title: Response of the agile antechinus to habitat edge, configuration and condition in fragmented forest.
abstract: Habitat fragmentation and degradation seriously threaten native animal communities. We studied the response of a small marsupial, the agile antechinus Antechinus agilis, to several environmental variables in anthropogenically fragmented Eucalyptus forest in south-east Australia. Agile antechinus were captured more in microhabitats dominated by woody debris than in other microhabitats. Relative abundances of both sexes were positively correlated with fragment core area. Male and female mass-size residuals were smaller in larger fragments. A health status indicator, haemoglobin-haematocrit residuals (HHR), did not vary as a function of any environmental variable in females, but male HHR indicated better health where sites' microhabitats were dominated by shrubs, woody debris and trees other than Eucalyptus. Females were trapped less often in edge than interior fragment habitat and their physiological stress level, indicated by the neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio in peripheral blood, was higher where fragments had a greater proportion of edge habitat. The latter trend was potentially due to lymphopoenia resulting from stress hormone-mediated leukocyte trafficking. Using multiple indicators of population condition and health status facilitates a comprehensive examination of the effects of anthropogenic disturbances, such as habitat fragmentation and degradation, on native vertebrates. Male agile antechinus' health responded negatively to habitat degradation, whilst females responded negatively to the proportion of edge habitat. The health and condition indicators used could be employed to identify conservation strategies that would make habitat fragments less stressful for this or similar native, small mammals.
authors.affiliation: School of Biological Sciences, Clayton Campus, Monash University, Victoria, Australia. christopher.johnstone@monash.edu
authors.forename: Christopher P
authors.initials: CP
authors.lastname: Johnstone
authors.forename: Alan
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Lill
authors.forename: Richard D
authors.initials: RD
authors.lastname: Reina
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D003247:Conservation of Natural Resources; D017753:Ecosystem; D004777:Environment; D005260:Female; D006400:Hematocrit; D006403:Hematologic Tests; D006454:Hemoglobins; D008055:Lipids / Q000032:analysis; D008297:Male; D008394:Marsupialia / Q000502:physiology*; D011157:Population Dynamics; D013021:South Australia; D014197:Trees
chemical_list: D006454:Hemoglobins; D008055:Lipids
references.citation: N Engl J Med. 1998 May 28;338(22):1592-600
references.pmid: 9603798
references.citation: Blood. 1962 May;19:557-65
references.pmid: 13893265
references.citation: Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1976 Nov;73(11):4130-4
references.pmid: 16592364
references.citation: Oecologia. 1983 Oct;60(1):127-134
references.pmid: 28310546
references.citation: Proc Biol Sci. 2003 Apr 22;270(1517):799-803
references.pmid: 12737657
references.citation: Science. 1995 Aug 25;269(5227):1112-5
references.pmid: 17755536
references.citation: J Proteome Res. 2007 Jun;6(6):2080-93
references.pmid: 17474765
references.citation: J Comp Physiol B. 2012 Jan;182(1):139-55
references.pmid: 21710385
references.citation: Biol Rev Camb Philos Soc. 2002 Feb;77(1):77-96
references.pmid: 11911375
references.citation: J Comp Physiol B. 2008 Jul;178(5):545-62
references.pmid: 18210128
references.citation: Mol Ecol. 2003 Feb;12(2):475-84
references.pmid: 12535097
references.citation: Biol Reprod. 1999 Jun;60(6):1353-9
references.pmid: 10330092
references.citation: J Immunol. 1995 May 15;154(10):5511-27
references.pmid: 7730652
references.citation: Biol Lett. 2005 Sep 22;1(3):370-4
references.pmid: 17148209
references.citation: J Mammal. 2016 Jun 9;97(3):663-688
references.pmid: 29692469
references.citation: Brain Behav Immun. 1997 Dec;11(4):286-306
references.pmid: 9512816
references.citation: Acta Physiol Scand. 1999 Jan;165(1):65-9
references.pmid: 10072099
references.citation: Gen Comp Endocrinol. 2009 Jan 15;160(2):176-82
references.pmid: 19059261
references.citation: Comp Biochem Physiol A Mol Integr Physiol. 2009 Feb;152(2):176-81
references.pmid: 18854224
references.citation: Biol Rev Camb Philos Soc. 2006 Feb;81(1):117-42
references.pmid: 16318651
references.citation: Brain Behav Immun. 1994 Mar;8(1):66-79
references.pmid: 8003772
references.citation: Proc Biol Sci. 2004 Dec 7;271(1556):2473-9
references.pmid: 15590598