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Published (Version of record)CC BY-NC-ND V4.0, Open Access
Published (Version of record)CC BY-NC-ND V4.0, Open
Journal article
Radio-tracked brush-tailed phascogales highlight the ecological importance of dead trees in Australian forests
Australian mammalogy, Vol.48(1), pp.1-11
04/2026
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Abstract
Tree hollow dependent wildlife species are increasingly at risk of decline due to continuing depletion of their hollow resources and the long lag-time for their renewal. We investigated patterns of hollow use in the brush-tailed phascogale (Phascogale tapoatafa), a regionally threatened mammal in the south of its range. Twenty-five phascogales (13 males and 12 females) were radio-tracked for a mean duration of 68.2 ± 15.8 (s.e.) days. This produced 318 diurnal nest site detections encompassing 88 individual hollows and 23 nest boxes. Dead trees were used on 70.4% of occasions despite comprising 27.7% of trees. The mean distance between consecutive diurnal shelters was 157.9 ± 65.9 m. Phascogales used up to 8 nest sites (mean 3.2 per individual) but usually had one or two hollows which they used most frequently. Females used hollows with narrower entrances (mean diameter: 6.3 ± 0.6 cm) compared to males (8.3 cm ± 0.6 cm). Internal measurements of accessible hollows revealed that females selected hollows slightly larger though not statistically different (24,846 cm3 ± 8,131 cm) to those of males (19,448 cm3 ± 5,310.7 cm). Our study has documented one of the highest frequencies of use of dead trees among studies on Australian marsupials and confirms that this is a critical resource in forests where large trees are absent or uncommon. We observed a loss of 4.5% of these tree hollows over a three-year period. Fire, storms and illegal firewood collection pose an ongoing threat to this vulnerable resource.
Details
- Title
- Radio-tracked brush-tailed phascogales highlight the ecological importance of dead trees in Australian forests
- Creators
- William Terry - Southern Cross UniversityRoss Goldingay - Southern Cross University
- Publication Details
- Australian mammalogy, Vol.48(1), pp.1-11
- Publisher
- CSIRO Publishing; CLAYTON SOUTH
- Number of pages
- 11
- Grant note
- Partial funding was obtained from a grant from the Field Naturalists Club of Victoria for the purchase of three radio collars.
- Identifiers
- 991013344090902368
- Copyright
- © 2026 The Author(s) (or their employer(s)).
- Academic Unit
- Faculty of Science and Engineering; Science
- Language
- English
- Resource Type
- Journal article