered In Australia Reveals That The Effects Of Pollutants On Species Distribution

Australian researchers are studying the reliability of species distribution models to reveal the response of animals to climate change have focused their research on the endangered marsupial, the northern bettong. The research, published in Ecography shows that the time to study, rather than gradual changes in climate, gives a clearer picture of the movements bettong, range limits and probable contacts with competitors.

"Researchers often use species distribution models (SDM) to predict how an animal will react to changes in habitat, describing its distribution compared to the average climate in the location, the species is" said Brooke Bateman, James Cook University in Australia. "But these models do not take into account weather, although short-term changes in temperature and precipitation can cause a species to change their behavior, or even move the location."

To understand the importance of team time was two marsupial species in northern Australia in danger bettong (Bettongia tropica) and the rival Red bettong (Aepyprymnus rufescens). The risk bettong is only found in three places in the woods and forests of northern Queensland, Australia, where rainfall is high and the environment is suitable for their main source of food, truffles.

Rufous bettong lives in a habitat in the entire government of temperature and precipitation. Both species are known to occupy the same end of the drier areas of northern bettongs in the area, but rarely at the same time.

The team used case records for both species and compared with the variables of climate and weather extremes such as droughts and heat waves that affect the food source bettong and could lead to changes in short-term behavior and distribution.

The results showed that the threatened bettong appeared in smaller numbers in areas that were more likely to experience drought and other weather fluctuations in the short term convenience. Reconstruction of climate trends over time suggested that the two species of bettong is a dynamic relationship to each other that their distribution shifts in response to precipitation and temperature.

"The time is determined as well as a variety of borders and the results of the competition between the northern bettong and the wider Rufous bettong, which are not found in traditional models, which are based on average long-term climate. We conclude that the models according to the weather information needed to predict when and where species are in danger of being formed now and in the future. "