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

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