Biogeography, sex, and body mass shape the fungal diet of an endangered mycophagous mammal

Résumé fourni par la source

Abstract Climate change disrupts food resource availability and alters the foraging ecology of many animals, and species with specialised dietary niches may be particularly vulnerable. The long-footed potoroo ( Potorous longipes ) is an endangered digging marsupial that consumes most of its food as truffle-like ectomycorrhizal (ECM) fungi. Their reliance on these ephemeral and cryptic fungi shapes their home range, population size, and microhabitat use, while potoroos play a vital role in dispersing fungal spores and supporting ECM symbioses. However, the spatial and temporal patterns of potoroo diets are not well-understood, posing risks for their conservation. We characterised ECM fungi in potoroo scats, including truffle-like species, in correlation with spatial factors, sex, body mass, climate, and season, using ITS2 metabarcoding of 364 scats sampled over 23 years from their two remaining and disjunct sub-populations. Fungal communities in potoroo scats varied across their distributional range, and our findings suggest that potoroos forage and disperse ECM fungal spores widely across microhabitats at fine scales. Differences in fungal composition in scats according to potoroo sex and body mass indicate potential differences in foraging behaviour and dispersal abilities across individuals. Season most strongly explained variation in the relative abundance of fungal communities, and the interaction with site highlights the need for future exploration of how climate change may differentially influence fungal resources across the long-footed potoroo’s range. Our results suggest that management should incorporate a multi-scale and cross-kingdom approach to conserve these specialised mutualisms, identify climate-resilient habitats, and support forest ecosystem functioning under global change.

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