Camera trap detection of mycophagy among co-occurring vertebrates

Abstract

Thirty camera traps were deployed for a total of 4179 trap-nights between January and June 2020 as part of a project assessing post-fire recovery of pademelons (<i>Thylogale spp.</i>) in northern New South Wales. By chance, one camera documented a site that was highly productive for the ectomycorrhizal fungal genus Amanita. This camera provided a rare opportunity to document a diversity of co-habitating vertebrates that utilise these ectomycorrhizal fungi for food and in turn perform an important ecosystem function through the dispersal of their spores. Our camera recorded eleven vertebrate species; of these, we captured photographic evidence of Australian brush-turkeys (<i>Alectura lathami</i>), a parma wallaby (<i>Notamacropus parma</i>), long-nosed bandicoots (<i>Perameles nasuta</i>), red-legged pademelons (<i>Thylogale stigmatica</i>) and red-necked pademelons (<i>T. thetis</i>) feeding on fungal fruiting bodies.