KOALA NEWS & SCIENCE
An informative monthly newsletter about successes & important announcements in koala conservation, and the latest scientific publications about koalas.
March 2024
Subscribe here: https://mailchi.mp/808fc4af1ee0/koala-news-science
Wild Koala Day is on May 3! This year our theme is No Give Up Zone: helping the community manage despair, with guidance, shared experience and opportunities to take action.
What will your organisation do for Wild Koala Day? https://www.wildkoaladay.com.au/
Upcoming Wild Koala Day Events:
2 May: Wild Koala Day Information Webinar / online via zoom / Koala Clancy Foundation
Learn about Koala home ranges and joey dispersal in the You Yangs, VIC, presented by Janine Duffy
https://www.koalaclancyfoundation.org.au/event/koala-information-webinar/
3 May: Koala Gardens at Tuckurimba Wild Koala Day event Details to come soon
https://koalagardens.net.au/
3 May: Coastwatchers Eurobodalla Koala Recovery Project / GIS modeling, drone surveys and tree-growing
https://eurokoalas.com/
4 May: Wild Koala Day weeding and wildlife walk You Yangs, VIC Koala Clancy Foundation
https://www.koalaclancyfoundation.org.au/event/wild-koala-day-event-weeding-wildlife-walk/
5 May: Spot a koala for Wild Koala Day / Old Petrie Town QLD / City of Moreton Bay
https://www.moretonbay.qld.gov.au/Galleries-Museums/Events/PRHM/Wild-Koala-Day
22 May: Koala Tree Planting Tuckurimba NSW Bangalow Koalas
https://www.bangalowkoalas.com.au/
Mornington Peninsula Koala Conservation Wild Koala Day tree planting event
https://mpkoalas.org.au/
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What’s On:
QLD: Sunshine Coast Koala Forum 18 April
Several great speakers will present at this forum, at 4.30 to 7.30pm at Bokarina, or on live stream.
https://events.griffith.edu.au/event/3995b01e-829d-49a7-a4c2-d70488aa94bc/summary
NSW: Koala tree planting at CanyonLeigh, NSW on 13 & 20 April
The events are being run by Southern Highlands Landcare Network
https://www.facebook.com/events/942653367517944/?ref=newsfeed
QLD: KoalaFest at Darling Heights QLD on 20 April
The event is on at University of Southern Queensland campus from 10am to 3pm, supported by Lockyer Uplands Catchments, IFAW & Great Eastern Ranges.
https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/koalafest-koala-conservation-event-day-tickets-867055685897?
News:
4000 people march for forests 24 March
Marches were held in Sydney, Canberra, Adelaide, Newcastle, Bega, Kyneton and Lismore calling on federal government to end native forest logging. The week before, 3000 marched in Hobart.
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2024/mar/24/thousands-rally-across-australia-in-growing-push-to-end-native-forest-logging
Koala Summit NSW 22 March
The summit was held on Friday 22 March, with about 150 attendees.
https://www.smh.com.au/environment/conservation/conservationists-to-clash-with-government-at-koala-summit-20240321-p5fe48.html
https://www.wires.org.au/blog/nsw-koala-strategy-under-review-amidst-threat-of-extinction
https://www.northerndailyleader.com.au/story/8564316/new-forestry-plan-seeks-to-avoid-koala-free-future/
Koala data missing at critical time in development approvals NSW 14 March
Sydney Basin Koala Network have released a report showing that 44% of Campbelltown records were missing from the NSW government BioNet at the time that Mt Gilead was approved, and 40% missing from Wollondilly when Appin was approved. Government has since uploaded the records, and the Mayor of Wollondilly Council is now calling on the approvals to be reviewed.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-03-14/missing-bionet-koala-records-concerns-approval-gilead-appin/103583364
Water for koalas in NSW Northern Rivers 25 March
47 Tree Troff water drinkers will be installed in the Bunya to Borders corridor, a Koala Climate Corridors project.
https://www.ifaw.org/au/press-releases/drinking-stations-water-koalas-wildlife-australia
Logging to resume on Kangaroo Island with new plans 27 March
SA government have given the go ahead to AAGIM/Kiland to resume logging Blue Gum plantations, with a new koala management plan. Wildlife advocates are reviewing the plan.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-03-27/approval-for-tree-felling-to-resume-on-kangaroo-island-koala/103638778
https://www.thenewdaily.com.au/news/state/sa/2024/03/26/logging-kangaroo-island-koala-deaths
Estimating koala abundance from acoustic recorders 22 March
University of Sunshine Coast student Miranda Braakhuis’s Honours project has tested the accuracy of estimating koala numbers from acoustic monitoring.
https://www.facebook.com/DetectionDogsForConservation/posts/pfbid0CFXzkDtLBMx2w44UzLo2RA7utUMRHeAMigZjFokSirk9yfTvtdafkZkFfHyY47Cjl
Koalas sighted in Sydney’s northwest forests 2 March
Hills-Hornsby Rural Koala Project has recorded 20 koalas in areas affected by the 2002 Baulkham Hills Complex Fire.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-03-02/koala-population-recovering-two-decades-after-hills-hornsby-fire/103500876
Koala Vaccine to be registered 4 March
QUT Koala chlamydia vaccine is set to be registered for use by vets and wildlife hospitals, with funding support from Brisbane City Council.
