2014 Koala Count Report
Dr Grainne Cleary, Wildlife Ecologist NATIONAL PARKS ASSOCIATION OF NSW | LEVEL 2, 5 WILSON STREET NEWTOWN NSW 2042
Contents Introduction .................................................................................................... 2 Queensland..................................................................................................... 4 Question 1. Is the koala male, female, female with young, unsure or dead on road/ground? 5 Question 2. How often do you see or hear koalas in this location? ................................ 6 Question 3. Currently are the numbers of koalas in this location Increasing, Decreasing or Staying the Same? .......................................................................................... 7 New South Wales .............................................................................................. 8 Question 1. Is the Koala male, female, female with young, unsure or dead on road/ground? ............................................................................................................... 10 Question 2. How often do you see or hear koalas in this location? ............................... 11 Question 3. Currently are the numbers of koalas in this location Increasing, Decreasing or Staying the Same? ......................................................................................... 12 Victoria ........................................................................................................ 13 Question 1. Is the Koala male, female, female with young, unsure or dead on road/ground? ............................................................................................................... 14 Question 2. How often do you see/hear koalas in this location? ................................. 15 Question 3. Currently are the numbers of koalas in this location increasing, decreasing or staying the same? ......................................................................................... 16 South Australia ............................................................................................... 17 Question 1. Is the Koala male, female, female with young, unsure or dead on road/ground? ............................................................................................................... 18 Question 2. How often do you see or hear koalas in this location? ............................... 19 Question 3. Currently are the numbers of koalas in this location increasing, decreasing or staying the same? ......................................................................................... 20 Discussion ..................................................................................................... 21 Conclusion ..................................................................................................... 24 Literature Cited .............................................................................................. 24
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Introduction A massive THANK YOU to everyone who took part in the 2014 Koala Count! We would like to thank Port Stephen Council and the Hunter Koala Preservation Society for their support during the Koala Count. We are also grateful for funds from the Gold Coast Council that helped support the running of the Koala Count and the production of this report. We are very grateful to all of you and hope you enjoy reading this report. Many of you submitted photos of koalas along with your records and we have used some of them in this report so thank you! This year’s Koala Count was between the 7th and the 17th of November and was even bigger and better than our 2013 Koala Count, with an increase in participation all over Eastern Australia (Figure 1).
Figure 1. The distribution of Koala Sightings and My Koala Walk records from the Koala Count in 2013 (blue) and 2014 (red).
The Koala Count capitalised on the availability and broad adoption of a new generation of GPSenabled smartphones, which offer a novel approach to collecting data about koalas and other species of interest. With the support of the Atlas of Living Australia, we customised a smartphone application (BioTag) to replace paper surveys. BioTag uses the handset’s built-in GPS receiver to record location and uses the camera to record photographic evidence of sightings. In addition, BioTag asked users to answer a set of predetermined questions with multiple-choice answers. Once the citizen scientists had either WiFi or mobile data coverage, the data they collected was automatically uploaded to an online data portal (www.koalacount.org.au)
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The BioTag application contained two surveys, My Koala Sightings and My Koala Walk. My Koala Sightings was the survey our citizen scientists used to record a koala. For each koala sighting or walk we asked the citizen scientists: the sex of the Koala; how frequently they encounter Koalas; and their perception of Koala population trends in their location. My Koala Walk was used to record other common animals and importantly it showed us where our citizen scientists searched for koalas but did not find one or only heard koalas. The data that was collected from our annual Koala Count is now freely available through the Atlas of Living Australia and is distributed to koala researchers and land managers all over Australia to ensure their continuing protection and species survival. In 2014 we had 308 participating citizen scientists record 1,161 koala sightings and undertake 323 My Koala Walks. This is more than the 2013 Koala Count, where we had 274 citizen scientists submit 966 Koala sightings and undertake 322 My Koala Walks. Of these citizen scientists, 75 of them participated in both 2013 and 2014 Koala Count. We had a 54% increase in the number of koala records compared to the 2013 Koala Count as we managed to engage people as citizen scientists over a greater area (Figure 1). This growth in citizen scientist participation between the two years of the Koala Count is largely due to the increased participation in Queensland and we would especially like to thank the Gold Coast City Council for their generous support and donation towards the project. In the next section we have reported each state’s results of the 2014 Koala Count separately and where possible we have compared the results to the 2013 Count.
