Literature review
We found that all publications targeting sugar gliders used a
honey-based bait and 81.5% of those also used a honey-water lure. Most
often, the choice of bait was made a priori without
justification, with only 3% of studies providing citations for baiting
methods. Sugar gliders consumed animal protein baits (including
sardines, dog food and non-toxic foxoff meat) in one study targeting
brush-tailed phascogales (Fairbridge et al. , 2003). There were no
comparisons of bait types and trapping efficacy across the literature.
Meta-analyses showed that variations of honey-bait types do not explain
heterogeneity in trapping success
(Q =1030.72, df = 10,p <0.0001, I2 = 98.01%,T2 =0.41) or capture rates (Q =260.94, df
= 14, p <0.0001, I2 = 95.85%,T2 =0.87). There was a negative effect of year,
indicating a slight decrease in trapping success and capture rates over
the last four decades (1983-2022). Variation in trapping success across
studies was best explained by habitat connectivity, trap nights and year
and variation in capture rates was best explained by habitat
connectivity and trap height (full results in Supporting Information).