Listeria monocytogenesInfection in a Sugar Glider (Petaurus breviceps) - New Mexico, 2011

Trapping data of the mahogany glider, Petaurus gracilis, and the sugar glider, Petaurus breviceps, in sympatry, in north Queensland, were analysed with vegetation variables to determine the habitat relationships of these two species. The study area contained a trapping grid (80 traps) within an area of continuous forest and trapping transects within an adjacent area of fragmented forest (44 traps). The mahogany glider was trapped more often at 43 of the 124 locations (38 in the continuous and 5 in the fragmented forest), with the sugar glider dominant at 46 locations (18 in the continuous forest and 28 in the fragmented forest). The remaining 27 trap locations where gliders were caught did not favour either species. Eight trap locations within riparian rainforest had no captures of either species. The presence of mahogany gliders was significantly correlated with the presence of Corymbia clarksoniana, Eucalyptus platyphylla, the absence of Corymbia intermedia and Acacia mangium, and a small mid and upper canopy cover. In contrast, the presence of sugar gliders was most correlated with a large number of stems. When the presence of the mahogany glider was compared with that of the sugar glider with respect to various habitat variables for the entire study area, the mahogany glider was most associated with the presence of C. clarksoniana, Eucalyptus pellita, Lophostemon suaveolens, Melaleuca dealbata and a reduced lower and upper canopy. In contrast, the sugar glider was most associated with C. intermedia, A. mangium, a large number of potential food species, rainforest species and a dense mid and upper canopy cover.

Use of Tree Hollows by Two Sympatric Gliding Possums, The Squirrel Glider, Petaurus norfolcensis and The Sugar Glider, P. breviceps.

Australian Mammalogy ◽

10.1071/am97079 ◽

1998 ◽

Vol 20 (1) ◽

pp. 79

Author(s):

B.J. Traill ◽

A. Lill

Keyword(s):

Artificial Nest ◽

Nest Boxes ◽

Forestry Practices ◽

Tree Hollows ◽

Sugar Glider ◽

Squirrel Glider ◽

Petaurus Breviceps ◽

Artificial Nest Boxes

Populations of the Squirrel Glider, Petaurus norfolcensis and the Sugar Glider, P. breviceps, are often sympatric and the two species are potential competitors for tree hollows. Their use of hollows and artificial nest-boxes was examined in a Box-Ironbark forest where natural hollows are scarce due to past forestry practices. We found gliders used hollows in the boles and branches of trees and in coppicing stumps. There was considerable interspecific overlap in the use of hollows and nest-boxes, both by gliders and other birds and mammals. Both gliders preferred hollows and nest-boxes with narrow entrances (<50 mm diameter). Petaurus breviceps preferred nest-boxes and possibly natural tree hollows with entrances too narrow for the larger P. norfolcensis. When abundant nest-boxes of this type were introduced at the study site, P. breviceps numbers increased and then decreased when the nest-boxes were removed. The results suggest that the larger P. norfolcensis monopolise the best available hollows. Petaurus breviceps numbers may have been limited by a lack of suitable hollows.

Lack of social entrainment of free-running circadian activity rhythms in the Australian sugar glider (Petaurus breviceps: Marsupialia)

Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology ◽

10.1007/bf00295155 ◽

1985 ◽

Vol 16 (2) ◽

pp. 189-193 ◽

Cited By ~ 15

Author(s):

Sabine Kleinknecht

Keyword(s):

Circadian Activity ◽

Activity Rhythms ◽

Sugar Glider ◽

Free Running ◽

Petaurus Breviceps

Photopollution impacts on the nocturnal behaviour of the Sugar Glider (Petaurus breviceps)

Pacific Conservation Biology ◽

10.1071/pc070171 ◽

2007 ◽

Vol 13 (3) ◽

pp. 171 ◽

Cited By ~ 8

Author(s):

Shannon M. Barber-Meyer

Keyword(s):

