Koala News & Science
An informative bi-monthly newsletter about successes & important announcements in koala conservation, and the latest scientific publications about koalas.
KOALA NEWS:
Carbon credits and the Great Koala National Park NSW
On 10 September 2026, the Improved Native Forestry Management (INFM) method passed the last (?) hurdle in the federal Senate, clearing the path to the creation of the Great Koala National Park in NSW.
The Senate disallowance motion failed 34: 27. See the transcript in Hansard here (go to the right side bar: Regulations and Determinations>Carbon Farming Initiative): https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Hansard/Hansard_Display?bid=chamber/hansards/29239/&sid=0000
The NSW ministerial press release of 7 Sept announced the proposed boundaries (presumably those shown at the map link below), and introduced a temporary moratorium on logging within those boundaries.
Though no mention was made of the timeline, this ABC article states that Minister Sharpe said ‘it could be formally gazetted next year.”
Sadly, the continuously-updating boundaries of the GKNP have left out large areas in precisely the places where the majority of koala hubs occur. The many critical koala hubs near Bellingen have been mostly left out: eastern, northern and southern areas of Pine Creek SF, most of Tuckers Nob SF, big areas of Wild Cattle Creek SF and Clouds Creek SF. Critical connectivity from Bongil Bongil NP through Pine Creek has been all but lost. map link: https://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/sites/default/files/2026-02/great-koala-national-park-proposed-refined-boundary-map.pdf
See also federal ministerial press release 10 Sept: https://minister.dcceew.gov.au/bowen/media-releases/joint-media-release-senate-endorse-practical-action-climate
Petition here: https://c.org/Yr28Z5BqwN
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LATEST KOALA SCIENCE:
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Moore, C.E., Beaman, J. and da Silva, K.B., 2026. Behavioural and movement responses of a specialist arboreal folivore to rapid plantation harvesting operations in landscapes previously affected by fire. Forest Ecology and Management, 620, p.124148. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0378112726006468
Rapid habitat loss in fragmented, fire-impacted landscapes can disrupt animal behaviour and compromise welfare, yet responses of forestry ecosystem specialists remain poorly understood. We quantified behavioural and spatial responses of 54 resident koalas (Phascolarctos cinereus) to rapid harvesting of high-density Eucalyptus globulus plantations on Kangaroo Island, South Australia, three years after the 2019–2020 Black Summer bushfires. Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) tracking data were used to classify movement states (resident, exploratory, and dispersal) via breakpoint analysis, and to model changes in activity, home range, dispersal, habitat use, and survival following harvest disturbance. Consistent with the hypothesis that sudden habitat loss disrupts established space use patterns, harvest onset triggered a shift from short-range residency to prolonged exploration, with dispersal occurring primarily after harvest completion. Mean distance travelled between points more than doubled following harvest completion (≈55 m to 114 m). Predicted dispersal probability increased from < 3% pre-harvest to ∼24% post-harvest. Despite increased movement distances, most koalas initially remained within trees left uncut due to their presence or remnant native habitat patches rather than relocating to surrounding unburnt native habitats. Dispersal initiation was not explained by age or sex but was significantly related to harvesting onset. All mortality occurred post-harvest, coinciding with peak movement and habitat contraction; koalas living deeper inside the plantation had a 2.3-fold higher mortality risk. These findings demonstrate that rapid plantation harvesting can induce a behavioural disruption, delayed dispersal, and elevated mortality in a species characterised by strong site fidelity. Maintaining edge-connected refuge habitats and limiting the spatial extent and rate of harvest may reduce the concentration of animals within shrinking refuge habitats, lower mortality risk, and support successful redistribution and dispersal into suitable habitat following disturbance.
