Insights into diet, health and density of arid zone wombats on Bon Bon Station Reserve
Bon Bon Station Reserve is home to what is believed to be the northern most population of Southern Hairy-nosed Wombats. This population also holds the distinction of existing in one of the lowest rainfall zones across the species’ distribution, recording an average of just 150 mm annually.
Although wombats live in semi-arid and arid zones, droughts are their biggest killer and a significant threat to the species’ long-term persistence.
As drought events are predicted to increase in severity, frequency, and duration in the future, studying wombats living in different rainfall zones is important to understand how wombats, and indeed other marsupials living in these environments, are impacted by drought, and how they may adapt to drier conditions.
Researching the answers to these questions is the basis of my PhD project. One aim of this research is to understand how the diet of Southern Hairy-nosed Wombats changes in different rainfall zones across their distribution and how this relates to the diversity of the gut microbiome of animals within the same study populations.
This is important as the microorganisms in the gut are responsible for extracting vital nutrients and energy from the diet that wombats can’t extract themselves. This is particularly important for wombats in regions with low rainfall where vegetation may be scarce and of poor quality, as found on Bon Bon Station Reserve. Not only can the diversity of the gut microbiome inform us about what vegetation wombats can digest, but it can also be used as an indicator of health.