The home range and movements of the allied rock wallaby, Petrogale ass
imilis, a small macropod of the seasonally wet-dry tropics of Queensla
nd, were studied over a 22-month period. There was no significant diff
erence in the size of home ranges (95% isopleth) or core areas (65% is
opleth) of males and females. Home ranges were generally elliptical wi
th a mean size of 11.9 ha. Season had a major effect on home ranges. T
he following measures were all significantly greater in the dry season
s than in the wet seasons: home-range size (larger), home-range shape
(more elongate), distance moved by females when feeding (longer), dist
ance between shelter site and home-range centre of activity (longer).
Feeding movements of males did not vary seasonally and were as long as
dry-season movements of females, suggesting that movements of males a
re primarily determined by behavioural rather than physiological consi
derations. The overlap of rock-wallaby home ranges varied little betwe
en the sexes or seasons and averaged 38%. Core areas overlapped by an
average of 22%; however, feeding adult rock-wallabies rarely met other
conspecifics, except their partners. A comparison of the fixes of unp
aired wallabies that had overlapping home ranges showed that temporal
separation was occurring. In contrast, the home ranges of consort pair
s showed extremely high temporal and spatial overlap. Rock-wallabies e
xhibited strong fidelity to their home ranges. The overlap of the seas
onal home ranges and core areas of each individual rock wallaby averag
ed 68% and 52%, respectively. However, the seasonal home range of a so
cially immature adult male altered in location and size as he matured
socially until it stabilised when he obtained a permanent consort.