Introducing Tassie devils to open grassland is bad news for brushtail possums

Embargoed until: Publicly released: 2023-03-15 11:01

Australia; TAS

Image by Penny from Pixabay

Introducing Tasmanian devils to open grassland caused brushtail possums to disappear, according to Aussie authors who monitored trail cams, GPS collars, and spotlight data, on Maria Island before and after devils were introduced in 2012. The team found that between 2012 and 2016, possum populations declined across the island, disappearing almost completely from grasslands and drier forests with an open understory. They say that possum populations remained stable in wet forest habitats, which are not their preferred choice of home, but provide better refuge from devils.

Media release

From: The Royal Society

Top predator restricts the niche breadth of prey: effects of assisted colonisation of Tasmanian devils on a widespread omnivorous prey

Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences

Summary: This study examines the impact of an introduced predator (Tasmanian devil) on the abundance, survival and distribution of a long-established prey species (Brushtail possums) within different habitat types. The study uses multiple methods (trail cameras, GPS collars and spotlight data) and results suggest devils strongly impacted the possum population, via predation. Possums that occurred in open grasslands had lower survival than those in more complex habitats. In fact, possums disappeared completely from open habitats suggesting devils also altered their distribution and habitat use. This demonstrates the role of top predators in limiting both the population and distribution of their prey.

Journal/
conference: Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences

Research:Paper

Organisation/s: University of Tasmania

Funder: This study was funded by Australian Research Council and Holsworth Wildlife Research Endowment.

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