Chapter 3 - Conservation of Australian Tree Kangaroos: Current Issues and Future Prospects

Abstract

The two Australian species of tree kangaroos are restricted to relatively small areas of rainforest in the wet tropics of north-east Queensland. Historical clearing for agriculture has removed extensive areas of high quality habitat for Lumholtz's tree kangaroo, but most remaining forests are protected in conservation reserves. The habitat of Bennett's tree kangaroo is largely intact. Traditional hunting may have exerted significant controls on the distribution of tree kangaroos, but neither species is currently hunted. Populations of Lumholtz's tree kangaroo inhabiting remnant forest on the Atherton Tableland are susceptible to vehicle-strike and dog attacks, but mortalities are <1% of the estimated population. Climate change poses a potentially serious threat to Lumholtz's tree kangaroo, with a 2°C increase in temperature predicted to reduce the extent of high quality habitat for this species by 75%. Impacts on Bennett's tree kangaroo are unknown. Our capacity to mitigate threats to the Australian tree kangaroos would be improved by the conduct of research on the ecological determinants of distribution and abundance, the study of thermoregulatory responses to increased temperatures, and studies to inform potential translocation of tree kangaroos to subtropical rainforests if required to conserve them in the face of climate change.