Populations of the common ringtail possum (Pseudocheirus peregrinus) in inland New South Wales have declined or disappeared. Habitat requirements and diet of these populations are poorly understood. Determining the diet of inland ringtail possums is crucial to understanding the factors limiting their survival, and was the focus of this study. Spotlighting surveys were conducted to locate ringtail possums, and scat and vegetation samples were collected for microhistological analysis. Ringtail possums were most frequently observed in red stringybark followed by bundy box and black cypress pine trees, and this correlated with the most common dietary items consumed.

The interaction between Eastern Grey Kangaroos (Macropus giganteus) and humans in peri-urban locations is one that excites great passion between conflicting views. Are the kangaroos a problem pest or a diminishing icon? And where conflicts occur between kangaroos, threatened species and ecological communities, and human activities, what is the most acceptable approach to management? A case study to examine this question has been provided by Bathurst Regional Council for the management of the population of Eastern Grey Kangaroos on Mount Panorama, on the doorstep of Bathurst, NSW. In this precinct there are concerns that there may be a collision between a kangaroo and a very fast racing car and that large numbers of kangaroos will have an impact on the survival of an Endangered Ecological Community and agricultural activities on the Mount.In the first instance Bathurst Council enabled the culling of 140 kangaroos and this brought international condemnation. Council then contracted for the development of a Fauna Management Strategy for the Mount but this has not been fully accepted by Council nor implemented. The most recent approach, when Council disturbed the resident kangaroos by clearing a senescent orchard for further development, was resolved by using a community group to relocate at least 300 kangaroos to a location some 100 km to the east. At the time of the relocation this location was in drought and disoriented kangaroos were killed on the road. No information is available for the survival rate of the relocated individuals nor their behaviour post-release. Neither the culling not the relocation of resident Eastern Grey Kangaroos has provided a long-term resolution to the peri-urban conflict between kangaroos and humans on Mount Panorama. Killing is not the answer, neither is relocation. The implementation of the Management Strategy has the potential to provide an intermediate approach.

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The common ringtail possum (Pseudocheirus peregrinus) is considered abundant throughout its distribution in eastern Australia but appears to be declining at a regional level in inland New South Wales. Previous studies of the common ringtail possum in south-eastern Australia have focussed on coastal populations and little is known about the ecology of inland populations. In south-western Australia studies of the closely related western ringtail possum (Pseudocherius occidentalis) have found that coastal populations differ from inland populations, particularly in their nesting behaviour. In this preliminary study of an inland population of the common ringtail possum at Black Rock Ridge in central west New South Wales population density has been estimated and the habitat and nesting preference assessed. Up to one ringtail per hectare and 4.5 ringtails per spotlight hour were recorded. Tree hollows appeared to be the preferred nest site, with possums seen entering hollows during spotlighting and no dreys being located. Threats to common ringtail possums at Black Rock Ridge include the isolation of the remnant ridge vegetation within an extensively cleared landscape and the associated change in fire regimes. Within this landscape there has been an extensive reduction in available habitat, and an overall lack of habitat connectivity has placed ringtail possums at an increased risk of predation.

Since European settlement this landscape has been dramatically altered resulting in a loss of native vegetation cover, destruction of soil quality and structure, disruption of the landscape hydrology and the introduction of pests and weeds (Bauer and Goldney 2000;Letnic 2000;Kerle et al. 2007;Windsor et al. 2004 ABSTRACTThe Central West and Lachlan Catchments lie west of the Great Dividing Range in central NSW and have been subjected to extensive land clearing, grazing and agricultural pressures beginning in the 1820s. Many vertebrate species are known to have disappeared from these catchments but reliable data for species diversity, distribution, abundance and conservation status are not available. For this assessment of the diversity and status of the vertebrate fauna in these catchment areas a comprehensive database of vertebrate records was established, species distributions mapped, faunal communities determined by pattern analysis and conservation status determined at a regional level. The extent of post-European human-induced landscape change was evaluated by assessing the degree of habitat loss, loss of landscape function and resilience through changes to the water cycle, soil and energy flow and the impact of invasive species, diseases and agricultural pollution.Of the 595 vertebrate species verified for these catchments, 6% are introduced, 12% have been listed in NSW under the Threatened Species Conservation Act 1995, 4% by the Commonwealth Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999, 40% are regionally vulnerable, 20% regionally endangered and 2% likely to have become extinct in the region. Overall we estimate that 64% (382) of species are declining. These statistics present a grim picture of the survival of vertebrates in these catchments and potentially for the sheep-wheat belt of eastern Australia. The extreme loss of habitat and its poor condition across much of these catchments followed by serious changes to the functioning of the landscape provide clear reasons for the catastrophic decline of vertebrates in this landscape. If this serious decline in the Central West and Lachlan catchments is to be halted, strategies aimed at habitat and landscape restoration must be developed. Current strategies based on Threatened Species management plans and ad hoc planting for revegetation have not produced results. We need a radical rethink.