Researchers spot threatened species

LA TROBE University researchers have managed to catch a glimpse of a threatened native marsupial just outside of the greater Bendigo region, and they’ve got the pictures to prove it.

The brush-tailed phascogale is one of three species of the small marsupial family, and the study was conducted to find out just how widespread they are in box ironbark forests near Castlemaine.

While phascogales are extinct in some areas of the state, La Trobe PhD candidate Jessica Lawton said parts of central Victoria are still home to the animals.

“Although the Mount Alexander region has around 35 per cent forest cover, which is substantial, it’s fragmented,” Ms Lawton said.

“We think phascogales are widely distributed there because they are supported by the large amount of forest, and they use the extensive connections along roadsides and creeks to move through the landscape.”

Researchers used nesting boxes and heat-sensing cameras to watch the phascogales, with the animal outsmarting other methods.

“They are difficult to detect with techniques such as spotlighting and trapping, they are too nimble and clever,” Ms Lawton said.

Some 84 per cent of the 50 nesting box sites were visited by the animal, which surprised researchers.

The study was published last month in the Austral Ecology journal and was supported by 13 local volunteers and a Mount Alexander conservation group, Connecting Country, who provided the nesting boxes.

Ms Lawton said land management efforts were important to safeguard phascogale habitat.

“Conservation reserves and large tracts of native forests are critical, but so are patches of forest, wooded strips along roadsides and creeks, and scattered trees across farmland,” she said.

“Together they provide a mosaic of suitable habitat and connections across the region, which is vital for animals like the phascogale.”