Bilbies are endangered and superficially rabbit-like marsupials. New research shows they can help regenerate the Australian environment.
Credit: Wikimedia
The results revealed roughly twice as many seedlings in the bilby or bettong pits compared to the rabbit pits. The level of biodiversity in rabbit pits was also reduced, with only half the number of species present compared to surrounding undisturbed soil.
Nitrogen levels in the bilby and bettong pits were found to be twice as high as surrounding soil. James thinks the deeper pits may be better at trapping leaf litter, which breaks down creating patches of more fertile soil.
"Phenomenal diggers"
"These animals are [both] phenomenal diggers and create a patchwork of small depressions when they dig for food buried in the soil," she said. "The depressions they make capture scarce resources such as seeds, leaf litter and water, and become a focal point of plant germination after desert rains."
Eldrige and James published some of their results last month in the journal Ecological Management and Restoration.
The findings were announced this week as part of the Fresh Science competition, which recognises the achievements of early career scientists.
