Time Budget and Related Aspects of the Foraging Behavior of the Yellow-Bellied Glider, Petaurus-Australis

Abstract

The time budget of the Yellow-bellied Glider was determined at a site in southern New South Wales. Gliders spent most of the night outside their dens (96% in summer, 73% in winter) and devoted an average of 81% of this time to feeding but only 2% to inactivity. When feeding time is coupled with that for other behaviours essential for foraging (i.e. gliding and climbing), 90% of the time outside the den is accounted for. This is among the highest values yet found for a mammal. The amount of time gliders spent in trees was significantly greater when feeding on exudates (on average >48 min per tree) than when harvesting arthropods and other food types from under loose bark (<13 min per tree). Distances traversed by gliders observed for entire nights (range 590-2350 m) appear to reflect this pattern but further data are required. Food types also influenced the occurrence of gliders feeding together in the same tree. The implications of these results are discussed in relation to the energetics of foraging gliders.