The relationship between nectar supply and the rate of capture of a nectar‐dependent small marsupial Tarsipes rostratus

The shrew-sized marsupial Tursipes rostratus, endemic to south-western Australia, eats only nectar and pollen. Tursipes were caught at four sites, each with 100 pitfall traps, during 21 three- day periods over three years. On these occasions, the numbers of adult females, all adults and all Tursipes caught were each significantly related to the estimated nectar production of the plants most frequently visited by Tursipes. Sites with higher levels of nectar production had higher capture rates in each of the three years. Changes in the population density of the short-lived (< 1 year) Tursipes appeared directly related to changes in nectar levels through differential survival, rather than by migration or fecundity.

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