Industrial Development ◽

Migratory Birds ◽

Sea Turtle ◽

Light Pollution ◽

Activity Levels ◽

High Luminosity ◽

Existing Problems ◽

Sugar Glider ◽

Dark Regime ◽

Petaurus Breviceps

Night light pollution is an important environmental problem impacting on many animals including a variety of insects, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals. While some impacts of night light pollution are well-known such as misorientation of sea turtle hatchlings and deaths of migratory birds, other less obvious impacts on reproduction, communication, competition, and predation have recently been reported. As some natural areas in New Guinea and Australia face agricultural and industrial development, conflicts between wildlife and photopollution will add to existing problems of habitat fragmentation and degradation. I report on the photopollution impacts on the nocturnal behavior of the sugar glider (Petaurus breviceps). Captive sugar gliders were monitored using a "super nightshot" camcorder for baseline nocturnal behaviour following a 12 hour dayligh/12 hour dark regime. Treatment consisted of 12 hour dayligh/12 hour simulated ambient low and high luminosity street light photopollution (average 7.0 and 12.0 lux). Over 575 sugar glider-hours were analyzed. The results show marked behavioural impacts under high luminosity treatment, even 7.0 lux reduced foraging time. This is the first report of photopollution impacts on sugar glider foraging and activity levels. Further research, particularly with wild populations, is needed to elucidate the extent of photopollution impacts on sugar gliders and their endangered and vulnerable relatives.

Population dynamics and life history of the mahogany glider, Petaurus gracilis, and the sugar glider, Petaurus breviceps, in north Queensland

Wildlife Research ◽

10.1071/wr98044 ◽

2000 ◽

Vol 27 (1) ◽

pp. 21 ◽

Cited By ~ 18

Author(s):

Stephen M. Jackson

Keyword(s):

Life History ◽

Litter Size ◽

Average Density ◽

Head Width ◽

Fragmented Habitat ◽

Average Litter Size ◽

Sugar Glider ◽

History Of ◽

Petaurus Breviceps ◽

Natality Rate

Mahogany gliders, Petaurus gracilis, and sugar gliders, Petaurus breviceps, were trapped in an area of open woodland in north Queensland between 1994 and 1996 to examine their population ecology and life history. This study area contained two smaller areas, one consisting of continuous habitat and the other an area of fragmented habitat adjacent to the continuous habitat. Within the continuous area, the mahogany glider had an average density of 0.24 ha–1 whereas the sugar glider had an average density of 0.27 ha–1. In contrast, the density of mahogany gliders in the fragmented habitat averaged only 0.16 ha–1 whereas the density of sugar gliders was higher, at 0.46 ha–1. Both the mahogany glider and the sugar glider showed sexual dimorphism in their weight, head length and head width. The average body weight of both species fluctuated throughout the year with no consistent pattern. The mahogany glider showed a distinct breeding season, with births being recorded between April and October, whereas the sugar glider showed no pattern, with births being recorded during all months except February and April. During the study, all adult females of both species were observed to have bred, with an average litter size of 1.55 and a natality rate of 2.09 for the mahogany glider, and an average litter size of 1.83 and a natality rate of 2.14 for the sugar glider. The sugar glider was able to raise two litters of young within a single year whereas a second litter was raised by the mahogany glider only if the first litter was lost.

Geographic variation in the diet of the powerful owl (Ninox strenua) at a local scale

Australian Journal of Zoology ◽

10.1071/zo13048 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 61 (5) ◽

pp. 372 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Rohan J. Bilney

Keyword(s):

