Journal article
Long-term monitoring of an endangered population of Yellow-bellied Glider Petaurus australis on the Bago Plateau, New South Wales, and its response to wildfires and timber harvesting in a changing climate
Australian zoologist, Vol.42(2), pp.592-607
2022
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Abstract
A population of Yellow-bellied Glider Petaurus australis on the Bago Plateau, on the NSW south-western slopes, was first surveyed across 126 sites in 1995 and this subsequently became the baseline for further population monitoring. A subset of 48 sites was resurveyed in 2010, and about one third of the sites (~40) were surveyed annually on a rotating panel between 2013–2019. Wildfire significantly impacted the Bago Plateau during 2020 and 51 sites were resurveyed post-fire in 2020/21. An occupancy modelling approach was used to estimate trends in occupancy between 1995 and 2020/21, including the influence of various covariates. Initial occupancy was positively associated with the extent of Montane Gums and mixed Wet Peppermint/Montane Gum forest types within a 450 m radius of the survey site. Supported models revealed that colonisation over time was positively associated with the density of hollow-bearing trees at a site, while extinction was positively associated with the extent of high severity wildfire at a site. Despite wide confidence intervals, the long-term occupancy trend showed a stable to slight increase between 1995 and 2019, but a ~26% reduction following wildfire. The increasing trend occurred despite a long-term rainfall deficit that was punctuated by occasional above average years during the survey period. There was no evidence that timber harvesting influenced occupancy by the gliders, although harvesting is predominantly focused within stands containing Alpine Ash Eucalyptus delegatensis, with monospecific stands generally avoided by the glider.
Details
- Title
- Long-term monitoring of an endangered population of Yellow-bellied Glider Petaurus australis on the Bago Plateau, New South Wales, and its response to wildfires and timber harvesting in a changing climate
- Creators
- Rohan J. Bilney - Forestry Corporation of NSWPeter J. Kambouris - Forestry Corporation of NSWJess Peterie - Forestry Corporation of NSWCraig Dunne - Forestry Corporation of NSWKelly Makeham - Forestry Corporation of NSWRodney P. Kavanagh - Southern Cross UniversityLeroy Gonsalves - NSW Department of Primary IndustriesBrad Law - NSW Department of Primary Industries
- Publication Details
- Australian zoologist, Vol.42(2), pp.592-607
- Publisher
- Royal Zoological Society of New South Wales
- Identifiers
- 991013120911102368
- Academic Unit
- Faculty of Science and Engineering
- Language
- English
- Resource Type
- Journal article