The use of nest boxes by arboreal marsupials in the forests of the Central Highlands of Victoria

Abstract

The results are reported of a nest-box study conducted in two locations in the mountain ash (Eucalyptus regnans) forests of the Central Highlands of Victoria (south-eastern Australia) to compare usage of different nest-box designs located at different heights in trees. A total of 96 nest boxes was established using a rigorous experimental design – two regions (Powelltown and Toolangi State Forests), two forest age classes (20-year post-logging regrowth and 60-year fire- and salvage-logging regrowth), two nest-box designs (large boxes with large entrance holes and small boxes with small entrance holes), and two heights at which nest boxes were attached to trees (3 m and 8 m above the ground). The study entailed setting out four nest boxes at each of 24 sites to meet the design criteria. Evidence of occupancy by vertebrates was recorded in a total of 19 of 96 boxes on 11 of 24 sites site during regular inspections over more than three years. Thirteen boxes were used by Leadbeater's possum (Gymnobelideus leadbeateri), six by the mountain brushtail possum (Trichosurus cunninghami) and seven by the common ringtail possum (Pseudocheirus peregrinus). The common ringtail possum and mountain brushtail possum were seen only in high–large boxes but Leadbeater's possum used all but the low–large boxes. There was evidence of spatial dependence in usage patterns, with all four boxes at a given site showing signs of eventually being occupied. Only two nest boxes located in mountain ash forest regenerating after the 1939 wildfires were occupied. Relatively limited use of nest boxes supports concerns about the use of a nest box over large scales and long timeframes as an effective recovery tool for species threatened by the loss and subsequent shortage in the numbers of naturally occurring hollows.

Nest box use by woodland dormice (Graphiurus murinus): the influence of life cycle and nest box placement

“…In Australia, nest box use by arboreal marsupials appears to be influenced by the availability of natural hollows at a location (e.g., Traill and Lill 1997;Smith and Agnew 2002;Lindenmayer et al 2003;Harley 2004). In GFRR, as the population density of woodland dormice was very high (16 individuals per hectare; Madikiza et al, unpublished data), the presence and utilization of a large number of natural hollows and cavities in Combretum trees seem to be the main explanation to the low frequency of nest box use.…”

“…Artificial nest sites, most commonly in the form of nest boxes that are attached to a tree, are readily used by several hollow-using animals belonging to various systematic groups, including birds (e.g., Petty et al 1994;Mand et al 2005), arboreal marsupials (Menkhorst 1984;Lindenmayer et al 2003), bats (Kowalski and Lesinski 1994;Ciechanowski 2005), arboreal rodents (Barkalow and Soots 1965;Morris et al 1990;Shuttleworth 1999;Juškaitis 1999;Marsh and Morris 2000), and invertebrates (e.g., wasps, ants, beetles, etc.). As a consequence, nest boxes may constitute important survey and research tools (Myers and Dashper 1999;Harley 2004).…”

Optimal management of a flammable multi-stand forest for timber production and maintenance of nesting sites for wildlife

“…Such plans do not specify what measures should be taken if nest-sites become unavailable due to cavity tree loss. One such measure, the installation of nest-boxes, has been used in small experimental programs (Lindenmayer et al, 2003). However, it has been estimated that if nest-boxes could be provided for even a fraction of all cavity dependent species, the cost of doing so probably would exceed the timber returns available from oldgrowth forest (McKenney and Lindenmayer, 1994).…”

“…Cavity tree decline can be mitigated by protecting old-growth forest, limiting salvage logging of fire-killed cavity trees (Lindenmayer et al, 2003) and reducing fire risk, for example, through prescribed burning (Fernandes and Botelho, 2003) and improved surveillance (San-Miquel-Ayanz, 2005). Such measures may in some cases be insufficient to avoid local extinctions of cavity-using species, thereby necessitating the use of ''artificial'' methods to provide habitat, including mechanically creating hollows in live trees (Bull and Partridge, 1986) and installing nest-boxes (Taulman et al, 1998;Spring et al, 2001;Harley and Spring, 2003).…”

Tree Cavity-Using Wildlife and the Potential of Artificial Nest Boxes for Wildlife Management in New Guinea

“…One of us (Mack) has observed bees to take over natural cavities used by Eclectus Parrots (Eclectus roratus) and Blyth's Hornbills (Rhyticeros plicatus) in PNG. In Australia, bees occupied and excluded mammals from about 10% of boxes [70] and more commonly occupied boxes in young forest [71].…”