The discovery of Leadbeater's possum, Gymnobelideus leadbeateri McCoy, resident in a lowland swamp woodland

4 Pages·1994·1.2 MB·English

by  I J Smales

Research Reports
The Discovery ofLeadbeater's Possum, Gymnobelideus
leadbeateri McCoy, Resident in a Lowland Swamp Woodland
Ian J. Smales'
Introduction Twig-sedge Bautnea rubiginosa. E. cam-
Leadbeater's Possum Gymnobelideus phora is the sole eucalypt of the
leadbeateri was discovered in a lowland floodplain and al this location it grows
swamp woodland al Yellingho State Na- densely forming an interconnected
ture Reserve in August 1986. Since that canopy at heights varying from 12 to 25
time, the population has been alluded to m. Bolediametersatbreastheightofthese
(Lindcnrnayerefoi 1989;Macfarlaneand trees generally range from 10 to 30 cm.
Seebeck 1991; L.C.C. 1993), and some Thegroundlayeriscomposedofaprolific
aspects of its ecology have been inves- variety ofsedges, reeds and herbs. A dis-
tigated by Thomas (1989). This report tinct thicket community, Leptospermum
documents the circumstances of the dis- lanigerum Woolly Tea-tree shrubland,
covery,describes the habitat occupied by grows along permanent channels through
the possum at this locality and compares the swamp. Two otherE. camphora sub-
it with the markedly different habitats communities occur in the Cockatoo
which it occupies elsewhere, and with Swamp basin, as do othershrub alliances
historical site records. dominated by Scented Paperbark
Melaleuca squarrosa and Swamp Paper-
Sitedescription
bark M. ericifolia
CoLcekaadbteoaoteSrw\asmpP,os3s.u7mskmwesrouethf-owuensdt oafl phDoersapiwtoeoidtlsasnmdalclo.tmomtaulnairteya,otfhCeoEc.kcaatmo-o
Yellingbo P.O. (37o 50'S, 145° 29'E) at Swamp is the largest patch of this com-
1 10 metres above sea level in Yellingbo munity known to exist (McMahon and
State Nature Reserve. Cockatoo Swamp
eisxcaefeldoiondgpl2a0i0nmofwaibdoeu,ta6ndkemncloonmgp,asrasrienlgy cFornasnikldienr i1t9t9o3)b.eMofcMnaathioonnalestigaln.if(i1c9a9n1c)e
an area of approximately 170 ha. Cock- tfourrbbeodthcointsdirtariiotny.anditsessentiallyundis-
atoo Creek and the lower reaches of its
tributary, Macclesfield Creek, flow Discovery ofLeadbeater's Possum
through this depression, seasonally inun- The population of the Helmeted
datingitwithflowingwaterforatleastten Honcyeater Uchenostomus melanops
monthsofmost years. Waterdepthvaries cassidix is under investigation at Cock-
but at the time of this discovery it was atoo Swamp. Canvas hides have been
approximately 50cm. used for some observation of the bird's
The vegetation of the Yellingbo State nesting behaviour. In 1985 a hide was
dNeattauilrebyReMsceMrvaehohans*b/e«e/.n(i1n9v9e1s)tiTgahteedsiitne wfoalsdepdosaintdiolnefetdaotnthtehesittreufnokrsfouftusroemuesef.alI-t
inhabited by G, leadbeateri is within a len Mountain Swamp Gums about 70cm
Honst.ccommunity theyhavedesignated above the ground.
tucafypnts camphora swamp woodland On 25th August 1986, finding this hide
sub-community 1.1. It ischaracterisedby to be only 20 cm above water level, G.J.
Mountain Swamp Gum E camphora, Covington checked its condition at 1540
Tassel Sedge Carexfascicularisand Soft hrs. He and the author examined a nest
composed ofstrips ofE. camphora bark,
IIHciaMllsvcislvliel,lVeISCan3ct7u7a7ry,POBox248 which was found between the horizontal
folds of the canvas. The nest was ap-
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The Victorian Naturalist
Research Reports
proximately 35cmindiameterand 12cm there in addition tothe juvenile. The ma-
deep. Four possums ran from the nest, turefemalewaslactating,withonenipple
whilstoneremainedwithinit.Thisanimal enlarged.Allofthepossumsfromthebox
was hand-caught, identified as G. leail- were ear-taggedon thatoccasion.
