Home-range and den use of the mahogany glider, Petaurus gracilis
Stephen M. Jackson
Wildlife Research 27(1) 49 - 60
Abstract
The home-range of the mahogany glider was estimated, and its social behaviour
examined, by following radio-collared animals over a two-year period within an
area of continuous habitat and an adjacent area of fragmented habitat. The
average home range within the continuous habitat was 19.25 ha for males and
20.34 ha for females, with male and female pairs occupying a combined area of
23.15 ha. In contrast, the average home range in the fragmented habitat was
11.05 ha for males and 6.80 ha for females, with a combined home-range of male
and female pairs being 11.60 ha. The average overlap of the home ranges of
paired males and females was 85.9%, compared with approximately
11% for non-paired individuals, which suggests that mahogany gliders
are socially monogamous. For a total of 46 nights on which gliders were
considered to behave normally for the entire night, the average foraging
distance was 1506 m (range 590–3420 m) with no significant difference
between males and females in either the continuous or fragmented habitat.
There was, however, a significant difference in the distance individuals
travelled during different times of the year, with longer distances being
travelled during late dry season/wet season and shorter distances during
the early to mid dry season. Mahogany gliders also travelled further when
there was a high availability of nectar and pollen than when there was lower
availability. A total of 83 dens (tree hollows) were recorded for the mahogany
glider, with the poplar gum, Eucalyptus platyphylla,
forest red gum, Eucalyptus tereticornis, and
Clarkson's bloodwood, Corymbia clarksoniana, being
most used.
Full text doi:10.1071/WR98046
© CSIRO 2000





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