Quokkas (Setonix brachyurus)
If You Wanna Save Quokkas Stop Drinking Your Mochas And Do Something
Introduction
The quokka is an animal that is a marsupial which means it has a pouch and is related to the Kangaroo. It lives in Australia where it is suffering from habitat loss. It is often deemed the world's happiest animal because of its smile.
Habitat
It lives in Rottnest Island where there are almost no predators except for evil humans and on the mainland they live but are killed because of the different predators. They often live near rivers and wetlands for their food and shelter.
Food Web
It doesn't really impact the food web on Rottnest Island because it’s just the plants and trees it feeds on and it doesn't have many predators so they are basically the top of the food web there but now because of bringing dogs, cats, foxes and dingos the population of quokkas have dropped and even more so on mainland Australia which means they aren't at the top of the food chain but more at the bottom now.2
Reproduction
The quokkas on mainland australia mate all year while the ones on rottnest island only mate between the months January and March. The gestation period Is 1 month and they can have more than 1 Baby in its lifespan which is 10 years.
Adaptations
Some adaptations it has is the pouch which can store and protect its young. It also has sharp teeth and claws to protect itself from danger and humans. It has the ability to hop and move like a kangaroo. It has the instinct of fighting extremely aggressively and not eating dangerous foods. It is nocturnal to prevent having more predators on mainland Australia. It also has the ability to climb trees incase of predators but also for food.
The Role They Have
They allow the plants they eat not to overpopulate the island and mainland. Which would stop an imbalance in the food chain/web.
Food Chain
On Rottnest Island
Sun----->Trees and Other Plants------>Quokka
On Main Land
Sun----->Trees and Other Plants------>Quokka------>Fox Or Cats Or Dogs Or Dingos Or Birds Of Prey
Food Sources.
They feed on plants because they are herbivores. Some plants they eat are grass but they also eat the leaves, stem and the bark of other plants.
Relationships
They are parasitic to the the plants they eat because it harms the plant but it doesn't have any other relationships unless you count it being killed by its predators
Migrations And Movement Patterns
It does not migrate because it lives in such a small area of Australia. It does however has movement patterns because of how it is nocturnal.
Human Impact.
Humans Can Impact the animal by either feeding it which would cause it to either be harmed or it might be killed due to being poisoned from the human food it ate. Such as bread. We are also harming the quokkas by taking away their habitat and land for either farming of crops or gathering of resources which would make the scarce amount of land the quokkas live on even scarcer or nonexistent.
References
http://www.animalfactguide.com
encyclopedia of life
http://www.konicaminolta.com/kids/endangered_animals/library/field/quokka.html
