Population monitoring of an urban gliding mammal in eastern Australia

Abstract

Long-term monitoring is an important element of species conservation. This study describes changes in the size of a squirrel glider (Petaurus norfolcensis) population over a 10-year period. The population occupied a 45-ha forest remnant within the urban area of Brisbane. Gliders were tagged from 25 nights of trapping during 2006-08 and from 16 nights of trapping in 2015. Population modelling was used to estimate adult population size. This suggested the adult population comprised 30-40 individuals at the beginning and end of the 10-year period. It reached a peak of 70 individuals in mid-2007. These data suggest that the study area contains a small population that is prone to interannual variation but there was no evidence of it being in decline. Survival estimates during 2006-08 were equivalent to those estimated for a larger population in Victoria. Population monitoring should be continued to determine how resilient this population is to population decline and to investigate factors that may cause decline. This study provides an example of an approach that could be used to monitor threatened populations of the squirrel glider.