Bioacoustics of Petauroides minor

Movements, Home range and Social organization. Northern Greater Gliders have home ranges of 1-:3—4-2 ha for males and 0-9-1-7 ha for females, with core ranges of 0-1-0-8 ha for males and 0-1-0-4 ha females. There is extensive overlap of home ranges within and between sexes, which suggests a polygamous mating system. Northern Greater Gliders nest in tree hollows; nests have been recorded in Eucalyptus acmenoides , E. tereticornis, E. intermedia, E. crebra, C. citriodora, and dead trees of undetermined species. Generally, each individual uses 4-6 different dens in any one month, but 1-2 dens are occupied most frequently. These dens are typically located inside core areas and only occasionally are situated outside core areas. Although Northern Greater Gliders are mainly solitary, mates may share a den during the breeding season. Individuals in adjacent home ranges may actively avoid each other, but when social interactions do occur they are generally non-aggressive, although agonistic behavior has occasionally been observed between males and between females. Four primary types of social interactions have been observed between males and females: “nasaling,” or brief mutual sniffing of snouts without any audible vocalization, an infrequent behavior usually occurring when individuals first meet during the night, or whenever frequently interact ing individuals met in passing; mutual sniffing, which occurs between males and females who are regular consorts and involves sniffing various parts of the partner’s body (generally tail and flanks); climbing, during which each glider alternately climbs over the top of the other, and in so doing applies its ventral surface to the dorsal area of the other glider; and sitting within 1 m of another glider and remaining inactive or occasionally foraging on nearby leaves—the most common interaction observed. More than 90% ofall observations of Northern Greater Gliders have been of an individual alone in a tree, despite high densities of 3-3-3-8 ind/ha. Rufous owls (Ninox rufa) are likely predators of the Northern Greater Glider.