https://www.miragenews.com/koala-vaccine-has-brisbane-city-council-support-1186182/#google_vignette
Cherry Ballarts important to koalas 14 March
Koala use of Cherry Ballart trees in the You Yangs Victoria linked to heatwaves. Male koalas used the small trees more than females.
https://www.koalaclancyfoundation.org.au/the-importance-of-cherry-ballarts-to-koalas/
Are federal environmental laws tackling biodiversity extinction? 29 March
Greens Senator Sarah Hanson-Young has said “Closed-door consultations only silence experts and stifle ambition, this will not solve our extinction crisis.”Hearings into the EPBC will start in April and the full inquiry will report on June 28.
https://au.news.yahoo.com/whether-environment-laws-stop-extinction-220728683.html?
Funeral held for Pine Creek Koala Habitat 29 March
Friends of Pine Creek have held a funeral for the last koala of Compartment 14, a koala hub recently logged by Forestry NSW. Pine Creek SF is part of the proposed, yet-to-be-actioned Great Koala National Park.
https://www.newsofthearea.com.au/logging-activists-hold-funeral-service-in-pine-creek-state-forest?
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Latest Koala Science
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Fernandez, C.M., Krockenberger, M.B., Valentina, Mella, S.A., Wright, B.R., Crowther, M.S. and Higgins, D.P., 2024. A novel multi-variate immunological approach, reveals immune variation associated with environmental conditions, and co-infection in the koala (Phascolarctos cinereus). Scientific Reports, 14(1), p.7260. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-57792-7
External signs of disease are frequently used as indicators of disease susceptibility. However, immune profiling can be a more effective indicator to understand how host responses to infection may be shaped by host, pathogen and environmental factors. To better inform wildlife health assessment and research directions, we investigated the utility of a novel multivariate immunophenotyping approach examining innate and adaptive immune responses in differing climatic, pathogen co-infection and demographic contexts across two koala (Phascolarctos cinereus) populations in New South Wales: the Liverpool Plains (LP), and Southern Highlands to South-west Sydney (SHSWS). Relative to the comparatively healthy SHSWS, the LP had greater and more variable innate immune gene expression (IL-1β, IL-6), and KoRV transcription. During extreme heat and drought, koalas from the LP displayed upregulation of a stress pathway gene and reduced adaptive immune genes expression, haematocrit and plasma protein, suggesting the possibility of environmental impacts through multiple pathways. In those koalas, KoRV transcription status, Chlamydia pecorum infection loads, and visible urogenital inflammation were not associated with immune variation, suggesting that immune markers were more sensitive indicators of real-time impacts than observed disease outcomes.
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Omura, M., Satoh, K., Tamura, T., Komori, A. and Makimura, K., 2024. Molecular epidemiological investigation of Cryptococcus spp. carried by captive koalas (Phascolarctos cinereus) in Japan. Microbiology Spectrum, pp.e02903-23. https://doi.org/10.1128/spectrum.02903-23
Cryptococcus neoformans and Cryptococcus gattii cause cryptococcosis, a systemic mycosis that infects a wide range of species. Recent molecular biological investigations have allowed for the genotyping of these species, providing more detailed information on their pathogenicity and infection routes. Koalas (Phascolarctos cinereus) are frequently colonized by Cryptococcus spp., but molecular epidemiological studies have yet to be conducted in Japan. Here, we conducted multi-locus sequence typing (MLST) analysis on Cryptococcus spp. colonization isolates obtained from all koalas kept in seven parks across Japan. Out of 46 koalas examined, 10 (22%) were positive for C. gattii and 3 (6.5%) were positive for C. neoformans. All C. gattii isolates belonged to molecular type VGI and were either sequence type (ST) 51 or a novel ST, and all C. neoformans isolates belonged to molecular type VNI and ST23. Despite the frequent movement of koalas between parks, the STs were relatively park-specific, suggesting that the floor of the rearing barns is a source of infection and may act as a reservoir. MLST analysis confirmed that C. gattii was transported, established, and spread by koalas in areas where C. gattii was not originally present. MLST analysis is considered useful in assessing the pathogenicity and tracing the transmission routes of Cryptococcus spp. carried by koalas.