beateriand released. On 26th August the All nest boxes have been checked oc-
nestwas revisitedandwasvacant at 1 100 casionally since then, and Leadbeater's
hrs. Possums have been seen in a number of
Efforts were made to obtain further them up to the time of writing, in May
evidence of the existence of the species 1994.
there. On 29th August 30 hair sampling During a seven month period of 1989
tubes (after Suckling 1978), and seven Thomas (1989) studied the spatial dis-
onefs4t0bomxesofwethreeoproisgiitniaolnefdinwdi.thFiinvearbaodxieuss torrigbauntiisoan,tipoonpoulfaLteiaodnbedaytnearm'iscPsoasnsdusmociinala
were cleaned plastic ICI chemical con- three hectare area of Cockatoo Swamp
tainers with internal dimensions of whichincludedthecolonyfoundin 1986.
approximately 30 cm high, 30 cm wide Her study site was also inhabited by a
and25cmdeep.Twoboxesweremadeof second colony, and she found that these
sawn treated pine with internal dimen- two groups interacted both with each
sions of30 cm high, 28 cm wide and 10 other and with a further two from areas
cm deep. All were fitted with removable adjacent to herstudy site.
wooden lids and had 4-5 cm diameter There is evidencethat G. leadbeateriis
entrance holes. The nest boxes were distributedalongamuchgreaterlengthof
erectedat anaverage height of4m on the Cockatoo Swamp. In October 1989 M.
south side of£. camphoratrunks. Miller (Healesville Sanctuary) examined
On 1st September 1986at 1300hrs,one an abandoned nest ofshredded bark in a
wooden box was found to be filled to a fallen eucalypt, approximately 1.5 km
dceapmtphhoorfaabboaurtk 1s0imcimlarwittoh stthroispes offroEm. downstream from the first colony. It was
consistent with those constructed by
which the original nest was constructed.
Leadbeater's Possums in the nest boxes
This box was checked again at 1345 hrs (M. Millerpers.comm. 1989), InSeptem-
on 3rd September and found to contain
ber 1990, D. Franklin, M. Miller, R.
fiveLeadbeater'sPossumsinanestwhich
now virtually filled the box. Three Edwards and S. Vaartjes (Department of
Conservation and Natural Resources and
animals (a mature female and two young
males)wereexaminedandphotographed. Healesville Sanctuary) observed three
One young male was retained for ex- Leadbeater's Possums in Cockatoo
amination and was ear-tagged and Swamp, at Macclesfield Ck., 1.6 km
releasedbackatthesiteon5thSeptember. upstreamofthefirstlocation.Theanimals
On 16thJanuary 1987thesamenestbox emergedfrom,andthenreturnedto,adrey
was found still to contain animals, al- approximately seven metres high in a
though they were not counted. They Melaleuca squarrosa thicket. (D.
includedafullyfurredjuvenilemalewith Franklinpers.comm. 1990).Thedreywas
eyes open, approximately 120 mm in typical ofthetwig structuresofCommon
length from snout to tail-tip and which Ringtail Possums Pseudocheirus
was not on a nipple when found. A peregr'muswhichareverycommonthere,
juvenile was still present when a more but with the addition of much shredded
thorough examination of all the animals eucalyptus bark when examined a few
in the box was carried out on 5th March dayslaterbytheauthor. InFebruary 1993
1987.Threemales,twoofmaturesizeand twoCommon Ringtail Possums emerged
one sub-adult, and two females, one ma- fromthisdreywhenitwascheckedbythe
ture and one probably immature, were author.
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Vol. Ill (5) 1994
Research Reports
Comparisonswithothersitesand andmanna,arepresentwithinthisE. cam-
phora woodland.
records
Since the rediscovery of Leadheater's Thomas (1989) found that the spatial
Pbeoesnsufmouinnd1a9t61nu(mWeirlokuisnssointes19w6i1t)hiint htahse dCgiaosnctikrsiaabttuiotooinonSo,wfaatbhmeupnpdowasensrceuemssaimnsidhleasrsotctuiodailtehdoosrae-t
Victorian Central Highlands where it is
reported formontane ash forests.
freosrtersitcsteadt teolevmoaitsito,nsmboenttwaeneen, 5a2sh0-taynpde leTahdebreeatiesroinslpyecoinfeicparlelyviofursomreacolrdowolfanG.d
m1a2y0e0r<?m/e«t/r.es198a9b,ov1e990s)e.aThleevseelfo(rLeisntsdeanr-e sViwcatmopri.aItcoilslaecstpieocni(mneon.iCn4t3h7e8M),usdeonuamteodf
dominated by Mountain Ash Eucalyptus by F.V. Mason who collected it in 1909.