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Queensland In Queensland we had 114 citizen scientists (37% of all participating citizen scientists) take part in the Koala Count and submit 438 koala records (518 koalas including young) and undertake 56 My Koala Walks (Table 1). This is a significant increase from our 2013 Koala Count where we had 39 citizen scientists submit 79 Koala sightings and undertake 36 My Koala Walks in Queensland. There were 13 citizen scientists who participated in both years of the Count. We had highest participation in the Gold Coast LGA which means the results for Queensland are biased towards this LGA (Table 1).
Table 1. Local Government Areas (LGA) in Queensland where citizen scientists took part in the 2014 Koala Count, showing: the number of citizen scientists who participated, the number of koalas counted (including young) and the number of My Koala Walks undertaken. Note: citizen scientists often searched in multiple LGA so total number will add up to more than the total number of citizen scientists
Queensland LGA
# of citizen scientists
# of koalas counted
# of My Koala Walks
Brisbane
3
11
0
Gold Coast
66
218
24
Gympie
1
3
0
Lockyer Valley
3
3
3
Logan
8
27
0
Moreton Bay
6
26
1
Redland
3
13
1
Scenic Rim
12
26
3
Somerset
6
38
1
Sunshine Coast
8
61
3
Toowoomba
5
42
8
Townville
1
50
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We will now look at the results of the questions that we asked during the 2014 Koala Count and, where possible, compare the 2014 to the 2013 Koala Count results from Queensland. When reading the results, keep in mind that there was a fourfold increase in citizen scientist participation in Queensland between the two years of the Koala Count. This could skew the results. In addition, not all citizen scientists answered questions about the koalas they recorded so we will indicate the number of citizen scientists we are basing our proportion throughout the results. Please note citizen scientists often answered the same question differently on separate koala sightings. For this reason total across answers may add up to more than the total number of citizen scientists in some of the answers. 4
Question 1. Is the koala male, female, female with young, unsure or dead on road/ground? Nearly 40% of koalas sighted by our Queensland citizen scientists were unsure of the sex of the koala sighted (Figure 2) which is similar to the 2013 Count for Queensland where 43% were unsure of the sex. Females (with young 25% and alone 13%) were more commonly identified than male koalas (22%; Figure 2). Less than 1% of the koalas in Queensland that were sighted were dead on the ground or road (Figure 2). 45%
Proportion of Responses
40% 35% 30% 25% 20% 15% 10% 5% 0% Unsure
Female with Young
Male
Female
Dead on the ground or road
Sex of koalas as determined by citizen scientists in QLD Figure 2 Sex of koalas (438) as identified by 107 Queensland citizen scientists. Please note that not all citizen scientists answered this question.
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Question 2. How often do you see or hear koalas in this location? Most of the Queensland citizen scientists reported that they either saw or heard koalas in the location either on the day of the sighting or the day beforehand (27%; Table 2). Citizen scientists seemed to be more likely to conduct a koala survey in an area where they had seen or heard Koalas before. We can tell this as the proportion of the positive answer to the question decreased with longer times between koala sightings (Table 2). These results are similar to our 2013 Koala Count for Queensland (33 citizen scientists records of 79 koala sightings), where our citizen scientists recorded that they saw or heard koalas very frequently (today/yesterday, past week, past month).
Table 2. The proportion and numbers (n) of Queensland citizen scientists who reported how often they see or hear koalas in the location they were recording koalas in. The answers to this question was based on 518 koalas as sighted by 107 citizen scientists in Queensland. Note: Citizen scientists will often answered the same question differently on separate koala sightings. For this reason totals across answers will add up to more than the total number of citizen scientists.
How often do you see or hear koalas in this location? I am new to this location
Answer 5% (8)
Today/yesterday
27% (47)
Past week
22% (38)
Past month
18% (31)
Past 6 months
10% (18)
Past 12 months
7% (13)
More than a year ago
5% (9)
Never before
3% (5)
Not Answered
3% (6)
Unsure
0
6
Question 3. Currently are the numbers of koalas in this location Increasing, Decreasing or Staying the Same? 34% of our citizen scientists felt that koala numbers were staying the same followed by 26% recording koala numbers increasing (Figure 3). In the 2013 Koala Count (33 citizen scientists records of 79 koala sightings) for Queensland, 41% recorded koala populations were staying the same followed by an equal proportion (17%) reported koalas were increasing and decreasing. Surprisingly, in the 2014 Koala Count only 8% felt that koalas were decreasing (Figure 3). In 2014, 23% of citizen scientists felt they had no knowledge of trends in koala numbers, while in our 2013 Count we had 21% citizen scientists record no knowledge. 40%
Proportion of Responses
35% 30% 25% 20% 15% 10% 5% 0% Increasing
Staying the same
Decreasing
No knowledge
Not Answered
Perceived trends in QLD Koala populations Figure 3. Perceived trends in Koala population by Queensland citizen scientists, based on 518 koalas by 107 citizen scientists.
