The impact of landscape disturbance on the Yellow-bellied glider (Petaurus australis)

Context. The yellow-bellied glider (Petaurus australis) is listed by the International
Union for Conservation of Nature as Near Threatened with declining populations. As
a hollow-dependant arboreal species, landscape disturbance from logging and
wildfire is thought to negatively impact the species. However, very little is known
about the response of yellow-bellied glider populations to these disturbance events.
Aims. The aim of this study was to determine the impact that logging and wildfire
disturbance has on site occupancy by yellow-bellied gliders in the Central Highlands,
Victoria.
Methods. I deployed an autonomous recording unit (ARU) at each of 70 sites across
the Central Highlands, Victoria. ARUs were programmed to record from 17:00h to
04:00h and left in place for two weeks. Yellow-bellied glider vocalisations were
identified in recordings, resulting in presence or absence data for the species at each
site. The proportion of forest within a 400m radius of each ARU impacted by logging
and wildfire was determined to assess their influence on site occupancy by yellowbellied
gliders.
Key results. There was a higher probability of yellow-bellied glider presence in sites
of low disturbance (44.5% occupancy) compared to high disturbance (12.7%
occupancy).
Conclusions. Increasing disturbance due to logging and wildfire results in a decrease
in site occupancy by yellow-bellied gliders.
Implications. The negative influence of disturbance on yellow-bellied gliders signals
a need to enact adaptive management to prevent further population declines.