194 Monitoring Threatened Species and Ecological Communities
a range of modelling studies, including population viability analyses, as well as
assessments of the adequacy of the current reserve system. The long-term
monitoring program also has been a catalyst for the IUCN listing assessment of
the mountain ash Eucalyptus regnans ecosystem, and the creation of regional
economic and environmental accounts. More than 15 000 volunteers have
participated in the monitoring program for Leadbeater’s possum, underscoring
the community engagement and public education significance of long-term
monitoring of this Critically Endangered species. Although the iconic status of
Leadbeater’s possum and concern over the negative impacts of logging operations
on the species are undoubtedly important reasons for the long-term persistence of
the monitoring program, it is also likely that broadening the scope of the work to
include a range of studies of the forest ecosystem inhabited by the species has
contributed to the program’s longevity.
Introduction
Monitoring of a threatened species should be of direct relevance and value for the
conservation and management of that taxon. However, monitoring programs for
endangered species can have a broader range of outcomes. An example is the
long-term monitoring program for the Critically Endangered arboreal marsupial,
Leadbeater’s possum Gymnobelidues leadbeateri in the montane ash forests of the
Central Highlands of Victoria in south-eastern Australia. The monitoring program
for this iconic species (Fig. 14.1) has contributed substantially to the conservation
management of the species. In addition, the monitoring program has led to
important advances in our understanding of the ecology and conservation of a
range of other species of arboreal marsupials, as well as the wet eucalypt forest
ecosystems inhabited by Leadbeater’s possum. Leadbeater’s possum is one of the
faunal emblems of Victoria, and its monitoring program has also had important
policy, social and economic benefits; these are outlined in this chapter.
Leadbeater’s possum is arguably one of the best studied Critically Endangered
species globally. It is a small, non-volant, petaurid arboreal marsupial that weighs
between 120–160 g at adulthood. Colonies of up to 12 individuals form around a
socially dominant adult breeding female and move regularly between multiple
large old hollow-bearing trees (‘den trees’), whose hollows they use for nesting and
breeding. The majority of the distribution of Leadbeater’s possum occurs in the wet
ash-type eucalypt forests of the Central Highlands of Victoria which are
dominated by largely monotypic stands of mountain ash Eucalyptus regnans,
alpine ash Eucalyptus delegatensis or shining gum Eucalyptus nitens. Most
scientific knowledge of Leadbeater’s possum has been derived from the long-term
monitoring program of the species or intensive allied work associated with three
PhD programs, two of which were based in the montane ash forests of the Central
Highlands of Victoria.