Ecology and conservation
provided by EOL authors
Greater Gliders are a folivorous marsupial found throughout moist Eucalypt forests in Eastern Australia. They can reach densities of up to 1ha-1 and typically have a relatively small home range of 2-3ha (Comport et al 1996). Greater Gliders are hollow dependent fauna and due to their small home range are essentially a species dependent on old growth (hollow rich) forests.
Logging has been demonstrated to impact on Greater Glider (eg Kavanagh et al 1995) with the highest densities occurring within unlogged old growth forests over logged, regrowth forets.
Greater Gliders are a major prey item for the Powerful Owl and Powerful Owls have the potential to significantly decimate Greater Glider populations by up to 90% (Kavanagh 1988).
References
Comport, S, Ward, S and Foley, W (1996) Home ranges, time budgets and food-tree use in a high-density tropical population of greater gliders, Petauroides volans minor (Pseudocheiridae : Marsupialia), Wildlife Research 23, 401-418.
Kavanagh, R (1988) The impact of predation by the powerful owl, Ninox strenua, on a population of the greater glider, Austral Ecology 13, 445-450.
Kavanagh, R, Debus, S, Tweedie, T and Webster, R (1995) Distribution of Nocturnal Forest Birds and Mammals in North-eastern New South Wales: Relationships with Environmental Variables and Management History, Wildlife Research 22, 357-377.
