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Evolutionary, molecular and comparative zoology
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RESEARCH ARTICLE
Contents Vol 54(4)

Den-use and home-range characteristics of bobucks, Trichosurus cunninghami, resident in a forest patch

Jennifer K. Martin
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Department of Zoology, The University of Melbourne, Vic. 3010, Australia. Email: j.martin@zoology.unimelb.edu.au

Australian Journal of Zoology 54(4) 225-234 https://doi.org/10.1071/ZO06023
Submitted: 17 March 2006  Accepted: 11 May 2006   Published: 11 August 2006

Abstract

Detailed knowledge of how individuals use space when active and while sheltering is crucial to understanding the habitat requirements of a species. I present the first home-range estimates for bobucks, Trichosurus cunninghami, that are based on both nocturnal and diurnal radio-tracking fixes. I tracked 37 individuals (14 adult females, 14 adult males, three subadult females and six subadult males) between mid-1999 and late 2003 in a forest patch in the Strathbogie Ranges, south-eastern Australia. I collected a total of 9562 diurnal fixes (mean 309 fixes per adult) and 5211 nocturnal fixes (mean 169 fixes per adult). All individuals used multiple den-trees; adults used a mean of 7.2 den-trees per individual. Adult bobucks of both sexes had a mean home-range size of 6.0 ha. There were no significant differences in the mean number of den-trees used or in the mean home-range size of adult males and females. Subadults used significantly fewer den-trees and had significantly smaller home ranges than adults. This study demonstrates the importance of large and long-term datasets in accurately determining the habitat requirements of a population.


Acknowledgments

I thank Bert and Ruth Lobert and Kath Handasyde and Roger Martin for allowing me to work on their properties. Many thanks to Kath Handasyde and Graeme Coulson for their input into many aspects of this research and to Chris Johnson, Angus Martin and Euan Ritchie for helpful comments on this manuscript. While conducting this research, I was supported by an Australian Postgraduate Award Ph.D. scholarship; research funding was gratefully received from the Holsworth Wildlife Research Endowment, the Loftus-Hills Memorial Fund (Department of Zoology, University of Melbourne), the Australian Federation of University Women (Vic.), the Ecological Society of Australia and the Royal Zoological Society of New South Wales. I was also supported by a David Hay Write-up Award (University of Melbourne). This research was conducted with the permission of the Department of Natural Resources and Environment/Department of Sustainability and Environment (permit nos. RP-96-070, 10000466, 10000914, 10001402 and 10001937) and the University of Melbourne Animal Experimentation Ethics Committee (register number 99010).


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