Coastal Forests ◽

Forest Sites ◽

Sugar Glider ◽

Pseudocheirus Peregrinus ◽

The Common ◽

Dietary Variation ◽

Conservation Concern ◽

Petaurus Breviceps ◽

Ringtail Possum

This study reports the diet of the powerful owl (Ninox strenua) in East Gippsland, from a dataset of 2009 vertebrate prey items collected from 53 sites. Mammals dominated the diet at all sites, but birds were also consumed regularly. The greater glider (Petauroides volans) was the dominant dietary item across the region in terms of both frequency of consumption and biomass contribution. There was geographical dietary variation between coastal and foothill forest sites, with the sugar glider (Petaurus breviceps) and birds consumed more frequently in foothill forests, whereas the common ringtail possum (Pseudocheirus peregrinus) was frequently consumed only in coastal forests. Typically, a higher percentage of powerful owl diet comprised birds closer to cleared land. The dietary reliance upon hollow-dependent mammals in foothill forests (averaging >70%) is of conservation concern, especially when non-hollow-dependent prey are rare. Forest management activities, especially logging, that reduce densities of hollow-bearing trees in the landscape are therefore likely to decrease the long-term carrying capacity of the landscape for the powerful owl.

Feeding Behavior and Nutrition of the Sugar Glider (Petaurus breviceps)

Veterinary Clinics of North America Exotic Animal Practice ◽

10.1016/j.cvex.2009.01.014 ◽

2009 ◽

Vol 12 (2) ◽

pp. 209-215 ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

Ellen S. Dierenfeld

Keyword(s):

Feeding Behavior ◽

Sugar Glider ◽

Petaurus Breviceps

Parasites and pathology of the respiratory tracts of native and feral mammals in Australia - a review.

Australian Mammalogy ◽

10.1071/am02177 ◽

2002 ◽

Vol 24 (2) ◽

pp. 177 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

DM Spratt

Keyword(s):

Brushtail Possum ◽

Full Spectrum ◽

Elephant Seals ◽

Wild Mammals ◽

Larval Stages ◽

Fur Seals ◽

Sugar Glider ◽

Frontal Sinuses ◽

Species Specific ◽

Petaurus Breviceps

This paper summarizes knowledge of the biodiversity and pathology associated with parasites of the respiratory tract of wild mammals, including feral species, in Australia. Representatives of 21 genera of nematodes distributed in the superfamilies Trichostrongyloidea, Metastrongyloidea, Thelazioidea, Filarioidea, Trichinelloidea and Muspiceoidea are included. Larval stages of the cestode, Echinococcus granulosus, occur in the lungs of macropodids and feral pigs (Sus scrofa). Trematodes occur in the lungs of dugongs (Dugong dugon) and in the cranial sinuses and blowholes of dolphins. Pentastomes occur in the lungs of the sugar glider (Petaurus breviceps) and in the frontal sinuses of dingoes (Canis lupus dingo) and foxes (Vulpes vulpes). Nymphal stages of the latter have been found in the lungs of rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus) and nymphs of a pentastome of tree pythons occur in the lungs of the northern brown bandicoot (Isoodon macrourus). Pneumonyssid mites occur in the lungs of the northern brushtail possum (Trichosurus vulpecula arnhemensis) and an undescribed speleognathine mite has been found in the lungs of P. breviceps. Trombiculid, tydeoid, dermanyssid and halarachnid mites are endoparasitic in the nasal sinuses of rodents, antechinuses, possums, gliders, elephant seals and fur seals. Larvae of oestrid bot-flies occur in the trachea of macropodids and in the nasal sinuses of camels (Camelus dromedarius). Host specificity in these parasites represents the full spectrum from species specific to class catholic with the intranasal chigger, Ascoschoengastia rattus, occuring in metatherian and eutherian mammals as well as varanid lizards. Similarly, pathological changes associated with these parasites range from inapparent to verminous bronchitis and bronchiolitis resulting in mortalities or severely impaired respiratory reserve or hypoxia precipitating death.

Metastatic Mammary Adenocarcinoma in a Sugar Glider (Petaurus breviceps)

Journal of Exotic Pet Medicine ◽

10.1053/j.jepm.2015.08.011 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 24 (4) ◽

pp. 441-445 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Sarah M. Churgin ◽

Kathleen M. Deering ◽

Roberta Wallace ◽

Victoria L. Clyde

Keyword(s):

Mammary Adenocarcinoma ◽

Sugar Glider ◽

Petaurus Breviceps