For animals which utilise vertically distributed habitat resources, home ranges quantified in two-dimensions (2D) likely misrepresent space use and constrain interpretations of species' ecology and behaviour. Three-dimensional (3D) home range estimation has proved useful for understanding space use over relatively large vertical ranges (e.g. 100's of meters), yet none have applied a 3D approach to describe space use over narrower vertical ranges (e.g. meters or 10's of metres) typical for many arboreal animals. This study demonstrates 3D home range estimation for the arboreal western ringtail possum (Pseudocheirus occidentalis) using temporally resolute locations (15 min intervals) of five radio collared animals. We hypothesised that, due to the use of vertically distributed habitat resources, 3D home ranges would be more complex, spanning a range of heights, and would subsequently be larger in size compared to those estimates derived from typical 2D analysis. A comparison of 50% (core) and 95% (total) 2D kernel density and 3D kernel density utilisation distributions reveal structurally complex home ranges that span the entire vertical range of vegetated habitat. Estimates of the total 3D home range size were significantly greater than those derived from 2D analysis, and the difference in size was positively related to the vertical range of available habitat. This study establishes that 3D home range analysis can reveal information on vertical space use of arboreal species over relatively small vertical ranges, and is likely to be valuable in understanding the use and identification of key habitats and resources, as well as interactions among sympatric species.

对于利用垂直分布的栖息地资源的动物来说，以二维（2D）量化的房屋范围可能会错误地表示空间用途，并限制了对物种生态和行为的解释。事实证明，三维（3D）家庭距离估计对于理解相对较大的垂直范围（例如100米）的空间使用非常有用，但没有人应用3D方法来描述较窄的垂直范围（例如米或10米的空间）的空间使用），这是许多树木动物的典型特征。这项研究证明了树状西环尾负鼠（Pseudocheirus occidentalis）的3D家庭范围估计）使用五只放射性领动物的暂时位置（间隔15分钟）。我们假设，由于使用了垂直分布的栖息地资源，与从典型2D分析得出的估计值相比，3D家庭范围会更复杂，跨越一定范围的高度，并且随后的大小也会更大。比较50％（核心）和95％（总）的2D内核密度和3D内核密度利用率分布，可以发现结构复杂的家庭范围，该范围跨越了植被生境的整个垂直范围。3D家庭范围总大小的估计值明显大于2D分析得出的大小，并且大小差异与可用栖息地的垂直范围呈正相关。