I knew you were truffle when I walked in: truffle oil bait improves surveys of mycophagous mammals on camera traps

Mycophagous species are significant ecosystem engineers. However, many of these species are difficult to survey, which limits scientific understanding of their ecology and impacts on ecosystems. This study aimed to determine a bait preference for opportunistic mycophagous mammals by comparing detection rates and duration of time spent in front of cameras at different baits. We used camera traps and four different bait types to attract mycophagous species in two sympatric habitat types in south-eastern Queensland. No specific species were targeted, but rather the study aimed to detect any mycophages that may be present in the ecosystem. In total, 399 mycophagous mammal detections from 11 species were recorded in the study. The detection rates using different baits varied among species, but overall, mycophagous mammals tended to spend longer in front of the camera trap, and be detected sooner, at cameras baited with the truffle oil bait. By determining which bait attracts the most mycophages, whether they be obligate or occasional consumers of fungi, ecologists can target survey efforts when investigating these fungi–vertebrate relationships.