Tiny pieces of ear tissue could be the key to saving the endangered mahogany glider.

Scientists are catching and releasing gliders in Tropical Far North Queensland so they can learn more about the species, its genetic health and the best conservation actions for recovery.

JAMES COOK UNI RESEARCHERS WORK WITH TERRAIN

A team from James Cook University is working with Terrain NRM to capture footage of the elusive gliders on monitoring cameras and to also catch them in wildlife-friendly traps during night field trips in woodland between Tully and Townsville.

Researcher Eryn Chang said a recent trip to a small patch of woodland north of Townsville had been surprisingly successful.

“We caught six mahogany gliders in one night. That hasn’t happened before in my work. Some nights we record nothing, or we see sugar or squirrel gliders and no mahoganies. It’s a slow process, to build up data, but one that’s important for this species.”

EAR TISSUE COLLECTED FOR GENETIC TESTING

Gliders are weighed and measured before a tiny sample of ear tissue is collected for genetic testing.

“This gives us the fine details of each individual so we can determine genetic diversity. With enough samples, we can also determine the size of the population, whether populations are connected and whether the species is genetically healthy.”

Mahogany gliders are only found in North Queensland. The last population estimate, of between 1500 and 2000, was in 2010 – the year before Tropical Cyclone Yasi tore through critical glider habitat in the Tully and Cardwell area.

“It’s now critical that we understand how well our gliders are recovering from that devastating blow, and that there are still enough habitat connections in the landscape to keep the population healthy,” Terrain NRM’s Andrew Dennis said.

Terrain is working with scientists as part of a broader project that also includes tree-planting on private land and controlled burns in glider habitat – to keep woodland thickening from reducing glider movements in the little habitat they have left. The ‘Biodiversity Hot Spots – Tackling Woodland Threats’ project is supported by Terrain NRM through the Australian Government’s National Landcare Program.

NEW POPULATION FIGURES 

Dr Dennis said new population figures were an important part of the initiative.

“We need to check that the gliders still occur across their full former range, and then, using James Cook University’s sophisticated genetic techniques, check that gliders are moving from one place to another to keep their populations viable,” he said.

“Understanding this will help us to determine which areas are the best ones to replant trees in, to create corridors connecting different parts of their habitat.”

James Cook University tropical biologist Dr Conrad Hoskin said species distribution modelling had been used to work out where to install the cameras and night-time traps.

Hundreds of trees are being planted on a property where a mahogany glider was rescued from a barbed-wire fence – to become the face of an endangered species that is struggling for survival.

‘Warrami’ the glider was found entangled in barbed-wire 11 years ago and spent months recovering with wildlife carers. A tropical cyclone then ruined his chances of a quick release into the wild when it destroyed glider habitat in the Tully-Townsville region – but this led to an unusual and heart-warming turn-of-events.

Wildlife carers Daryl Dickson and Geoff Moffatt were given special permission to introduce Warrami to a female glider, also recovering from barbed-wire injuries, and the pair bonded and produced two young before being released into recovering glider habitat two years after Warrami was first brought into care.

At the tree-planting event recently, Ms Dickson said it was wonderful to see the place where Warrami grew up and to help increase glider habitat on the property.

Mahogany gliders are listed as ‘endangered’ and are only found in a fragmented strip of woodland between Tully and Ollera Creek, south of Townsville. The tree-planting event is one of several happening on grazing properties to connect sections of woodland as part of a $1.5 million project being delivered by Terrain NRM through funding from the Australian Government.

Terrain’s Jacqui Diggins said the property, located south of Tully in an area known as Warrami, was at an ecological pinch-point where rainforest formed a barrier to gliders between national park and farming land.

“In the past, the woodlands would have continued through areas like this around the national park where the habitat changes to rainforest, but they were cleared for farming,’’ she said. “This property is an ideal connection point. We’ve planted 600 trees, and another 2000 will go into the ground to connect glider habitat to the north and south.”

Mahogany gliders can glide up to 30 metres on average. It’s often not far enough in cleared land, with barbed top wires the most common reason gliders come into care.

“Replacing top wires and connecting relatively small sections of land can make a huge difference,” Ms Diggins said. “It helps gliders to move between habitat areas for feeding and it also helps in the flow of genes for this species.”

Property owners Deb Van Beek and Royd Blunden say the support they are receiving to recreate glider habitat has been invaluable.

They’re female, they’re indigenous and they’re fired-up about caring for country.

An all-women crew of Girringun rangers is leading by example in the Wet Tropics, conducting controlled burns and encouraging teenage girls to step into less-traditional cultural roles.

Girringun Ranger, Cindy-Lou Togo and four other female indigenous rangers were the fire power behind a recent cool burn at Cardwell to reduce fuel loads and improve conditions for endangered mahogany gliders.

“These are mosaic burns that don’t touch the canopy and don’t burn everything,’’ Ms Togo said. “When you return you can see grass trees that are still green, and opportunities for new growth.”

Terrain NRM’s Jacqui Diggins said the cool burn, on seven hectares of unallocated state land, was the second this year in a series of controlled burns for ecological and hazard reduction reasons in an area from the Hull River near Tully to Crystal Creek north of Townsville. They are part of a larger project, funded by the Australian Government, to improve woodlands in mahogany glider country.

The project also supports Girringun Aboriginal Rangers to take a larger role in caring for country through land management and, with Fireland Consultancy’s Justine Douglas as mentor, it provides an opportunity for more female rangers to step into leadership roles.

Ms Togo has been a Girringun Ranger for 10 years, and has loved seeing the number of women increase in the group.

“I always liked being outdoors and I thought this would be something different, when I applied for the role,’’ she said. “Now I have a chainsaw licence, a drone licence, a Certificate III in Conservation and Land Management, a coxswain ticket and more. All these tickets I never imagined I’d have…

“We visit schools and correctional centres to show there’s a pathway. We’re learning from our elders on the land, learning from others and passing those learnings on to the younger generation.

“For this burn, Evelyn Ivey was the IC and she did a good job stepping up into that role.”