Habitat of the white‐footed dunnart Sminthopsis leucopus (Gray) (Dasyuridae: Marsupialia) in a logged, burnt forest near Bega, New South Wales

Abstract

AbstractIn the winter of 1981, 9 months after an intense fire in November 1980 in the recently logged Mumbulla State Forest, the numbers of a small population of Sminthopsis leucopus had slightly increased, while the common species of small mammals had declined sharply from the previous winter. The study reported in this paper aimed to identify the habitat of S. leucopus. Ninety study plots were divided equally among three classes of forest (unlogged forest, and forest logged in 1979 and 1980), between two aspects (north‐ and south‐facing slopes), and among three topographic positions (ridge, midslope and gully). Plots were assessed on the basis of both floristic data and the structural components of ground, shrub and tree cover. The primary finding was that the habitat of S. leucopus was the treeless ridges and mid‐slopes with less than 51% ground cover in the logged areas of burnt forest. The floristic analysis showed that the vegetation subcommunities restricted to gullies, or carrying a ferny ground layer of vegetation, were not selected by S. leucopus. An analysis of movements of male S. leucopus identified two classes. ‘Resident’ males occurred on logged ridges and midslopes characterized by a floristic subcommunity of open forest with a grassy understorey.‘Explorer’ males moved through a variety of ridge habitats, including unlogged forest, and were spread more widely through the floristic communities. The pattern of habitat selection identified in this study shows S. leucopus to be ecologically distinct from the other species of small mammals in the forest and thus in need of special consideration in management programmes if it is to be conserved. Under the current regime, the uniform treatment of the forest leads to widespread stands of dense regrowth to the exclusion of the species and is inimical to its survival.