Home range of the swamp wallaby, Wallabia bicolor

Abstract

Home range in the swamp wallaby, Wallabia bicolor (Marsupialia : Macropodoidea) was examined using radio-tracking in a 150-ha remnant of mixed eucalypt forest at Healesville, Victoria. Three methods were used to calculate home-range size: minimum convex polygons, fourier transform MAP(O.95) and MAP(0.50) estimation, and harmonic mean 50% isopleths and 95% isopleths. The minimum convex polygon method produced the largest estimate of home-range area (16.01 +/-.45 ha). Each method required a different number of fixes before home-range area estimates reached an asymptote. These data showed that W. bicolor have small, overlapping home ranges and that the shape of the home range varied between individuals. Home-range area was larger than previously reported for this species, and there was no significant difference between the sexes in home-range size.