Greater glider studies at Queensland Herbarium and Biodiversity Science (QHBS)

Greater gliders are a highly specialised arboreal leaf eating species that are entirely dependent on intact eucalypt forest and woodland. They also need hollows in trees to provide dens, where they shelter by day. Two subspecies of greater glider occur in Queensland and are separated geographically: one occurs in the northeastern area of the state north of Charters Towers (Petauroides volans minor) and the other south of this along the eastern part of the state (Petauroides volans volans). For more information view the Greater glider webpage.

QHBS supports initiatives to protect the Greater Glider

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A greater glider, who participated in a scientific study to determine habitat use in the brigalow belt of southern Queensland.

L. Hogan

• Habitat identification and mapping. Scientists at QHBS have compiled a report which provides an update on available quantitative and qualitative information of greater glider habitat in Queensland. The report identified 254 confirmed Regional Ecosystems identified as greater glider habitat and 124 regional ecosystems identified as potential habitat out of 2,859 described regional ecosystems in Queensland. Documents related to this report include:
  • look-up tables of regional ecosystems (Version 12) representing greater glider habitat and potential habitat (XLSX, 26.7 KB). We will update the table as new information comes to hand.
  • a list of tree species that are the dominant and co-dominant species in greater glider habitat by bioregion in Queensland
  • review of greater glider home range studies throughout their Australian geographic range and a summary of approaches and results.
  • identification of ‘large’ tree size thresholds by bioregion to guide identification of greater glider habitat and potential habitat.
• Habitat modelling. Mixed method modelling is currently in progress to map habitat suitability and core habitat for the two Queensland sub-species. For more information email biodiversity.planning@qld.gov.au
• Advice to industry. QHBS provides advice on habitat features and measures (e.g. the size and type of tree) to retain and protect key glider habitat features, including Species Management profiles that inform timber harvesting.

Research conducted by QHBS and affiliates

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Dark colour morph of Greater Glider. This individual was tracked in forest to find out more about denning and feeding ecology and use of space.

L. Hogan

QHBS scientists have been participating in greater glider research over multiple decades producing peer reviewed publications:

Evans, J.E., Brunton, E.A., Leon, J.X., Eyre, T.J., and Cristescu, R.H. (2025). Possibilities and limitations of a geospatial approach to refine habitat mapping for Greater Gliders (Petauroides spp.). Land 14(4), 784. doi: 10.3390/land14040784

Eyre, T.J. (2002). Habitat preferences and management of large gliding possums in southern Queensland. PhD. Thesis, Southern Cross University, Lismore.

Eyre, T.J. (2004). Distribution and conservation status of the possums and gliders of southern Queensland. In: The Biology of Australian Possums and Gliders. (Eds Goldingay, R.L. & Jackson, S.M.), pp. 1-25. Surrey Beatty and Sons: Chipping Norton, NSW.

Eyre, T.J. (2005). Hollow-bearing trees in large glider habitat in south-east Queensland Australia. Pacific Conservation Biology 11, 23-37. doi: 10.1071/PC050023

Eyre, T.J. (2006). Regional habitat selection of large gliding possums in southern Queensland, Australia I. Greater glider (Petauroides volans). Forest Ecology and Management 235, 270-282. doi: 10.1016/j.foreco.2006.08.338

Eyre, T.J., Butler, D.W., Kelly, A.L., and Wang, J. (2010). Effects of forest management on structural features important for biodiversity in mixed-age hardwood forests in Australia’s subtropics. Forest Ecology and Management 259, 534–546. doi: 10.1016/j.foreco.2009.11.010

Eyre, T.J., Smith G.C., Venz M.F., Mathieson M.T., Hogan L.D., Starr, C., Winter, J., and McDonald, K. (2022). Guide to greater glider habitat in Queensland, report prepared for the Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment, Canberra. Department of Environment and Science, Queensland Government, Brisbane.

Ferguson, D.J., Laidlaw, M.J., and Eyre, T.J. (2018). Greater Glider Habitat Resource Assessment in the Burnett Mary. Queensland Herbarium, Department of Environment and Science, Brisbane.

Foley, W., Kehl, J., Nagy, K., Kaplan, I., and Borsboom, A. (1990). Energy and Water Metabolism in Free-Living Greater Gliders, Petauroides-Volans. Australian Journal of Zoology 38, 1. doi: 10.1071/ZO9900001

Kehl, J. and Borsboom, A. (1984). Home range, den tree use and activity patterns in the greater glider, Petauroides volans. Pp. 229-36, In Possums and Gliders, eds. A.P. Smith and I.D. Hume. Australian Mammal Society, Sydney.

Smith, G.C., Mathieson, M., and Hogan, L. (2007). Home range and habitat use of a low-density population of greater gliders, Petauroides volans (Pseudocheiridae: Marsupialia), in a hollow-limiting environment. Wildlife Research 34, 472-483. doi: 10.1071/WR06063