Published and unpublished reports aboutPseudocheirus occidentalis (Western Ringtail Possum) in the stand ofAgonis flexuosa (peppermint trees) at Locke (near Busselton, Western Australia) indicated that it was common in the mid 1960s, rare in the mid 1980s and abundant in the early 1990s. This local decline and recovery occurred against a background of pastoralism from the 1960s to the 1980s, patch fires in the early 1980s and an increase in the abundance of introduced foxesVulpes vulpes from the 1970s onwards. There are three main hypotheses concerning the decline and recovery:

• conditions of localized, high quality browse available in anA. flexuosa regrowth mosaic after patch fire may encourage a female-biased sex ratio inP. occidentalis,

• predation byV. vulpes is less likely to have a significant impact onP. occidentalis in habitat with high continuity of the canopy,

• habitat degradation caused by pastoralism may lead to decline inP. occidentalis.

The disturbance processes in the last two hypotheses have little contemporary significance forP. occidentalis populations given the prevailing management emphasis in south-west Western Australia on controllingV. vulpes and excluding pastoralism from the conservation estate. However, the female-biased sex ratio in response to patch firing could potentially evolve into an important management tool for supporting recruitment in important or small populations ofP. occidentalis.

Calver, M. C. and Dell, J. 1998. Conservation status of mammals and birds in south-western Australian forests. I. Is there evidence of direct links between forestry practices and species decline and extinction? Pacific Conservation Biology 4: 296-314.

Calver, M. C., Bradley, J. S. and Wright, I. W. 1999. Towards scientific contributions in applying the precautionary principle: an example from southwestern Australia. Pacific Conservation Biology 5: 63-72.

de Tores, P., Rozier, S. and Paine, G. 1998. Conserving the western ringtail possum. Landscope 13: 28-35.

Ellis, M. and Jones, B. 1992.. Observations of captive and wild Western Ringtail Possums Pseudocheirus occidentalis. The Western Australian Naturalist 19: 1-10.

Emlen, S.T. 1997. When mothers prefer daughters over sons. Trends in Ecology and Evolution 12: 291-292.

Friend, G. and Wayne, A. 2003. Relationships between mammals and fire in south-west Western Australian ecosystems: what we know and what we need to know. Pp. 363-380 in Fire in ecosystems of south-west Western Australia: Impacts and management, edited by I. Abbott and N. Burrows, Backhuys Publishers, Leiden, The Netherlands.

How, R. A. and Kerle, J. A. 1995. Common brushtail possum. Pp. 273-275 in The mammals of Australia, edited by R. Strahan, Reed Books, Chatswood, New South Wales.

How, R. A., Barnett, J. L., Bradley, A. J., Humphreys, W. F. and Martin, R. 1984. The population biology of Pseudocheirus peregrinus in a Leptospermum laevigatum thicket. Pp. 261-268 in Possums and gliders, edited by A. P. Smith and I. D. Hume, Surrey Beatty and Sons, Chipping Norton, New South Wales.

Hughes, R. L., Thomson, J. A. and Owen, W. H. 1965. Reproduction in natural populations of the Australian ringtail possum, Pseudocheirus peregrinus (Marsupialia: Phalangeridae) in Victoria. Australian Journal of Zoology 13: 383-406.

Hume, I. D., Bladon, R. V. and Soran, N. 1986. Seasonal changes in digestive performance of common ringtail possums ( Pseudocheirus peregrinus) fed Eucalyptus foliage. Australian Journal of Zoology 44: 327-336.

Johnson, C. N. and Ritchie, E. G. 2002. Adaptive biases in offspring sex ratios established before birth in a marsupial, the common brushtail possum. Behavioural Ecology 13: 653-656.

Jones, B. 1995. Western ringtail possum. Pp. 252-254 in The mammals of Australia, edited by R. Strahan, Reed Books, Chatswood, New South Wales.

Jones, B. and Hillcox, S., 1995. A survey of the possums Trichosurus vulpecula and Pseudocheirus occidentalis and their habitats in forest at Ludlow, Western Australia. The West Australian Naturalist 20: 139-150.

Jones, B. A., How, R. A. and Kitchener, D. J. 1994a. A field study of Pseudocheirus occidentalis (Marsupialia: Petauridae). I. Distribution and habitat. Wildlife Research 21: 175-187.

Jones, B. A., How, R. A. and Kitchener, D. J. 1994b. A field study of Pseudocheirus occidentalis (Marsupialia: Petauridae). II. Population studies. Wildlife Research 21: 189-201.

Kavanagh, R. P. and Lambert, R. J. 1990. Food selection by the Greater Glider, Petauroides volans: is foliar nitrogen a determinant of habitat quality? Australian Wildlife Research 17: 285-299.

King, D. R., Oliver, A. J. and Mead, R. J. 1981 Bettongia and fluoracetate: a role for 1080 in fauna management. Australian Wildlife Research 8: 529-536.

Lambert, P. 1985. Locke - Reserve/Proposed Reserve Inspection Report. Unpublished Report No. 165/56, Western Australian Department of Fisheries and Wildlife: Perth. (Available from the library of the Woodvale Research Centre, Department of Conservation and Land Management, Perth, Western Australia).

McKay, G. M. 1983. Common ringtail possum. Pp. 126-127 in Complete book of Australian mammals, edited by R. Strahan, Angus and Robertson, London.

McKay, G. M. and Ong, P. 1995. Common ringtail possum. Pp. 254-256 in The mammals of Australia, edited by R. Strahan, Reed Books, Chatswood, New South Wales.

Maxwell, S., Burbidge, A. A. and Morris, K. (eds). 1996 The 1996 action plan for Australian marsupials and monotremes. Wildlife Australia, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory.

Pahl, L. I. 1987. Survival, age determination and population age structure of the common ringtail possum, Pseudocheirus peregrinus, in a Eucalyptus woodland and Leptospermum thicket in southern Victoria. Australian Journal of Zoology 35: 625-639.

RAC, 1992 Forest and timber inquiry final report Volume 1. Commonwealth of Australia, Canberra.

RAC, 1993 Ecological impacts of forest use: a survey of completed research. Research paper no. 9. Resource Assessment Commission, Canberra.

Radho-Toly, S., Majer, J. D. and Yates, C. 2001. Impact of fire on leaf nutrients, arthropod fauna and herbivory of native and exotic eucalypts in Kings Park, Perth, Western Australia. Austral Ecology 26: 500-506.

Russell, B. G., Smith, B. and Augee, M. L. 2003. Changes to a population of common ringtail possums ( Pseudocheirus peregrinus) after bushfire. Wildlife Research 30: 389-396.

Shortridge, G. C. 1909. An account of the geographical distribution of the marsupials and monotremes of South-west Australia, having special reference to the specimens collected during the Balston Expedition of 1904-1907. Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London 55: 803-847.

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Contents

Data & Figures

References

Other RZS NSW Publications

Conservation of Australia's Forest Fauna

Edited by

Royal Zoological Society of New South Wales

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.7882/9780958608589

ISBN electronic:

978-0-9586085-8-9

Publication date:

2004