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This is what the 'new' Australian marsupials are like

2020-12-18T15:56:28.278Z


Analysis of the DNA of giant gliders has revealed that it is not a single species, but is divided into three different species


Australia is one of the most biodiverse countries on the planet: it has, for example, 140 species of marsupials such as the koala, the kangaroo or the Tasmanian devil.

Among the least known of this group of mammals are the giant gliders, a nocturnal animal that despite its name weighs no more than 1.5 kilos, has a lush coat and is distinguished by its ability to glide from tree to tree to through a membrane that joins your elbows with your ankles.

Until now it was believed that giant gliders were a single species whose habitat extends along the most important mountain range in Australia, the Great Dividing Range (on the east coast).

So did biologist Denise McGregor, who spent two years living in the forests of these mountains studying gliders for her doctorate at James Cook University (Queensland).

When she sent DNA samples from specimens from different areas to be analyzed, she was the first surprised when the laboratory geneticist called her to tell her the results: “He told me: 'Hey, you've sent us two species.'

I answered no, it was a single species from two different areas, two subspecies.

But he insisted that no, that they were two species. "

Results from the lab revealed that there was more than a 50% difference in DNA, and McGregor expanded the range of his research with the help of scientists from three Australian universities.

The genetic analysis of other specimens of giant gliders showed that these animals do not make up a single species, but three different ones.

The finding, which has been published in the scientific journal

Nature

, means that biodiversity in Australia has been further enriched.

But according to McGregor, his study contains vital information to protect the future of this animal: “To establish the conservation status, we study how widespread the species is and, in this case, we thought that they were spread along the entire coast. eastern Australia.

How many copies are left are also counted.

And, when you divide these factors into three parts, the numbers become small, that is, there are fewer animals of each species and they are concentrated in a much smaller area ”.

"We are talking about an animal that in the past was the most common thing you saw in these forests if you walked at night, and now its numbers have fallen"

Giant gliders are classified as "vulnerable" on the IUCN Red List of Endangered Species.

Andrew Krockenberger is one of the co-authors of the study led by McGregor.

His specialty is the conservation of the marsupials that live in the trees, such as giant gliders: “It is very problematic when you have a species so abundant that it suddenly begins to decline quite precipitously,” he says.

"We are talking about an animal that in the past was the most common thing you saw in these forests if you walked at night, and now their numbers have dropped in some places to 10% or less compared to their previous abundance."

The conservation status of the giant gliders is being reassessed after last year's devastating bushfires in Australia, in what has been dubbed “black summer”.

The fires burned about 97,000 square kilometers of vegetation (an area larger than Portugal) according to another study also published by the journal

Nature

.

The territory is home to 83 species of mammals and scientists fear that gliders may be among the most affected.

The reason is that these marsupials live in the hollows of eucalyptus trees, which they only leave at night when they go out to eat.

When they need to glide towards another tree, they leave their young in these holes (the rest of the time they carry them in the epidermal pouch where they suckle, the pouch).

Fire control expert Natasha Robinson is working on an Australian National University project to help restore wildlife in habitats affected by fire.

The expert details the other reasons why gliders are so vulnerable to wildfires.

“They are animals that only eat (eucalyptus) leaves.

After a fire, there are almost no leaves left because they have been incinerated.

Giant gliders have a very particular physiology, although they appear large because of their fur, they are quite small marsupials and, therefore, they need to eat many leaves constantly.

Sometimes they survive the fire because they have hidden in a hole, but when they come out at night the leaves have disappeared and they can starve.

Furthermore, since there are no leaves, they have also been left without shelter to hide from predators such as owls ”.

Robinson adds that giant gliders are very faithful to their habitat, and they don't often travel in search of a new home, even if theirs has been destroyed by fire.

All these reasons make them a species especially defenseless in the face of climate change, which according to scientists is one of the reasons why last year's forest fires were much more virulent than is normal in Australia.

Although it is impossible to determine exactly how many animals died in the fires, a multi-university study commissioned by the environmental organization WWF estimates that nearly 3 billion animals died or were displaced by the flames.

The Australian government has not yet been able to update the list of endangered species, because it is a process that can take up to more than two years.

The discovery that giant gliders are three different species instead of one could also change this index.

When more definitive conclusions are made of the impact of the fires, it is feared that one or more of the giant glider species will become part of the growing group of species with a high risk of disappearing forever.

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Source: elparis

All news articles on 2020-12-18

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