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Rocha, P. and Fuller, S., 2026. Sensory pollution effects on koala calling behaviour: a preliminary phantom road experiment. Wildlife Research, p.WR25135 https://connectsci.au/wr/article-abstract/doi/10.1071/WR25135/275813
Context: Sensory pollutants, including anthropogenic noise and artificial lights at night (ALAN), are a by-product of urbanisation. Continued expansion of urban centres and associated road networks pose a significant threat to wildlife, including the iconic and endangered Australian koala (Phascolarctos cinereus). While roads have immediate effects on koalas through mortality and injury from koala vehicle collisions, as well as habitat fragmentation where roads form barriers to movement, the indirect impacts of sensory pollutants associated with roads remains understudied and road edge effects can confound evaluation. It is crucial that further investigation on sensory pollution be undertaken to inform future conservation actions and planning decisions for koalas wherever roads intersect their habitat. Aims: This study employed an illuminated phantom road experiment to evaluate the effects of sensory pollution (traffic noise and ALAN – street lighting) on the calling behaviour of koalas in south-east Queensland, Australia. Methods: We broadcasted traffic noise and ALAN in an otherwise roadless area using an automated system while passively monitoring the soundscape. A tally of koala calls was manually obtained from false colour spectrograms and circular statistics were used to evaluate changes in behaviour. Key results: Traffic noise induced koalas to vocalize less or avoid calling, particularly when associated with ALAN. Moreover, calling events decreased in experimental locations after the trials were concluded. Conclusions: The illuminated phantom road experiment provided the first empirical evidence that sensory pollution may influence koala calling behaviour at the study site in south-east Queensland. Despite not directly tracking movement, the decrease in calling after the experiment suggest that resident koalas may have temporarily relocated to avoid the pollutants. Implications: These findings emphasize the critical need for urban infrastructure planning to avoid development in koala habitat wherever possible. Monitoring roads and identifying hotspots of koala vehicle collisions and sensory pollution can assist the decision making of where to erect exclusion fences, noise barriers, under/overpasses, control traffic volume and speed, thus limiting the spread of traffic noise and reducing the incidence of vehicle collisions.
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Damyanova, K.B., Palacios, P.D., Childs, B., Gambini, A., Johnston, S.D., Nixon, B., Netherton, J., Campbell, Y., Fisher, J.J., McElhone, L. and Lord, T., 2026. Cellular Architecture and Stage-Specific Germ Cell Dynamics of the Koala Seminiferous Epithelium. Reproduction, p.xaag107. https://academic.oup.com/reproduction/advance-article-abstract/doi/10.1093/reprod/xaag107/8777196
The koala (Phascolarctos cinereus), recently listed as endangered, faces significant reproductive challenges compounded by the high prevalence of Chlamydia pecorum infection, which may cause severe urogenital pathology and infertility. Spermatogonial stem cell (SSC) biobanking represents a promising conservation strategy, but its implementation requires detailed knowledge of spermatogenic organisation and SSC identity in this species. Here, we provide the first integrated histological, immunofluorescent, and ultrastructural characterisation of the koala testis, with a focus on spermatogonia and their somatic support cells. Quantitative morphometric analysis of H&E-stained sections revealed that seminiferous tubules occupy a lower proportion of the testicular parenchyma in the koala (∼62%) than reported for other mammalian species, and that urogenital disease status is associated with graded impairment of spermatogenic epithelial integrity. Transmission electron microscopy confirmed the ultrastructural features of koala Sertoli, Leydig, and peritubular myoid cells, and enabled identification of Type A, intermediate, and Type B spermatogonia based on nuclear morphology and chromatin organisation as well as intercellular cytoplasmic bridges consistent with clonal spermatogonial development. Using PNA-lectin acrosomal labelling, an eight-stage classification system for the koala seminiferous epithelial cycle was adapted and refined, with stage frequencies quantified. Immunofluorescent screening of seventeen antibody targets identified PLZF and STRA8 as conserved markers of undifferentiated and differentiating spermatogonial populations, respectively, enabling their abundance, proliferative activity, and distribution across the seminiferous epithelial cycle to be mapped. Together, these findings establish the first molecular and morphological framework for the koala spermatogonial compartment, providing a foundation for future SSC identification, isolation, and biobanking.