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Cope, H.R., McArthur, C., Gray, R., Newsome, T.M., Dickman, C.R., Sriram, A., Haering, R. and Herbert, C.A., 2024. Trends in Rescue and Rehabilitation of Marsupials Surviving the Australian 2019–2020 Bushfires. Animals, 14(7), p.1019. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani14071019
The 2019–2020 Australian bushfire season had a devastating impact on native wildlife. It was estimated that 3 billion native animals were impacted by the fires, yet there are few estimates of the number of animals that were rescued and rehabilitated post-fire. Focusing on the state of New South Wales (NSW) and Kangaroo Island, South Australia, we used a case study approach to determine the number of marsupials that were reported rescued due to the 2019–2020 bushfires in these areas and analysed species-specific trends in rescue and release success. In NSW, we found 889 reports of fire-affected marsupials in 2019–2020, mostly comprising kangaroos and wallabies (macropods; n = 458), koalas (n = 204), and possums (n = 162), with a smaller number of wombats (n = 43) and other marsupial species. Most reports of fire-affected marsupials occurred 6–8 weeks after fire ignition, and there was no difference in temporal frequency of rescues between marsupial groups. For the three main groups, the probability of survival and subsequent release differed, with macropods having the lowest probability of release after rescue (0.15 ± 0.04) compared to koalas (0.47 ± 0.04) and possums (0.55 ± 0.10). The type of injury was the main predictor of survival during rehabilitation for all three marsupial groups, with those malnourished/moribund or with traumatic injuries less likely to survive rehabilitation. Death or euthanasia occurred on the day of rescue for 77% of macropods, 48% of possums and 15% of koalas. Koalas most often died during rehabilitation rather than on the day of rescue, with 73% either dying or being euthanised between day 1 and 30 post-rescue, representing a potential welfare concern. On Kangaroo Island, koalas were the most frequently rescued marsupial species; most euthanasia cases and deaths occurred in a hospital, whereas other marsupials were mostly euthanised at triage. In both jurisdictions, koalas were over-represented while possums were under-represented relative to baseline population densities and wildlife rescue trends in the years before the 2019–2020 bushfires. These species differences in presentation post-fire warrant further investigation, as do the differences in triage, survival and release outcomes. It is hypothesised that the high intensity and large scale of the 2019–2020 fires impeded marsupial fire evasion tactics, as evidenced by the small number of animals found for rescue, and the differing rates of presentation relative to underlying population densities for the main marsupial groups. Based on our findings, there is a need for detailed record keeping and data sharing, development of consistent and evidence-based triage, treatment and euthanasia guidelines and deployment of trained wildlife emergency rescue teams with advanced search techniques to minimise animal suffering where safe to do so.
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Orlando, C.G., Montague-Drake, R., Turbill, J. and Crowther, M.S., 2024. Megafires and koala occurrence: a comparative analysis of field data and satellite imagery. Australian Mammalogy, 46(2). https://doi.org/10.1071/AM23054
Megafires can have a devastating effect on koala populations. With climate change increasing habitat vulnerability to wildfires, understanding how to efficiently measure the impact of these events on koalas is essential. We analysed the relationship between the 2019-2020 megafires and the probability of koala occurrence in Mid North Coast NSW. We found that two on-field and one satellite-derived variables measuring fire severity equally explained koala occurrence. The probability of koala occurrence decreased with increasing fire severity. This supports the use of remote sensing imagery to efficiently monitor the impact of future fire events on koala populations in the region.
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Feature Paper
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Marsh, K.J., Moore, B.D., Wallis, I.R. and Foley, W.J., 2014. Continuous monitoring of feeding by koalas highlights diurnal differences in tree preferences. Wildlife Research, 40(8), pp.639-646.
https://doi.org/10.1071/WR13104
Context: It is difficult to measure feeding rates for most wild nocturnal mammalian herbivores. Thus, although koalas are a popular species to study, we have a poor understanding of their activity patterns and feeding ecology. Researchers often assume that the trees that koalas occupy during the day indicate feeding preferences, but they may better reflect preferred resting sites.
Aims: We recorded the activities of koalas, with an emphasis on their feeding, particularly when they fed, the trees that they fed from, the number of meals they consumed and the variability in these measurements.
Methods: We continuously monitored eight koalas by audio- and radio-telemetry for 14 consecutive 24-h periods each. We followed two koalas at a time and recorded the trees they visited, when, where and how long they fed, and the size and nutritional composition of the trees in the landscape.
Key results: Individual koalas varied in how many trees they visited, how many meals they ate and how long they spent feeding during each 24-h period. They preferred Eucalyptus globulus trees during the day, but fed mainly at night, with a preference for E. viminalis. The trees that koalas visited during the day were larger than those that they visited at night.
Conclusions: The trees that koalas occupied during the day were poor indicators of their diet preferences, whereas the daily feeding activities of individual koalas varied widely.
Implications: Predicting a koala’s diet from the trees it occupies during the day is fraught with error. Although the trees that koalas rest in are important in the species ecology for reasons other than feeding, we should refrain from using them to predict an animal’s diet. Because feeding activity is difficult to measure, it is probably best done indirectly by analysing leaf-cuticle fragments or waxes in faeces. The substantial day-to-day variation in koala activities also indicates that behavioural and physiological studies of koalas require long monitoring periods – a week or longer.
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Previous Koala News & Science here: https://www.wildkoaladay.com.au/koala-news-science/koala-news-science-february-2024/
Written by Janine Duffy President, Koala Clancy Foundation.
with support from Cheryl Egan, Organiser, Wild Koala Day.
Please send your positive, important news & publications to president@koalaclancyfoundation.org.au before 29th of each month for possible inclusion.