Fire, predators and the endangered northern bettong

Date: 04, Feb, 2019
Author(s):   Diana Fisher, Jane McDonald, Martine Maron, Sarah Legge, Chris Pocknee
Publisher: TSR Hub

The northern bettong is only found in a tiny section of Queensland’s wet tropics, and has declined severely in range in the past decade. It now persists in just two locations, one of which may only hold a very small population. Recovery of northern bettongs is hindered by a lack of certainty about threats and how to manage them. The research team will experimentally test how bettongs respond to the two factors suspected to be most important to persistence: fire regimes, and their interaction with food and feral cat predation. Data from this project will guide management actions by the recovery team and QPWS for conservation of northern bettongs.