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Australian Mammalogy Australian Mammalogy Society
Journal of the Australian Mammal Society
RESEARCH ARTICLE

Eastern pygmy possum (Cercartetus nanus) populations persist in Central Coast forests after the Black Summer bushfires

Dylan J. I. Chew A * , Brad Law B , Viyanna Leo C , Darren M. Southwell A , Jennifer R. Anson C and Matt W. Hayward A
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

A Conservation Science Research Group, School of Environmental and Life Sciences, University of Newcastle, Callaghan, NSW 2207, Australia.

B Primary Industries and Regional Development, Parramatta, NSW 2150, Australia.

C Australian Wildlife Conservancy, Subiaco East, WA 6008, Australia.

* Correspondence to: dylanchew9@gmail.com

Handling Editor: Ross Goldingay

Australian Mammalogy 46, AM24011 https://doi.org/10.1071/AM24011
Submitted: 19 March 2024  Accepted: 10 September 2024  Published: 25 September 2024

© 2024 The Author(s) (or their employer(s)). Published by CSIRO Publishing on behalf of the Australian Mammal Society.

Abstract

The 2019–2020 Black Summer bushfires are an example of Australia’s climate-induced, changing fire regimes, where flora and fauna suffer both direct and indirect impacts as the result of large fires. The eastern pygmy possum (Cercartetus nanus) is a species that may be affected and, although its general ecology is well understood, there is limited knowledge of its response to wildfire. Using clusters of nest boxes across two state forests on the New South Wales Central Coast, detection histories were created from 2017 to 2023. Estimates of occupancy, detection and extinction were produced, where the top ranked model included Fire severity as a covariate of extinction. Extinction probability was highest in unburnt areas, 0.55 (95% CI = 0.13–0.82) and lowest in moderate fire severity areas, 0.15 (95% CI = 0.003–0.52), although all estimates were highly uncertain. Detection probability was 0.35 per cluster visit (95% CI = 0.26–0.45) and occupancy probability was 0.77 (95% CI = 0.39–0.98), indicating a high probability of occupancy at sites affected by fire. This suggests that eastern pygmy possums may benefit from post-fire resources, such as flowering shrubs, as well as their flexible den selection, providing a niche that other arboreal animals may be unable to exploit so soon post fire.

Keywords: arboreal, detection, elusive, extinction, fire severity, hollows, nest boxes, occupancy, population.

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