| Titre : | Tree use by koalas (Phascolarctos cinereus) after fire in remnant coastal forest |
| Auteurs : | Alison Matthews, Auteur ; Daniel Lunney, Auteur ; Shaan Gresser, Auteur ; Wendy Maitz, Auteur |
| Type de document : | Article |
| Dans : | Wildlife Research (34(2) 2007) |
| Article en page(s) : | 84-93 |
| Langues: | Anglais |
| Résumé : | The aim of this study was to examine the effects of fire on resource use by a population of koalas in remnant coastal forest. Fifty-five koalas were monitored regularly by radio-tracking for up to 35 months. The attributes of each tree in which the koala was sighted were recorded, giving a total of 8390 records. Analyses were undertaken on a range of ecological information. Regeneration of the forest began immediately following the fires and within three months koalas were seen among the epicormic growth. From a total 4631 trees used by koalas, 3247 (70%) were burnt. Observations of koalas feeding included 53% in burnt trees. Koalas changed trees frequently; individual trees were used once only on 3555 occasions (42% of all observations). Of all the trees used, 95% were used by only one collared koala; no trees were used by more than three koalas. Swamp mahogany ( Eucalyptus robusta) was the tree species most frequently used by koalas, particularly at night and by breeding females. Koalas preferred trees of larger diameter (> 30 cm) and used significantly taller trees during summer. This study has shown that resource depletion from intense wildfire is short-term for koalas because they utilise burnt trees within months of the fire for both food and shelter. |



