Stability and change in a population of brusht tail possums: 22 years of monitoring in the Orongorongo Valley

Ecology Division has live-trapped possums in the lowland forest of the Orongorongo Valley near Wellington since 1966. Although possums continue to modify their habitat by killing trees of palatable species, their average density and breeding performance have not declined significantly. Age structure, sex ratio, breeding rate and mortality have all varied substantially from year to year. Knowledge of how one population 'works' on a long time scale constrains the interpretation of shorter-term comparative studies.