Seasonal fungal diets of small mammals in an Australian temperate forest ecosystem

Abstract

Australian temperate forests support a high diversity of truffle-like fungi, and a rich assortment of mammals that feed upon them. We sampled seasonal diets of four sympatric mammals (two rodents, two marsupials) in an eastern Australian wet sclerophyll forest and identified all dietary fungi. Fifty-two different spore types were found in diets, most of which were from truffle-like fungi. All mammals consumed fungi, but occurrence of fungi and the variety of taxa in the diets peaked in winter and spring. Bush rats ('Rattus fuscipes') were significantly more mycophagous than other mammals sampled in terms of proportion of scats containing fungi, number of taxa per sample, and overall diversity of dietary fungi. Most fungal taxa were eaten only occasionally, but a few truffle-like taxa dominated diets and appear to be staple food for the small mammal community. Our work supports the view that mycophagous mammals are important for maintenance of ecosystem health through their spore dispersal abilities.