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Demographic responses of an arboreal marsupial, the common brushtail possum ( Trichosurus vulpecula ), to a prescribed fire
Author(s) -
Isaac Joanne L.,
Valentine Leonie E.,
Goodman Brett A.
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
population ecology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.819
H-Index - 59
eISSN - 1438-390X
pISSN - 1438-3896
DOI - 10.1007/s10144-007-0057-1
Subject(s) - brushtail possum , marsupial , arboreal locomotion , biology , population , ecology , prescribed burn , herbivore , population size , predation , zoology , demography , habitat , sociology
We investigated demographic responses of the common brushtail possum Trichosurus vulpecula , a medium‐sized arboreal marsupial, after a prescribed fuel reduction burn on Magnetic Island, tropical north Queensland, Australia. Possums were live‐trapped every month for 14 months before the fire and 11 months after the fire in both the burnt and unburnt areas; measurements of individuals were taken each month and demographic parameters were modelled using capture–mark–recapture data. Significant differences between the burnt and unburnt sites were found following the fire; recruitment was lower in the unburnt area, where population size also declined. In the burnt area, population size and recruitment displayed a tendency to increase after the fire, while capture probability declined, suggesting that an influx of new individuals, attracted to re‐sprouting vegetation, had resulted in trap saturation. There was no detectable effect of the fire on survival, and no fire‐induced mortalities were observed. We conclude that a low‐intensity, prescribed, fuel‐reduction burn had no obvious negative consequences for this possum population.