Suchergebnisse

Two methods of assessing body condition were examined for the mountain
brushtail possum, Trichosurus caninus (Ogilby) at a
single study site in central Victoria, south-eastern Australia. Condition
indices were derived from measures of skeletal size and body mass, and body
water composition was determined using isotopic dilution of tritiated water to
give an estimate of total body water space. There were significant negative
relationships between body water composition and the condition indices for
body length, total length and pes length. Body water composition of
T. caninus was significantly higher in spring than in
winter, and those animals with higher body water composition had lower
absolute neutrophil counts and higher urea values. The relative usefulness of
the two methods used for estimating body condition in
T. caninus is discussed.

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.