Field study

Study site – We conducted this study in the Meehan Range, near Hobart, Tasmania, because it is a swift parrot important breeding area (Commonwealth of Australia, 2019, Stojanovic et al. , 2014, Stojanovic et al. , 2016) and known to be occupied by sugar gliders. The site comprises 180ha continuous forest across a hilltop from 180-400m elevation. The forest extends into nature conservation reserve in the south-west and is otherwise bordered by agricultural and residential land. Across tenures, the total continuous forested area surrounding the study site is ~6500ha. The landscape is dominated by mature blue gum Eucalyptus globulus and white peppermint E. pulchella forest with a dry, grassy understorey. Silver wattle Acacia dealbata and sheoak Allocasurina verticillata occur in patches on the lower slopes and gullies. The climate is temperate maritime and annual rainfall is a mean of 486mm with an average of 45-65mm a month in spring (September-November) (Bureau of Meterology,2023). Mean minimum and maximum spring temperatures range from 6-10°C to 16-20°C (Bureau of Meterology,2023).