Tree use, feeding activity and diet of koalas on St Bees Island, Queensland

Melzer, Alistair; Baudry, C.; Kadiri, MO; Ellis, William

doi:10.7882/az.2011.040

Cited by 8 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 8 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…These underlying drivers of tree selection mean koalas often use different trees at night for browsing and during the day for shelter, leading to use of a broad range of species and sizes. Smaller trees are often used but show low preference rankings based on their high availability in many forests (Kavanagh et al 2007;Melzer et al 2011;Crowther et al 2014;Marsh et al 2014).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Tree use by koalas after timber harvesting in a mosaic landscape

et al. 2022

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Context A better understanding of how individual animals use their habitat after disturbance can help optimise management practices for their conservation. Forestry is one such disturbance for koalas that operates under regulations based on best available information to minimise impacts. Aims This study aimed to investigate tree use by koalas in a mosaic of young, regenerating trees after timber harvest and mature trees in adjacent exclusion zones. Methods Tracking collars using very high frequency radio and Global Positioning System transmitters were used to track 10 koalas (five males, five females) across all seasons in three forests, 5–10 years after timber harvesting as regulated by practices current at that time. Tree use was compared to availability based on basal area in different parts of the forest. Key results We tracked koalas to 429 day-trees and 70 night-trees during this time. Males and females displayed little difference in tree use. Blackbutt Eucalyptus pilularis and turpentine Syncarpia glomulifera were the most commonly used species during the day, but blackbutt was ranked with the highest preference relative to tree availability. Tallowwood Eucalyptus microcorys was by far the most commonly used tree at night. Koalas used a broad range of tree sizes during the day and night, but most often used medium-sized trees, with preferences for a diameter of 30–60 cm (slightly smaller at night). Koalas used all topographic positions in the landscape, but more than half of the trees used were in lower topographic areas (gullies and lower slopes). Areas mapped as having previous heavy timber harvesting were the most used forest category, followed by riparian exclusion zones. Conclusions Our results demonstrate that koalas commonly used trees regenerating after harvest, although preferences for medium-sized trees and tallowwood as a night browse tree suggest current forestry regulations can be fine-tuned by retaining a greater proportion of these features. Implications Because most trees were used only once, our results support the view and current practice of retaining habitat patches, such as exclusion zones and wildlife clumps (triggered by a koala habitat model), to provide a mix of species and size classes for both food and shelter. A review of tree size and species retention is recommended.

show abstract

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Smaller trees are often used but show low preference rankings based on their high availability in many forests (Kavanagh et al . 2007; Melzer et al . 2011; Crowther et al .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Tree use by koalas after timber harvesting in a mosaic landscape

et al. 2022

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Additionally, we observed koala movement (n = 3) occurring about half an hour before sunrise. It is known that koalas in Port Stephens and other regions tend to move to different trees during the evening compared to post-sunrise [31,52,53]. Koala movements have been found to occur from 20:00-21:00 hrs, 01:00-04:00 hrs and 05:00-06:00 hrs in Phillip Island, Victoria [54], and from 16:00-20:00 hrs and 02:00-04:00 hrs in south east Queensland [55].…”

Section: Plos Onementioning

confidence: 99%

Real-time drone derived thermal imagery outperforms traditional survey methods for an arboreal forest mammal

et al. 2020

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Koalas (Phascolarctos cinereus) are cryptic and currently face regional extinction. The direct detection (physical sighting) of individuals is required to improve conservation management strategies. We provide a comparative assessment of three survey methods for the direct detection of koalas: systematic spotlighting (Spotlight), remotely piloted aircraft system thermal imaging (RPAS), and the refined diurnal radial search component of the spot assessment technique (SAT). Each survey method was repeated on the same morning with independent observers (03:00–12:00 hrs) for a total of 10 survey occasions at sites with fixed boundaries (28–76 ha) in Port Stephens (n = 6) and Gilead (n = 1) in New South Wales between May and July 2019. Koalas were directly detected on 22 occasions during 7 of 10 comparative surveys (Spotlight: n = 7; RPAS: n = 14; and SAT: n = 1), for a total of 12 unique individuals (Spotlight: n = 4; RPAS: n = 11; SAT: n = 1). In 3 of 10 comparative surveys no koalas were detected. Detection probability was 38.9 ± 20.03% for Spotlight, 83.3 ± 11.39% for RPAS and 4.2 ± 4.17% for SAT. Effective detectability per site was 1 ± 0.44 koalas per 6.75 ± 1.03 hrs for Spotlight (1 koala per 6.75 hrs), 2 ± 0.38 koalas per 4.35 ± 0.28 hrs for RPAS (1 koala per 2.18 hrs) and 0.14 ± 0.14 per 6.20 ± 0.93 hrs for SAT (1 koala per 43.39 hrs). RPAS thermal imaging technology appears to offer an efficient method to directly survey koalas comparative to Spotlight and SAT and has potential as a valuable conservation tool to inform on-ground management of declining koala populations.

show abstract

“…By collecting fresh faecal pellets aged less than one week from the field (bright green shiny with exterior smell present), cuticle analysis can show what the koala ate 1.5-14 days ago from the date of sample collection, including which species were eaten and the proportion of each species. This analysis is not necessarily related to the tree under which the faecal pellets are found (Melzer et al 2011). A limitation of this method is that it can only reveal koala diet down to tree species level.…”

Section: Measuring Koala Dietmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The presence of koala faecal pellets is not sufficient to separate foraging trees from resting trees, but the analysis of cuticle fragments within faecal pellets is a more effective technique to understand the proportions of food tree species in the koala diet (Melzer et al 2011).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Influence of leaf chemistry on dietary choice and habitat quality of koala (Phascolarctos cinereus) populations in southwest Queensland

Wu¹

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Protecting high quality habitat is an important wildlife conservation action. Spatial and temporal variation in habitat quality in heterogeneous landscapes influences habitat use and population persistence. Populations living at the margins of species' geographic ranges are particularly sensitive to fluctuations in habitat quality, especially if species occupy narrow ecological niches.For arboreal folivores, foliar chemical composition is a key factor influencing habitat quality. To

show abstract

Tree use, feeding activity and diet of koalas on St Bees Island, Queensland

Cited by 8 publications

References 8 publications

Tree use by koalas after timber harvesting in a mosaic landscape

Tree use by koalas after timber harvesting in a mosaic landscape

Real-time drone derived thermal imagery outperforms traditional survey methods for an arboreal forest mammal

Influence of leaf chemistry on dietary choice and habitat quality of koala (Phascolarctos cinereus) populations in southwest Queensland

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About