How effective is spotlighting for detecting the greater glider (Petauroides volans)?

In: Wildlife research, Band 28, Heft 1, S. 105

Abstract

The efficacy of spotlighting as a field survey technique for detecting the
greater glider (Petauroides volans) was assessed by
comparing the precise location of radio-tracked animals with locations
determined simultaneously from spotlighting searches. Radio-collars were
fitted to 20 greater gliders in three eucalypt patches embedded within an
extensive radiata pine (Pinus radiata) plantation near
Tumut in south-eastern New South Wales. Our success rate for detecting
collared animals was low, even when survey effort was increased. These
findings suggest that spotlighting underestimates actual population size. A
further, properly designed study, in different forest types is needed to
provide precise estimates of the magnitude of the bias in counts of
P. volans obtained by spotlighting.