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New South Wales In New South Wales we had 164 citizen scientists (53% of all participating citizen scientists) take part in the Koala Count and submit 476 koala sightings (546 koalas including young) and undertake 242 My Koala Walks (Table 3). This was a decrease in participation from our 2013 Koala Count where we had 234 citizen scientists record 807 koalas and carry out 265 My Koala Walks across the state. However, we did have 63 citizen scientists participate in both years of the Koala Count. We were delighted to see participation rate increase in many LGAs across NSW, particularly in: Byron, Lismore and Port Stephens (Table 3).
Table 3. Local Government Areas (LGA) in New South Wales where citizen scientists took part in the 2014 Koala Count, showing the number of citizen scientists who participated, the number of koalas counted (including young) and the number of My Koala Walks undertaken. Note: citizen scientists often searched in multiple LGA so total number will add up to more than the total number of citizen scientists
NSW LGA
# of citizen scientists
# of koalas counted
# of My Koala Walk
Armidale Dumaresq
4
4
3
Ballina
5
12
1
Bellingen
2
4
0
Blacktown
1
0
1
Blayney
1
2
0
Blue Mountains
2
0
2
Byron
20
64
17
Campbelltown
4
7
25
Canterbury
1
0
1
Cessnock
2
3
0
Clarence Valley
4
8
1
Coffs Harbour
2
4
0
Cooma-Monaro*
1
1
45
Cowra
1
0
1
Dungog
2
2
0
Gloucester
2
7
5
Gosford
1
0
2
Goulburn Mulwaree
1
0
1
Great Lakes
5
8
7
Greater Taree
1
0
4
Gunnedah
10
19
4
Hawkesbury
5
4
14 8
Inverell
1
8
0
Kempsey
3
4
0
Kyogle
5
16
4
Lake Macquarie
5
0
14
Lismore
38
212
21
Lithgow
2
0
6
Liverpool
1
1
0
Liverpool Plains
2
5
0
Oberon
1
0
3
Port Macquarie-Hastings
9
47
8
Port Stephens
19
60
9
Richmond Valley
2
7
0
Tweed
10
26
19
Upper Hunter Shire
1
0
1
Uralla
2
6
11
Walcha
3
5
0
Wingecarribee
1
0
3
Wollondilly
1
0
6
Wyong
1
0
3
* Citizen scientists surveyed for koalas on a private koala reserve We will now look at the results of the questions that we asked during the 2014 Koala Count and, where possible, compare the 2014 answers to the 2013 Koala Count results from New South Wales. Not all citizen scientists answered questions about the koalas they recorded so we will indicate the number of citizen scientists we are basing our proportion throughout the results. Also please note citizen scientists often answered the same question differently on separate koala sightings. For this reason total across answers may add up to more than the total number of citizen scientists in some of the answers.
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Question 1. Is the Koala male, female, female with young, unsure or dead on road/ground? Our citizen scientists were unsure of the sex of the majority of the Koalas in New South Wales (40%; Figure 4).Where the sex could be identified, the citizen scientists identified more females (with young 23% and alone 13%; Figure 4) than males (21%; Figure 4). These results are similar to Queensland. 3% of the Koalas surveys were found dead on the ground (as opposed to less than 1% in Queensland). In our 2013 Koala Counts (200 citizen scientists records of 807 koala sightings), the majority of koalas were also recorded as unsure (44%) followed by male (26%) and an equally number of females with young (14%) and female (14%). 45%
Proportion of Responses
40% 35% 30% 25% 20% 15% 10% 5% 0% Unsure
Female with Young
Male
Female
Dead on the ground or road
Sex of koalas as determined by citizen scienists in NSW Figure 4. Sex of Koalas (546) as identified by 133 citizen scientists in New South Wales. Please note that not all citizen scientists answered this question.
