Kangaroo biology

Behavioural adjustments of wild-caught kangaroos to captivity

(Munn, Phelan, Rigby, & Roberts, 2017)

Marsupial genetics and genomics

(Deakin, Watrs & Graves, 2010)

Diets of mammalian herbivores in Australian arid, hilly shrublands: seasonal effects of overlap between euros (hill kangaroos), sheep and feral goats, and on dietary niche breadths and electivities

(Dawson & Ellis, 1996)

Circadian variation in resource quality: leaf water content and its relevance to eastern grey kangaroo Macropus giganteus and common wombat Vombatus ursinus

(Jarman & Evans, 2010)

This project considered leaf water content as a source of free water for leaf-grazing herbivores, eastern grey kangaroos and common wombats.

Dehydration, with and without heat, in kangaroos from mesic and arid habitats: different thermal responses including varying patterns in heterothermy in the field and laboratory.

(Dawson, Blaney, McCarron, & Maloney, 2007)

Decreasing methane yield with increasing food intake keeps daily methane emissions constant in two foregut fermenting marsupials, the western grey kangaroo and red kangaroo

(Vendl, et al., 2015)

Endogenous nitrogen excretion by red kangaroos (Macropus rufus): Effects of animal age and forage quality

(Munn, Dawson, & Hume, 2006)

Energy requirements of the red kangaroo (Macropus rufus): impacts of age, growth and body size in a large desert-dwelling herbivore

(Munn & Dawson, 2003)

Field metabolic rate and water turnover of red kangaroos and sheep in an arid rangeland: an empirically derived dry-sheep-equivalent for kangaroos

(Munn A. J., et al., 2008)

How important is milk for near-weaned red kangaroos (Macropus rufus) fed different forages?

(Munn & Dawson, 2003)

Familiarity Breeds Contempt: Kangaroos Persistently Avoid Areas with Experimentally Deployed Dingo Scents

(Parsons & Blumstein, 2010)

Foot-thumping as an alarm signal in macropodoid marsupials: prevalence and hypotheses of function

(Rose, Munn, Ramp and Banks, 2006)

How kangaroos swim

(Wilson G. R., How kangaroos swim, 1974)

Underwater photos were taken of two male red kangaroos whilst swimming to understand the swimming action of kangaroos.  The kangaroos were found to be excellent swimmers with forelimbs and hind limbs moving ipsilaterally, unlike on the land.

Hydrogen utilising bacteria from the forestomach of eastern grey (Macropus giganteus) and red (Macropus rufus) kangaroos

(Oewerkerk, Maguire, McMillen, & Klieve, 2009)

This research analyses gut contents from eastern grey and red kangaroos to better understand the forestomach fermentation processes of the kangaroos and the relationship with methane production.

Kangaroos

(Dawson T. J., Kangaroos, 1977)

Overview of the species, a brief review of their evolution, reproduction, temperature regulation, digestion and the reason they hop. This paper paints a picture of a group of mammals that are not at all primitive but have adapted and radiated rapidly in response to new and changing environments.

Mechanistic explanations for drought-related mortality of juvenile red kangaroos; implications for population dynamics and modelling

(Munn & Dawson, 2010)

This work presents findings that investigates the causes for juvenile kangaroo mortality during drought and how kangaroos’ physiology interacts with their environment to affect survival and identifies the need for further research into the costs of locomotion on juvenile kangaroos and the short term impacts of water restriction.

The effect of drought on kangaroo populations (PDF only)

(Caughey, Grigg, & Smith, 1985)

Kangaroos declined by approximately 40% across more than a million square kilometres of inland eastern Australia during a drought between April 1982 and March 1983. The rate of decline showed no correlation with the density of kangaroos.  The researchers suggest that such droughts and the consequent mortality and reduced fecundity are intrinsic to the ecology of kangaroos.

The genetic relatedness of a peri-urban population of eastern grey kangaroos

(Green-Barber & Old, 2018)

The ecophysiology of survival in juvenile red kangaroos Macropus Rufus: greater demands and higher costs

(Munn & Dawson, 2004)

Unravelling methanogenesis in ruminants, horses and kangaroos: the links between gut anatomy, microbial biofilms and host immunity

(Leng, 2018)

Why do macropods and horses produce less methane than ruminants when digesting the same feed? This review draws on microbiological studies of the mammalian gut as well as other microbial environments.

Ventilation patterns in red kangaroos (Macropus rufus Desmarest): juveniles work harder than adults at thermal extremes, but extract more oxygen per breath at thermoneutrality

(Munn, Dawson, & Maloney, 2007)

Walking on five legs: investigating tail use during slow gait

(Dawson, Warburton, Richards, & Milne, 2015)

Water metabolism and renal function and structure in eastern grey kangaroos (Macropus giganteus): responses to water deprivation

(Blaney, Dawson, McCarron, Buffenstein, & Krockenberger, 2000)

Seasonal anoestrus in western grey kangaroos (Macropus fuliginosus ocydromus) in south-western Australia

(Mayberry, Maloney, Mawson, & Bencini, 2010)

Clustering of hydatid infection in macropodids

(Barnes, Morton & Coleman, 2007)