regnans , Alpine Ash E. delegatensis or Brazenor (1932) records Mason's infor-
ShiningGumE.nitens.Insuchforeststhe mation about the animal, 'It was taken
distribution of the possum is positively many years ago... from the edge of Koo-
correlated with both a dense understorey Wee-RupSwamp(longbeforetheswamp
ofAcacia spp. and large hollow-bearing wasdrained), aboutthreemilesdue south
eucalypts (Lindenmayer 1989). from Tynong Railway Station. We were
Anumberofthekeyrequirements iden- felling atreeandas itfell the littleanimal
tified for Leadbeater's Possum in came from a hollow branch. 1 had never
montane forestsarenotpresentat the site seen one before, though we had lived for
theyinhabit atCockatooSwamp. E. cam- many years on the place/
phoraatthislocationhavenohollowsand Mason's location is at 38° 07'S, 145"
the occupation ofboth a canvas hide and 37'E and at approximately 20 metres
the ready utilisation of nest boxes indi- abovesealevel. Itis32kmsouthofCock-
cates the paucity of natural nest sites atoo Swamp. Commencing in 1857,
withintheswampitself.Theterraceonthe Koo-Wee-RupSwampwasprogressively
immediate edge of the swamp supports drained and cleared ofnatural vegetation
somehollow-bearingGreen Scentbark E. (Roberts 1985). The alienation of Koo-
ignorabilis, Swamp Gum E. ovata and Wee-Rup Swamp was so thorough, in
Narrow-leafed Peppermint E. radiata. fact, that consideration of its former
Thomas (1989) found one active vegetation is rather speculative (Me-
Leadbeater'sPossumnestineachofthese Mahon pers. comm. 1993). However,
threespecies. remnant Melaleuca ericifolia and
Smith (1984b) studied the diet of Eucalyptus ovata (Opie et al, 1984) as
Leadbeater'sPossuminE.regnansforest. well as anecdotal historical information
He considered that Acacia exudates (Roberts 1985) indicateclose similarities
formed a very significant portion of the of floristics and structure between the
animals'dietinthatenvironment.Acacias vegetation communities itsupportedthen
are an insignificant component of the E. and those present today at Cockatoo
camphora swamp woodland sub-com- Swamp.
munity in which the possum lives at Loyn and McNabb (1982) have dis-
Cockatoo Swamp and are only repre- cussed the Koo-Wee-Rup Swamp record
sented by occasional specimens of following their finding ofG. teadbeateri
BlackwoodA. melanoxylon. Sallow Wat- in montane vegetation of the upper
tle A. mucronata and Silver Wattle A. reachesofthat swamp'scatchment.They
dceoamlmbuantiataireesfaodujnadceinntthteodtrhieersvweagmept,atibount ccoonmseisdefrreodmilt,ow'alapnedrpfloreexsitng(nroewcocrldeaarsedi)t
notindensestands. However,othersour- very different from habitats known to be
fceosunodfdtioebteariymcpaorrbtoanhty,drsautcehsawshhicohneSymdictwh tuusleadtebdytthhaet,p'oPsesruhmapaslptrheeseTnytn.*onTgheaynipmoasl-
180
The Victorian Naturalist
Research Reports
could have moved into lowland forest in cussions about Leadbeater's Possums at
response to population pressures, ortem- Yellingbo and Malcolm, Steve Craig,
porary habitat changes in the mountain Peter Menkhorst and Andy McMahon
ashforest.' TheexistenceofLeadbeater's madevaluablecommentsonearlierdrafts
Possums resident in Cockatoo Swamp ofthispaper. Ialsoappreciatethesupport
of Lawson Willoughby and Gary Back-
dexecmlounssitvrealtyeusptohnatmtohnetaanniemafloriesstnsotanredlitahnatt hHoounseeyeaitnermsywheiacrlhypewromriktteodnmHeetlomebeteidn
suchanexplanationfortheTynongrecord the right place at the right time to make
isunnecessary. thisfortuitousdiscovery.
