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RESEARCH ARTICLE
Contents Vol 31(2)

Recovery of the Southern Greater Glider (Petauroides volans) following the extreme drought, heatwaves, and mega-fires of 2019–2020 in the southern Greater Blue Mountains World Heritage Area, Australia

Peter Smith https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3421-1725 A * and Judy Smith https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2785-7042 A
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

A P and J Smith Ecological Consultants, 44 Hawkins Parade, Blaxland, NSW, Australia.

* Correspondence to: smitheco@ozemail.com.au

Handling Editor: Harriet Mills

Pacific Conservation Biology 31, PC24061 https://doi.org/10.1071/PC24061
Submitted: 21 August 2024  Accepted: 6 February 2025  Published: 20 February 2025

© 2025 The Author(s) (or their employer(s)). Published by CSIRO Publishing

Abstract

Context

Extreme drought, heatwaves, and mega-fires in south-eastern Australia in 2019–2020 had a major impact on the Southern Greater Glider (Petauroides volans).

Aims

To assess how rapidly the species is recovering and whether recovery is dependent on fire severity.

Methods

Gliders were surveyed annually on seven 500-m transects between 2020 (11 months post-fire) and 2024 (4.4 years post-fire). All transects supported gliders pre-2019 but abundances varied.

Key results

In two transects burnt at high to extreme severity, all the gliders’ food source, eucalypt foliage, was burnt in the fires and the gliders were eliminated. No recolonisation occurred in 2020–2024, despite foliage regrowth. In one transect burnt at low severity and three transects burnt at moderate severity, some live eucalypt foliage survived the fires and gliders were present in 2020 in reduced numbers (31% decrease). In the three transects that were moderately burnt, numbers recovered and by 2024 were similar to pre-2019 counts. In the transect that was burnt at low severity and an unburnt transect, numbers increased rapidly and by 2024 were 45% higher than pre-2019. These two transects contained the best habitat (tallest forests) supporting the most gliders pre-2019.

Conclusions

Recovery was more rapid than expected in lightly and moderately burnt transects, probably facilitated by very high post-fire rainfall, but there was no recovery in severely burnt transects.

Implications

To conserve Southern Greater Gliders, it is essential to reduce the incidence and extent of severe wildfires, identify and protect the best quality glider habitat, and identify, protect, enhance and extend wildlife corridors linking core areas of important habitat.

Keywords: Black Summer bushfires, climate change, fire severity, habitat quality, threatened species, tree preferences, wildfire, wildlife corridors.

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