The diet of Rattus lutreolus and five other rodents in Southern Victoria

Abstract

The foods eaten by six species of rodents (Rattus lutreolus, R. fuscipes, R. rattus, Mus musculus, Pseudomys shortridgei and P. novaehollandiae) were studied over periods ranging from 1 to 3 years in several different areas of Victoria, by the microscopic examination of faeces. Additional R. lutreolus samples from scattered localities were analysed. The diets of all six species were found to differ and all changed seasonally. In general, the staple diet of R. lutreolus was basal stems and that of R. rattus, fungus. R. fuscipes ate a variety of foods, mainly seed, insect, fungus and fibrous plant material. The staple diet of M. musculus was insect, and that of P. shortridgei grass and fungus in autumn and winter, and seed, insect and flower in spring and summer. Too few samples of P. novaehollandiae were collected to enable generalization about its diet. © 1978 CSIRO. All Rights Reserved.