Enhancing ecosystem function by reintroductions of digging mammals

Date: 20, Aug, 2018
Author(s):   Richard Hobbs, Leonie Valentine, Bryony Palmer, Gabrielle Beca, Alice Reaveley, Katinka Ruthrof, Cheryl Lohr, Keith Morris, Anna Hopkins
Publisher: TSR Hub

Many of Australia’s threatened species, such as bettongs and bandicoots, are considered ecosystem engineers due to the important functional role they provide in landscapes. Digging mammals can substantially influence ecosystem processes, such as soil turnover, litter decomposition and plant recruitment, by creating burrows for shelter or foraging pits when searching for food. Reintroductions of digging mammals to environments where they have become locally extinct have the potential to restore ecosystem function. This project examines what happens to ecosystem processes at sites where mammals have been reintroduced.