The white-footed Dunnart, a tiny marsupial mouse recently found in forests around Narooma on the NSW South Coast, is set to reveal its life to researchers from Charles Sturt University.

The diminutive Dunnart is a rare, secretive animal that was discovered in the Eurobodalla National Park by CSU’s Dr Nick Klomp as part of a recent wildlife survey of the Park.

The timid native mouse is listed by the NSW Government as a vulnerable species in that State, while small, scattered populations are also found along the coastlines of Victoria and Tasmania and in northern Queensland rainforests.

Now Honours student Robyn Korn and a team from CSU’s Albury-Wodonga Campus, under the supervision of Dr Klomp, are trapping and radio-tracking Dunnarts to discover more about the recently discovered population around Narooma.

“Previous studies have investigated aspects of the Dunnart’s breeding, diet, home range and preferred habitats, but there has been no attempt to assess the long-term survival of the species in the area,” Dr Klomp said.

“We will use a relatively new technique - population viability analysis - to estimate the survival rate of the Dunnart population in the Eurobodalla National Park, based on data now being collected by the CSU research team.”

Supported by the NSW State Forests and the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS), the research commenced in July this year and will continue until May 1999.

The research is part of the 1997 cooperative agreement signed between CSU and NSW NPWS to develop and manage the Eurobodalla National Park and surrounding areas.