A comparison of three hair-tube types for the detection of the spotted-tailed quoll Dasyurus maculatus in south-eastern New South Wales.

Abstract

The effectiveness of three different hair-tube designs at detecting the rare and cryptic forest-dependent spotted-tailed quoll Dasyurus maculatus was investigated in two trials conducted across 60 sites in an area known to be inhabited by the species. During the two trials D. maculatus was detected at a total of 14 sites. While the three hair-tube types trialed all successfully detected the species, the Faunatech hair-funnel, a hair-tube manufactured from plastic moulded into a half funnel, detected the species from the greatest number of sites and accounted for the greatest proportion of records. This hair-tube type was found to provide the most effective tool for determining the presence of D. maculatus in the typically wet environment of the study area.