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RESEARCH ARTICLE
Contents Vol 53(4)

The life history of Trichosurus vulpecula hypoleucus (Phalangeridae) in the jarrah forest of south-western Australia

A. F. Wayne A B C , C. G. Ward B , J. F. Rooney B , C. V. Vellios B and D. B. Lindenmayer A
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

A Centre for Resource and Environmental Studies, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT 0200, Australia.

B Science Division, Department of Conservation and Land Management, Locked Bag 2, Manjimup, WA 6258, Australia.

C Corresponding author. Email: adrianw@calm.wa.gov.au

Australian Journal of Zoology 53(4) 265-278 https://doi.org/10.1071/ZO05008
Submitted: 17 February 2005  Accepted: 22 June 2005   Published: 6 September 2005

Abstract

The common brushtail possum (Trichosurus vulpecula) is noted for its morphological, biological and ecological variability across its range. Despite having suffered substantial population declines since European settlement, relatively little has been published on the south-western Australian subspecies, the koomal (T. v. hypoleucus). This study reports morphological, reproductive and general life-history data from an 18-month study of a population in the southern jarrah (Eucalyptus marginata) forest at Chariup (part of Perup), near Manjimup, in south-western Australia. As one of the smallest subspecies, adult males of T. v. hypoleucus averaged 1616 g and females averaged 1470 g. Sexual dimorphism also occurred with head length and pes length, but not tail length. A single autumn breeding season occurred in both 2002 and 2003, in which all adult females bred and produced a single young between February and May. The onset of autumn births was associated with the end of the summer drought. Unlike many other Trichosurus populations, no spring breeding pulse or ‘double-breeding’ events were observed. At least 83% of pouch young survived to pouch emergence. The growth rate of offspring was initially linear, but became curvilinear and approached an asymptote after ~5 months. Most females bred for the first time when they were 1 year old. On the basis of testis size, males also matured at 1 year old. The body condition of adult males, but not adult females, changed significantly over time and followed an apparently seasonal pattern in which their condition was poorest in winter and best in summer. While many of the life-history traits of the Chariup population were similar to those of other south-western Australian populations of T. v. hypoleucus, the most striking variations included age at maturity, extent of spring breeding pulse and female fecundity. Further comparisons with conspecifics elsewhere in Australia and New Zealand also highlight the variability exhibited by T. vulpecula across its range. Some aspects of the biology of T. v. hypoleucus were particularly similar to those observed for T. v. arnhemensis in northern Australia.


Acknowledgments

We are very grateful to all those who have contributed to this study. In particular, a large number of volunteers assisted with the fieldwork and data entry. Dave Roberts provided technical assistance with the development of the database. Joern Fischer provided statistical assistance with ‘R’ scripting and the development of the growth curve and condition index. Paul Davies created the map for Fig. 1. The Australian National University Animal Experimentation Ethics Committee (C.RE.23.01) and the Department of Conservation and Land Management Animal Ethics Committee (CAEC/14/2002) approved all the methods used during this study. The Western Australian Government Department of Conservation and Land Management funded this research. Ric How, Neil Burrows, Mike Calver, Julia Northin, Nicki Munro, Matt Williams and two anonymous referees helped to improve the presentation of this paper by providing comments on earlier drafts.


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Appendix 1.  Morphometric and life-history data collected for T. v. hypoleucus individuals at Chariup
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