Scientific Information about Koalas

Contents

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Adams-Hosking, C., Grantham, H.S., Rhodes, J.R., McAlpine, C. and Moss, P.T., 2011. Modelling climate-change-induced shifts in the distribution of the koala. Wildlife Research38(2), pp.122-130.  https://doi.org/10.1071/WR10156

Adams‐Hosking, C., McAlpine, C., Rhodes, J.R., Grantham, H.S. and Moss, P.T., 2012. Modelling changes in the distribution of the critical food resources of a specialist folivore in response to climate change. Diversity and Distributions18(9), pp.847-860.  https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1472-4642.2012.00881.x

Bickford, D., IUCN SSC CCSG, 2017. Climate change is hitting species hard – we should keep an eye on the most vulnerable. https://www.iucn.org/news/climate-change/201703/climate-change-hitting-species-hard-%E2%80%93-we-should-keep-eye-most-vulnerable

IUCN 2009. Species on climate change hit list named. https://www.iucn.org/content/species-climate-change-hit-list-named

Lunney, D., Crowther, M.S., Wallis, I., Foley, W.J., Lemon, J., Wheeler, R., Madani, G., Orscheg, C., Griffith, J.E., Krockenberger, M. and Retamales, M., 2012. Koalas and climate change: a case study on the Liverpool Plains, north-west New South Wales. Wildlife and Climate Change: towards robust conservation strategies for Australian Fauna’.(Eds D. Lunney and P. Hutchings.) pp, pp.150-168. https://doi.org/10.7882/FS.2012.022

Luz, M.L.A. and Cacho, O.J., Trade-Offs in Restoration Areas for Carbon and Koala Conservation. Available at SSRN 4571116. https://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4571116

McAlpine, C., Lunney, D., Melzer, A., Menkhorst, P., Phillips, S., Phalen, D., Ellis, W., Foley, W., Baxter, G., De Villiers, D. and Kavanagh, R., 2015. Conserving koalas: A review of the contrasting regional trends, outlooks and policy challenges. Biological Conservation192, pp.226-236. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2015.09.020

Reckless, H.J., Murray, M. and Crowther, M.S., 2018. A review of climatic change as a determinant of the viability of koala populations. Wildlife Research44(7), pp.458-470. https://doi.org/10.1071/WR16163

Koalas and fires

Baek, C., Woolford, L., Funnell, O., McLelland, J., Eddy, S., Stephenson, T. and Speight, N., 2023. Cutaneous and Respiratory Lesions in Bushfire-Affected Koalas. Veterinary Sciences, 10(11), p.658. https://doi.org/10.3390/vetsci10110658

Chia, E.K., Bassett, M., Nimmo, D.G., Leonard, S.W., Ritchie, E.G., Clarke, M.F. and Bennett, A.F., 2015. Fire severity and fire‐induced landscape heterogeneity affect arboreal mammals in fire‐prone forests. Ecosphere6(10), pp.1-14. https://doi.org/10.1890/ES15-00327.1

Lane, M.R., Lowe, A., Vukcevic, J., Clark, R.G., Madani, G., Higgins, D.P., Silver, L., Belov, K., Hogg, C.J. and Marsh, K.J., 2023. Health Assessments of Koalas after Wildfire: A Temporal Comparison of Rehabilitated and Non-Rescued Resident Individuals. Animals, 13(18), p.2863. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani13182863

McDougall, F.K., Boardman, W.S., Speight, N., Stephenson, T., Funnell, O., Smith, I., Graham, P.L. and Power, M.L., 2023. Carriage of antibiotic resistance genes to treatments for chlamydial disease in koalas (Phascolarctos cinereus): A comparison of occurrence before and during catastrophic wildfires. One Health, p.100652. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.onehlt.2023.100652

Phillips, S., Wallis, K. and Lane, A., 2021. Quantifying the impacts of bushfire on populations of wild koalas (Phascolarctos cinereus): Insights from the 2019/20 fire season. Ecological Management & Restoration22(1), pp.80-88. https://doi.org/10.1111/emr.12458

Zylstra, P., 2019. Fire regimes for risk management of koalas on the NSW Southern Tablelands. https://serca.org.au/research/2019/zylstra.pdf

Koalas & linear infrastructure (roads, railway lines)

Lunney, D., Predavec, M., Sonawane, I., Moon, C. and Rhodes, J.R., 2022. Factors that drive koala roadkill: an analysis across multiple scales in New South Wales, Australia. Australian Mammalogy44(3), pp.328-337. https://doi.org/10.1071/AM21040

McAlpine, C.A., Rhodes, J.R., Callaghan, J.G., Bowen, M.E., Lunney, D., Mitchell, D.L., Pullar, D.V. and Possingham, H.P., 2006. The importance of forest area and configuration relative to local habitat factors for conserving forest mammals: a case study of koalas in Queensland, Australia. Biological Conservation132(2), pp.153-165. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2006.03.021

McAlpine, C., Lunney, D., Melzer, A., Menkhorst, P., Phillips, S., Phalen, D., Ellis, W., Foley, W., Baxter, G., De Villiers, D. and Kavanagh, R., 2015. Conserving koalas: A review of the contrasting regional trends, outlooks and policy challenges. Biological Conservation192, pp.226-236. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2015.09.020

Rhodes, J.R., Lunney, D., Callaghan, J. and McAlpine, C.A., 2014. A few large roads or many small ones? How to accommodate growth in vehicle numbers to minimise impacts on wildlife. PLoS One9(3), p.e91093. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0091093