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Nicoletti, A.G., 2026. Using Sentinel-2 Multispectral Imagery to Predict Koala Habitat: A Case Study from the Liverpool Plains New South Wales (Doctoral dissertation). https://ses.library.usyd.edu.au/handle/2123/35750
Koala (Phascolarctos cinereus) populations continue to decline across eastern Australia due to habitat loss, fragmentation, and climate change, creating a need for scalable methods to assess habitat quality. Ground-based surveys of Eucalyptus species composition and foliar chemistry provide accurate information but are costly, labour-intensive, and spatially limited. This thesis evaluated the potential of freely available Sentinel-2 multispectral satellite imagery combined with Random Forest machine learning to support regional-scale koala habitat assessment in the Liverpool Plains, New South Wales. Two habitat proxies were investigated: classification of dominant Eucalyptus species and prediction of foliar nitrogen concentration. Species classification demonstrated moderate success, with the most reliable performance achieved for the three dominant species, indicating that Sentinel-2 can provide useful broad-scale discrimination of common Eucalyptus species. In contrast, foliar nitrogen prediction showed limited explanatory power. Sentinel-2 imagery alone explained 24.2% of the observed variation in foliar nitrogen, while incorporating tree species and site information increased explanatory power to 34.5%. The limited performance of nitrogen prediction was primarily attributed to mixed-pixel effects in opencanopy woodlands, temporal mismatches between field sampling and satellite acquisition, and the moderate spectral and spatial resolution of Sentinel-2. Overall, this research demonstrates that Sentinel-2 provides a cost-effective and scalable approach for regional Eucalyptus species mapping but has limited capability for standalone estimation of foliar nitrogen. The findings provide practical recommendations for improving future habitat assessment through synchronised field sampling, improved sampling design, and spectral unmixing, supporting the development of accessible remote sensing tools for koala conservation.
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Hartley, B.E., Johnston, S.D., Campbell, Y., Fanson, K., Nicolson, V., Neal, A. and Pini, T., 2026. Comparative Analysis of Progesterone Secretion and Plasma Proteome Across the Pregnant and Non-Pregnant Luteal Phase of the Koala (Phascolarctos cinereus). Proteomes, 14(3), p.40. https://www.mdpi.com/2227-7382/14/3/40
Background: Koalas are a vulnerable marsupial species with unique reproductive traits. Efforts to develop assisted breeding technologies have been hindered by a limited understanding of maternal recognition of pregnancy and physiological changes induced by the foeto-placental unit. Differences in the reproductive physiology of pregnant and non-pregnant koalas were examined to investigate the possibility of maternal recognition and identify potential pregnancy and/or embryonic loss biomarkers. Methods: Koalas were separated into three groups: pregnant (n = 4 cycles from three females), mated but non-parturient (n = 4 cycles from three females), and gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) agonist-treated females (n = 7). Plasma was collected on day of mating/GnRH injection (D0) and on multiple subsequent days. Progesterone concentrations were measured by enzyme immunoassay, and plasma proteomes were analysed using filter-aided sample preparation followed by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS), employing sequential window acquisition of all theoretical fragment ion spectra. Results: Ovulation induction mechanisms influenced peri-ovulatory progesterone secretion (pregnant 40.7 ± 3.3 ng/mL vs. GnRH-treated 15.7 ± 1.8 ng/mL), with no significant differences in progesterone that occurred later in the luteal phase. LC-MS/MS identified 158 proteins, representing the first koala plasma proteome. Leucine-rich alpha-2-glycoprotein (LRG1) was significantly elevated at D2 in pregnant females compared to GnRH-treated females, and pregnant D9 and D19. In pregnant females, fibronectin (FN1) was significantly more abundant at D19 compared to D9 but not significantly different between treatments. Conclusions: These preliminary findings provide foundational data for further investigation into maternal recognition and pregnancy/embryonic loss in koalas.
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KOALA SCIENCE in brief
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Pahuja, H., 2026. Rescue, rehabilitation and stress biology of koala (Phascolarctos cinereus) joeys. https://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:fedb519
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Geiss, E. and Punke, J., 2026. Treatment of a glenohumeral luxation using a Velpeau sling in a koala (Phascolarctos cinereus). Veterinary Record Case Reports, 14(4), p.e70581. https://bvajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/vrc2.70581
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Russell, F.A., Fisher, M.A., Leahy, D., Harris, J., Hutmacher, D., Dargaville, T.R. and Beagley, K.W., 2026. Stability of Chlamydia pecorum MOMP at 37° C: suitability for use in delayed-release vaccine implants in koalas (Phascolarctos cinereus). Vaccine, 89, p.128991. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0264410X26008005
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Jayamanna Mohottige, M.W., 2026. Proteomic analysis of marsupial milk and pouch secretions to uncover reproductive strategies supporting joey development. https://ro.ecu.edu.au/theses/3085/
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Marshall, L., Haque, S., Boardman, W., McDougall, F. and Power, M., 2026. Gut Microbiome Composition is Independent of Class 1 Integron Presence in Antibiotic-naive Wild Koalas (Phascolarctos cinereus). Microbial Ecology.
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00248-026-02877-1