The Natura Pacific team, producers of the successful ‘Back from the Brink’ series, partnered up with Matt Cecil from Wildlife Queensland and Dr Teresa Eyre from the Queensland Government Department of Environment and Science late in 2020 to produce an episode of the series examining the story of the greater gliders.
The products of these efforts were a HD short film about the species available on YouTube, Facebook and more, as well as a podcast discussing the impacts of bushfire on these sensitive marsupials and what the future may hold for them.
The greater glider, now split into 3 new species (Petauroides volans, P. armillatus and P. minor) are obligate hollow-dwelling gliding marsupials closely related to possums but distinguished by a special flying membrane called a patagium that allows them to glide from tree to tree. Due to their specific habitat requirements, relatively slow movement, large size and small population sizes, the greater gliders are at particular risk of climate change and intensifying bushfire seasons.
“Canopy fires can be a major driver of population decline for hollow-dependant fauna like the greater gliders,” says Wildlife Queensland Projects Manager Matt Cecil.
“Not only do fires have the potential to burn through tree hollows and impact the species’ shelter requirements, but as an obligate folivore, greater gliders lose their only source of food when the canopy burns – this is a native species in decline that is very susceptible to the negative impact of canopy fires.”
Join the team to find out more by watching or listening online via your favourite streaming platforms.
Back from the Brink – The Podcast
Listen to: E10 – Out of the frying-pan, into the fire (free access hosted by Apple Podcasts)
Back from the Brink – Season 3 Episode 3 – Central Greater Glider
Watch the video below or access via YouTube
About the Back from the Brink series
South East Queensland is a biodiversity hotspot that the whole world sees as precious. Since 2017, Natura Pacific has run ‘Back from the Brink’, the first venture of its kind to showcase a series of short films about South East Queensland’s most threatened plants and animals, what is happening to them, and how we can help save them from extinction. From giant orchids to hammerhead sharks, the series delves into tangible actions and projects each and every one of us can take part in to support and celebrate these species. Without the hard work of the visionary people behind these projects, the future of our native plants and animals, and of ourselves, hangs in the balance.
Related information
Articles:
- Lindenmayer, David B. and Taylor, Chris, New spatial analyses of Australian wildfires highlight the need for new fire, resource, and conservation policies. PNAS June 2, 2020 117 (22) 12481-12485; first published May 18, 2020, accessed 9 February 2021; https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2002269117
- McGregor, D. C., Padovan, A., Georges, A., Kockenberger, A., Yoon, H-J., and Youngentob, K. N, Genetic evidence supports three previously described species of greater glider, Petauroides volans, P. minor, and P. armillatus. Sci Rep. 2020; 10: 19284, Published online 2020 Nov 6, accessed 9 February 2021; https://dx.doi.org/10.1038%2Fs41598-020-76364-z
- Kearney, M. R., Wintle, B. A., and Porter, W. P., Correlative and mechanistic models of species distribution provide congruent forecasts under climate change. Conservation Letters, Volume 3, Issue 3; first published 7 June 2010, Pages 203-213, accessed 9 February 2021; https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1755-263X.2010.00097.x
- Teresa J. Eyre, Regional habitat selection of large gliding possums at forest stand and landscape scales in southern Queensland, Australia: I. Greater glider (Petauroides volans), Forest Ecology and Management, Volume 235, Issues 1–3, 2006, Pages 270-282, ISSN 0378-1127; https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foreco.2006.08.338