Playing possum fools devils

POSSUMS on Maria Island have rapidly modified their behaviour to adapt to the introduction of the Tasmanian devil.

A University of Tasmania report published in Ecography has shown that, despite the recent introduction of the predator initially being bad news for brushtail possums, their populations had shown resilience.

When Tasmanian devils were introduced to Maria Island in response to extinction fears, their numbers increased.

The introduction also provided an opportunity to research the devils’ impact on the island’s ecosystem.

The Maria Island study used a foraging experiment designed to measure how possums — a key prey of devils — perceived the predation risk.

The experiment compared possum behaviour before and after devils were introduced.

Lead author Calum Cunningham said possums showed how rapid ecological change could occur due to fear.

“The good news is that possums showed a clear antipredator response after just three years of living with devils — less than a single generation,” Mr Cunningham said.

“Our study provides strong evidence that top predators modify the behaviour of prey by instilling fear, causing rapid ecological change.

“This study supports the notion that rewilding can establish missing ecological functions, and provides a hopeful view of how rewilding and ecosystem restoration could look going forward.”

The full report can be found at onlinelibrary.wiley.com.