Three historical specimens came from
Bass River (M.V. nos. C4379, C438, References
C1965).Thefirsttwoofthesearethetype Bra/enor, C. 1,1932)- A Reexamination of
specimens. Exactly where on the river Gxmnobetideus teadbeateri McCoy. Australian
they, or the third, was obtained, is uncer- KempZo.olDo.giHs.t1(,1917096)-.10J9o.hn Leadbeater (1831 - 88):A
tain. McCoy's (1867) description states NaturalistinViclnria.VictorianHistoricalMagazine
simplythatthetypeswerefrom 'thescrub 50,36-41.
on the banks of the Bass River in Vic- Land Conservation Council (1993). Melbourne Area,
tcoorlilae.'ctKedebmypJ.(1Pe9t7e9r)s,saknyesarthtahtetvhielylawgeeroef LRiencdoDeimnsmmterainycdetar2t,,ioRDne.sv.i(e(1w9L8.-9CP)..rCo.:pTohMseeeldbeocuorlnoeg.y) and habitat
Woodleigh in the BassValley'. The Bass requirementsofLeadbeater'sPossum.(Unpublished
Riverrises at about280metres above sea PhD thesis. Australian National University,
lmseievtteurlaetse.ndeaHraetncReaa,nncweehlbieylvsattainuodnnceWrootfoaidanltbeyoiugathbo5ui0ts LindCPAeadonndsmbisaetyuriemror,an,.aG)lyDm.nHiosBbt,eolriuacinaedlus_DRikexacodonbredaJt.eorMfi.M1c(-C1e9ao9dy2b,)e.atperAri'onsr
the exact location obviates any meaning- to the 1961 Rediscovery of the Species. The
ful comment about the vegetation VictorianNaturalist109,217-218.
community inhabited by the possum Lindenmayer, D. B., Smith, A. P., Craig, S. A. and
there,theelevationfromwhichtheycame oLfumsdeLnea,dLb.eaFt.e(r1'9s89).PAoSsusruvme,yoftGhyemDniosbterlibuuiteiuosn
is much more like that of Cockatoo leadbeateri McCoy in the Central Highlands of
Swamp than the elevations at which it Victoria.TheVictorianNaturalist106, 174-178.
liTvehsoimnatshe(C1e9n8t9r)al aHnigdhlMaancdfsa.rlane and LindLeunmmasydeern,,DL.. BF... (S1m9i9t0h),. AE.rrPa.t.umC.raiTgh,eS.ViAc.torainadn
Seebeck (1991) have both suggested the LoynN,atRu.raHl.istan1d07M,c1N3a6b-b13,7.E. G. (1982). Discovery ol
needforfurtherstudyoftheLeadbeater's Leadbeater'sPossuminGembrootcStateForest.The
Possum population described here. Ini- VictorianNaturalist99.21-23
ttihailslyaraeabriosacdlesaurrlyvewyarorfainttseddi.stWrhiiblutsitonitiins MacfaMLrealanadanbgee.aetmeMer.n'tsAP.SotsarsanutdemgSiGeeysembnefocobrke,ltihJ.deeHuC.sonl(se1ea9rd9bv1ea)at.tieorDnir,afoitfn
of considerable interest that the animal Victoria. Arthur Rylah Institute for Fjtvironment
exists inthishabitat, itisalsounfortunate Research Teclmical Report Series No. Ill
that lowland eucalypl swamp com- (DepartmentofConservationandEnvironment:East
mpruensietnitesreacroerdthaedmdssellivttelse tsootrhaerceotnhsaetrvtahe- McCoaMyen.ldbEoMuar(g1na9ez8.i7))n.eOonfNaatnuerwalgeHniustsoorfyP3h,a2l8a7ng-e2r8.8.Annals
tion status ofLeadbeater's Possum, McMahon,'A.R.G..Carr,G.W.,Race,G.J..Bedgood.
S. E. andTodd,J. A. (1991). 'TheVegetation and
Acknowledgments ManagementoftheYellingboStateNatureReserve
Graham Covington asked me to look withparticularreferencetotheHelmetedHoncyeater
wdietshcrhibiemdahter4ea,naensdt Iofampovsesruymsgr'a,tetfhuelftihrastt McMaIHoJhrcothniec,nuolAtsu.troeRm,.uCslGi.,fttnaoenntdHainlFolrp:asnVkilccitanosr,siiaD.d.)ixC:. ((1E9c9o3l)o.giTchale
he did. Don Franklin and Michael Miller Occurence of Eucalyptus camphora (Mountain
happily provided details oftheirobserva- SwampGum)intheYarraValleyanditssignificance
tions. Virginia Thomas and Malcolm for the Helmeted Honeyeater. The Victorian
Macfarlane contributed to valuable dis- Naturalist110,230-237
181
VoL 111 (5)1994