Taylor-Brown, A., Booth, R., Gillett, A., Mealy, E., Ogbourne, S.M., Polkinghorne, A. and Conroy, G.C., 2019. The impact of human activities on Australian wildlife. PloS one, 14(1), p.e0206958. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0206958

Koalas and drought/heatwaves

Gordon, G., Brown, A.S. and Pulsford, T.J.A.J.E., 1988. A koala (Phascolarctos cinereus Goldfuss) population crash during drought and heatwave conditions in south‐western Queensland. Australian Journal of Ecology13(4), pp.451-461. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1442-9993.1988.tb00993.x

Seabrook, L., McAlpine, C., Baxter, G., Rhodes, J., Bradley, A. and Lunney, D., 2011. Drought-driven change in wildlife distribution and numbers: a case study of koalas in south west Queensland. Wildlife Research38(6), pp.509-524. https://doi.org/10.1071/WR11064

Koalas and dogs

David, P., Rundle-Thiele, S., Pang, B., Knox, K., Parkinson, J. and Hussenoeder, F., 2019. Engaging the dog owner community in the design of an effective koala aversion program. Social Marketing Quarterly25(1), pp.55-68. https://doi.org/10.1177/1524500418821583

Lunney, D., Gresser, S., O’neill, L.E., Matthews, A. and Rhodes, J., 2007. The impact of fire and dogs on koalas at Port Stephens, New South Wales, using population viability analysisPacific Conservation Biology13(3), pp.189-201. https://doi.org/10.1071/PC070189

Rundle-Thiele, S., Pang, B., Knox, K., David, P., Parkinson, J. and Hussenoeder, F., 2019. Generating new directions for reducing dog and koala interactions: A social marketing formative research study. Australasian Journal of Environmental Management26(2), pp.173-187. https://doi.org/10.1080/14486563.2019.1599740

Taylor-Brown, A., Booth, R., Gillett, A., Mealy, E., Ogbourne, S.M., Polkinghorne, A. and Conroy, G.C., 2019. The impact of human activities on Australian wildlife. PloS one, 14(1), p.e0206958. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0206958

Koalas and revegetation

Cristescu, R.H., Rhodes, J., Frére, C. and Banks, P.B., 2013. Is restoring flora the same as restoring fauna? Lessons learned from koalas and mining rehabilitation. Journal of Applied Ecology, 50(2), pp.423-431. https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2664.12046

Kavanagh, R.P. and Stanton, M.A., 2012. Koalas use young Eucalyptus plantations in an agricultural landscape on the Liverpool Plains, New South Wales. Ecological Management & Restoration, 13(3), pp.297-305. https://doi.org/10.1111/emr.12005

Rhind, S.G., Ellis, M.V., Smith, M. and Lunney, D., 2014. Do koalas Phascolarctos cinereus use trees planted on farms? A case study from north-west New South Wales, Australia. Pacific Conservation Biology, 20(3), pp.302-312. https://doi.org/10.1071/PC140302

Passive Acoustic Monitoring of Koalas

Hagens, S.V., Rendall, A.R. and Whisson, D.A., 2018. Passive acoustic surveys for predicting species’ distributions: Optimising detection probability. PLoS One, 13(7), p.e0199396. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0199396

Law, B.S., Brassil, T., Gonsalves, L., Roe, P., Truskinger, A. and McConville, A., 2018. Passive acoustics and sound recognition provide new insights on status and resilience of an iconic endangered marsupial (koala Phascolarctos cinereus) to timber harvesting. PLoS One, 13(10), p.e0205075. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0205075

Law, B., Kerr, I., Gonsalves, L., Brassil, T., Eichinski, P., Truskinger, A., & Roe, P. (2022). Mini-acoustic sensors reveal occupancy and threats to koalas Phascolarctos cinereus in private native forests. Journal of Applied Ecology, 59, 835–846. https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2664.14099

Koala anatomy

Kempster, R.C. and Hirst, L.W., 2002. Bony orbital anatomy of the koala (Phascolarctos cinereus). The Anatomical Record: An Official Publication of the American Association of Anatomists, 267(4), pp.288-291. https://doi.org/10.1002/ar.10117

Pagliarani, S., Palmieri, C., McGowan, M., Carrick, F., Boyd, J. and Johnston, S.D., 2023. Anatomy of the Female Koala Reproductive Tract. Biology, 12(11), p.1445. https://doi.org/10.3390/biology12111445

Koalas and stress

Larsen, M.J., Sherwen, S.L. and Rault, J.L., 2014. Number of nearby visitors and noise level affect vigilance in captive koalas. Applied Animal Behaviour Science, 154, pp.76-82. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.applanim.2014.02.005

Narayan, E.J., Webster, K., Nicolson, V., Mucci, A. and Hero, J.M., 2013. Non-invasive evaluation of physiological stress in an iconic Australian marsupial: the Koala (Phascolarctos cinereus). General and Comparative Endocrinology, 187, pp.39-47. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ygcen.2013.03.021

Pahuja, H., Bee, I., Bee, A. and Narayan, E., 2023. Physiological stress response of koala joeys to visitors. bioRxiv, pp.2023-10. https://doi.org/10.1101/2023.10.09.561560

Ropert-Coudert, Y., Brooks, L., Yamamoto, M. and Kato, A., 2009. ECG response of koalas to tourists proximity: a preliminary study. PLoS One, 4(10), p.e7378. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0007378

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