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A Brighter Future for the Mahogany Glider March 1998

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A Brighter Future for the Mahogany Glider March 1998 A brighter future for the mahogany glider March 1998 The mahogany glider, Petaurus gracilis, and the small amount of is a graceful but rare species of gliding habitat within protected areas, possum which survives only in the wet the mahogany glider is tropics of north Queensland. For more endangered with extinction. than a century it was considered to be Their shaky foot-hold is extinct until it was rediscovered in further jeopardised because a 1989. large percentage of their habitat, approximately 80%, One reason it might have escaped has been cleared for detection for so long is that its habitat agriculture and forestry. There is restricted to a 110 km narrow band is a great risk that their of dry coastal open woodland between remaining habitat could also Tully and just south of Ingham. be cleared. Outside this limited distribution, the more common squirrel glider inhabits This clearing has fragmented the open forests surrounding the the remaining mahogany mahogany gliders’ habitat. seasonally and gives birth to one or two glider habitat, isolating small offspring between April and September each groups within each patch of Stephen Jackson, a James Cook year. However, these agile aeronauts appear forest. The small numbers University PhD student, has been to only live to the age of five. harboured in a fragment could studying the mahogany glider for fall victim to natural collapse, more than three years. His research They feed on a diverse variety of food items either by inbreeding, disease aimed to gain a better understanding including nectar and pollen from tree species or natural disaster, such as a of these furry fliers and to find ways such as eucalypts, bloodwoods, and cyclone or fire. Mahogany to prevent the loss of them for good. melaleucas (paper-barks). In particular, gliders do not readily come to One of the main focuses of his study mahogany gliders savor the sap from Albizia the ground, so it is nearly was to determine the gliders’ habitat procera and several other species of acacias. impossible for the gliders to requirements to assist with the migrate to other forest development of strategies for its Mahogany gliders also augment their diet fragments separated by fields protection. with honeydew, insects, acacia arils (the short or paddocks. Consequently, it attachments that connect the seed to the pod) is unlikely that the animal Voracious high fliers and mistletoe fruit. These food sources have could recolonise fragments distinct periods of availability, so their diet from which they have Mahogany gliders prefer to make their is influenced by seasonal cycles of flowering disappeared. homes in forest with an open canopy. and fruiting. Needless to say, reliance on When traversing their habitat they such variety of food requires that the How much habitat do they glide from tree to tree, soaring an mahogany glider live in an area of high plant need? average of 30 metres, although, Steve diversity. has recorded glides of up to 60 metres. Steve’s research suggests that The mahogany glider breeds Why are they rare and endangered? 800 mahogany gliders require at least 8000 hectares of As a result of their highly limited distribution suitable habitat to survive over the wire is a significant cause of long term. He has found that in a mahoganyglider mortality. continuous forest, individual gliders 6. Undertake further require an area of 19-20 hectares which research to fill present gaps in they share with their mate and any our knowledge of the offspring. A pair of gliders could have mahogany glider that up to 13 dens within their home range. includes: Unlike many other possums in north Conducting a baseline study Queensland, the mahogany glider to examine the present does not appear to readily utilize the genetic diversity in each of rainforest for either food nor shelter. the major remaining In fact, as more wet sclerophyll and populations to examine if dry woodland is engulfed by inbreeding is occurring. rainforest, mahogany gliders may Completing a detailed examination Federal and State governments to suffer a further loss of habitat. of the remaining habitat in regard to protect the mahogany glider Steps toward mahogany glider vegetation types, size of habitat including: conservation fragments remaining, and the potential use of corridors between 1. the purchase of land; fragments. 2. the development of conservation In order to conserve the mahogany glider a number of issues will need to Examining the large scale habitat agreements with land owners; be addressed. These include: requirements with the aim of 3. the initiation of a recovery team developing a model to predict the to make decisions on the 1. The retention of areas of habitat occurrence of mahogany gliders in management of the glider; and particular habitat. 4. the development of a to maintain viable populations of the mahogany gliders. Completing a broad scale study to management plan by the recovery 2. The establishment and examine the use of corridors of team which will assist in the long maintenance of wildlife different lengths and widths of term management of this species. corridors between key corridors in order to determine the populations. limits to what they will traverse. For more information 3. The use of fire to control Assessing the impact of rainforest rainforest expansion into open expansion along corridors and in For more information about continuous habitat. mahogany gliders please contact: woodland habitat where the mahogany glider survives. Examining the impact of different 4. Encouraging landowners not to fire regimes in controlling rainforest Stephen Jackson make gaps in habitat greater expansion within key corridors and Curator, Life Sciences than 20m wide so the remnant habitat. Healesville Sanctuary mahogany glider can glide over PO Box Healesville Victoria 37777 the gap in habitat. Following this and other research on Ph: (03) 5957 2855 5. Encouraging landowners to use the mahogany glider, a number of Fx: (03) 5957 2870 plain wire for fences as barbed steps have been initiated by the Acknowledgements: This research was funded by Environment Australia, Queensland Dept. of Environment, Thorsborne Trust and Australian Geographic..
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