Socioecology of the Yellow-Bellied Glider (Petaurus-Australis) in a Coastal Forest

Abstract

The social organisation of the yellow-bellied glider was examined at Kioloa in southern New South Wales. Gliders lived in family groups that initially included several adult females and, in one instance, two females in the same group lactated concurrently, suggesting that gliders at this site are capable of polygyny. Group size at this time numbered five to six individuals but later declined to three individuals (an adult pair with offspring), coinciding with three consecutive years of flower failure by Eucalyptus maculata, the major winter food resource. Mean group size between 1986 and 1989 was 4.2 individuals. Females gave birth predominantly between February and April, which is several months earlier than at other sites in southern Australia and which is presumed to be determined by the availability of certain food resources. Home ranges of glider groups were exclusive and averaged 34 ha (minimum convex polygon). Glider density averaged 0.10-0.16 individuals per ha. Parallels are drawn between the socioecology of gliders at this site and that in north Queensland and contrasted with that at other sites in southern Australia.