Petaurus australis: Menkhorst, P., Winter, J., Ellis, M., Denny, M., Burnett, S. & Lunney, D.

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2001 ◽  
Vol 49 (4) ◽  
pp. 397 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ross L. Goldingay ◽  
Darren G. Quin ◽  
Sue Churchill

A detailed study was conducted over a 12-month period of 10 yellow-bellied glider groups at Nitchaga Creek in north Queensland. Adult gliders were sexually dimorphic in body size and were characterised by yellow ventral fur, which is consistent with southern populations. Gliders lived in groups of 3–6 individuals that occupied exclusive areas of about 50 ha. The structure of glider groups varied enormously: five contained one adult pair, three contained one adult male and 2–3 adult females, and two initially contained 2–3 adult males and one adult female but then persisted as bachelor groups after the death or disappearance of the adult female. Group size changed during the year as offspring matured and as individuals died. One male glider dispersed about 1 km from its natal home-range and became the dominant male in a nearby group. Young were born throughout the year, with a peak in the number of pouch-young in June. This study has confirmed the highly variable social system of the yellow-bellied glider, which appears to be mediated by local resource abundance.


1999 ◽  
Vol 26 (2) ◽  
pp. 199 ◽  
Author(s):  
Susan M. Carthew ◽  
Ross L. Goldingay ◽  
Darryl L. Funnell

This study provides the first assessment of the diet of the yellow-bellied glider (Petaurus australis) in the south-west portion of its range near the Victorian–South Australian border. Examining its diet in this region is viewed as being fundamental to understanding the ecological requirements of the species. Observations were conducted over a five-year period on gliders from five distinct groups. Sap was the most important food item throughout the year and accounted for 83% of 407 feeding observations. Each group of gliders used up to 21 different trees for sap, but during any sample period only 1–8 trees were used. This represents a vastly different pattern of use of sap trees to that described in any earlier study. Some trees were visited more often than others, and these tended to be heavily scarred, indicating use over many years. Other food types were arthropods and honeydew and, to a lesser extent, nectar. This study also revealed that the yellow- bellied glider is not dependent on a diversity of tree species nor on a winter-flowering species. We provide a review of the diet of the yellow-bellied glider throughout its range. This shows that the yellow-bellied glider is reliant on sap as a food resource but particularly so at both ends of its geographic range. The reason for this is unclear, but there is definitely a need for further study of sap-flow patterns in eucalypts.


1791 ◽  
Vol 2 (XX) ◽  
Author(s):  
George Shaw ◽  
Frederick Polydore Nodder
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2000 ◽  
Vol 27 (2) ◽  
pp. 217 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ross L. Goldingay

This study examined the use of sap trees by yellow-bellied gliders (Petaurus australis) at 33 sites scattered through approximately 10 000 ha of forest. In all, 62 grey gum (Eucalyptus punctata) trees were assessed during seven visits over a 2-year period for use by gliders in sap feeding (either currently or during the previous month). About 40% of trees had been used prior to each visit, indicating a very high pattern of use. About 29% of trees were used prior to many visits while 18% were not used at all. Gliders made small incisions on trees, apparently to test their suitability for sap feeding. These test incisions were seen several times on all the sap trees that remained unused during this study. They were made on about 60% of trees that were not used for sap feeding within the month prior to a visit. At 23 of the 33 sites, test incisions were also observed on E. punctata non-sap trees. These observations show that gliders actively check sap trees and non-sap trees. This study confirms the importance of sap trees to the yellow-bellied glider and highlights the need for further research that aims to identify the key parameters of these trees to which gliders respond. This would greatly facilitate the management and conservation of the yellow-bellied glider.


1993 ◽  
Vol 20 (3) ◽  
pp. 387 ◽  
Author(s):  
RL Goldingay ◽  
RP Kavanagh

The yellow-bellied glider (Petaurus australis), the largest of the exudivorous marsupials, lives in small family groupings and occupies virtually exclusive home ranges. A variety of estimation techniques were used to determine the home-range area of five glider groups. Two sets of data were analysed for each glider group; one included the locations of all observations while the other utilised a subset considered to represent independent observations based on a 3-h interval between consecutive locations. The techniques favoured for estimating home-range area, minimum convex polygon (MCP) and 95% isopleth of the harmonic mean (95% HM), gave mean values of 59 ha and 46 ha, respectively, when all data were included. These values were 28% and 14% larger, respectively, than those estimated with independent data. An extrapolation that accounted for the influence of the number of locations on the area estimated gave a mean MCP value of 63 ha for the five groups. This value was compared with estimates for other exudivorous mammals and is much greater than that predicted from the body weight of this species. The home ranges (defined by the 95% HM) of the five glider groups included different proportions of the seven forest types available in the study area. The forest type in which Eucalyptus ovata predominated was identified as a key habitat. It was the least abundant yet was included in all five home ranges, unlike several of the more abundant forest types which were absent from some home ranges. The above results are discussed in relation to forest management and conservation.


Parasitology ◽  
2009 ◽  
Vol 137 (1) ◽  
pp. 37-43 ◽  
Author(s):  
SANTIAGO MERINO ◽  
JAVIER MARTÍNEZ ◽  
RODRIGO A. VÁSQUEZ ◽  
JAN ŠLAPETA

SUMMARYIntraerythrocytic parasites (Apicomplexa: Sarcocystidae) of the South American mouse opossum (Thylamys elegans) from Chile, South America, and of the yellow-bellied glider (Petaurus australis) from Australia were found to be monophyletic using SSU rDNA and partial LSU rDNA sequences. Phylogenetic reconstruction placed both species within the family Sarcocystidae. These intraerythrocytic parasites of marsupials represent an as yet unnamed genus predicted to have bisporocystic oocysts and tetrazoic sporocysts, which is a characteristic feature of all members of the family Sarcocystidae. These results show that erythrocytic parasites share a common ancestor and suggest co-evolution with their vertebrate host.


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