‘Conservation of dispersion mutualisms between the rare tree marsupial Dromiciops gliroides and fleshy fruited epiphytes in temperate southern forests’

Ana López Llandres, Asier Rodríguez Larrinaga, Constanza Celedón Nengme, Francisco Bozinovic Kuscevic, Juan J. Arnesto, Juan Luis Celis Diez, Lida Marcela Franco Pérez, Luis Enrique Santamaría Galdón, Mauricio Soto Gamboa, Miguel Ángel Rodríguez Gironés, Pablo Fernández Méndez.

The temperate forests of Southern Chile are the habitat of the monito del monte (Dromiciops gliroides), the world’s most primitive marsupial. These forests, and therefore the monito del monte, are under serious threat from growing deforestation, the degradation and isolation of remnant fragments and the impact of biological invasions.

The project will assess the state of conservation of monito del monte populations in the temperate southern forest, with special attention to their degree of interdependence with the fleshy-fruited epiphyte plants present in this habitat. These data will provide input for developing and applying management strategies to ensure their survival, through an open-ended, participative process prizing interaction with local communities and managers.