Tolerance to high temperature by arboreal mammals using nest boxes in southern Australia.

Abstract

Nest boxes are used to manage populations of tree-cavity dependent birds and mammals. Concerns have been raised that due to their poor insulative properties nest boxes may cause heat stress and occasionally death during summers of extreme maximum temperatures. Our study investigated whether this nest box heat stress hypothesis applies to two small cavity-dependent mammals (brush-tailed phascogales and sugar gliders). Focusing on days when ambient temperature reached ≥40°C, we recorded: i) temperatures within occupied nest boxes, ii) temperatures within nearby unoccupied tree cavities, iii) the duration of temperatures of ≥40°C within nest boxes, iv) whether direct mortality was observed, and v) the relative abundance of these species in nest boxes before and after a very hot summer. When ambient temperature reached ≥40°C, nest boxes were equivalent to ambient or 1-2°C cooler, whereas tree cavities were 3-7°C cooler than ambient. Exposure in nest boxes to temperatures of ≥40°C lasted an average of 2-8h. We observed no mortality over 65 records of phascogales and 31 records of gliders in nest boxes on days when ambient reached ≥40°C. No decline in abundance was recorded after a summer with 11 days of temperatures ≥40°C, with each species subsequently occupying >40 nest boxes. Our observations suggest these species are tolerant of the high temperatures that occurred. Nonetheless, provision of nest boxes designed to minimise summer heating is recommended.