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Question 2. How often do you see or hear koalas in this location? Most of the New South Wales citizen scientists reported that they either saw or heard Koalas in the location either on the day of the sighting or the day beforehand (25%; Table 4). Like Queensland, New South Wales citizen scientists seemed to be more likely to conduct a Koala survey in an area where they had seen or heard Koalas before, as the proportion of the positive answer to the question decreased with longer times between Koala sightings (Table 4). This is a similar outcome of the 2013 Koala Count for NSW where citizen scientists (n = 200) reported that they heard or saw koalas very frequently (today/yesterday, past week, past month).
Table 4. The proportion and numbers (n) of New South Wales citizen scientists who reported how often they see or hear koalas in the location they were recording koalas in. The answers to this question was based on 532 koalas as sighted by 134 citizen scientists in New South Wales.
How often do you see or hear koalas in this location?
Answer
I am new to this location
5% (11)
Today/yesterday
25% (56)
Past week
20% (44)
Past month
14% (31)
Past 6 months
10% (23)
Past 12 months
6% (13)
More than a year ago
9% (20)
Never before
3% (7)
Not Answered
4% (8)
Unsure
4% (8)
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Question 3. Currently are the numbers of koalas in this location Increasing, Decreasing or Staying the Same? Nearly 30% of New South Wales citizen scientists felt that koala numbers were staying the same followed by 18% recording that koalas were increasing (Figure 5). This is the same trend we saw in the 2013 Koala Count for New South Wales (200 citizen scientists records on 807 koala sightings) where we found nearly 30% of citizen scientists perceived koalas numbers as staying the same followed by 18% reporting koala numbers as increasing. Similar to Queensland, only a small proportion of NSW citizen scientists felt koalas were decreasing (nearly 14% citizen scientists; Figure 3). 29% of citizen scientists had no knowledge of trends in koalas populations (Figure 5) which, again, is the same trend found in the 2013 Koala Count for NSW where 30% of citizen scientists recorded this category. 40%
Proportion of Responses
35% 30% 25% 20% 15% 10% 5% 0% Increasing
Staying the same
Decreasing
No knowledge
Not Answered
NSW Citizen Scientist Perception of Koala Population Trends
Figure 5. Perceived trends in Koala numbers of New South Wales citizen scientists, based on 546 koalas by 164 citizen scientists.
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Victoria In Victoria we had 13 citizen scientists participate in the Count and record 119 koalas and conduct 5 My Koala Walks (Table 5). We were delighted with this increase in participation from our 2013 Count where we only had 3 citizen scientist record 6 koala sightings and undertake 2 My Koala Walks.
Table 5. Local Government Areas (LGA) in Victoria where citizen scientists took part in the 2014 Koala Count, showing the number of citizen scientists who participated, the number of koalas counted (including young) and the number of My Koala Walks undertaken.
VIC LGA
# of citizen scientists
# of koalas counted
# of My Koala Walk
Colac-Otway
3
18
2
Glenelg
3
44
0
Greater Geelong
1
0
1
Hepburn
1
1
0
Indigo
1
0
1
Manningham
1
0
1
Mitchell
1
2
0
Moorabool
1
2
0
Mount Alexander
1
1
0
Moyne
1
43
0
Nillumbik
1
1
0
South Gippsland
1
2
0
Strathbogie
1
5
0
We will now look at the results of the questions that we asked during the 2014 Koala Count and, where possible, compare the 2014 answers to the 2013 Koala Count results from Victoria. However keep in mind that there was only a few Koala sightings (6) in 2013 in Victoria so it should not be considered representative. Not all citizen scientists answered questions about the koalas they recorded so we will indicate the number of citizen scientists we are basing our proportion throughout the results. Please note citizen scientists often answered the same question differently on separate koala sightings. For this reason total across answers may add up to more than the total number of citizen scientists in some of the answers.
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Question 1. Is the Koala male, female, female with young, unsure or dead on road/ground? Most of our citizen scientists identified the koalas they sighted as females (38% alone, 5% with young; Figure 6) followed by males (41%; Figure 6). Unlike the other states, Victorian citizen scientists had quite a low proportion of koalas that they were unsure of the sex (16%) and there was no recordings of koalas that were dead on the ground (Figure 6). In our 2013 Koala Count (2 citizen scientists records of 6 koala sightings), four koalas were recorded as females, but with such low numbers of koala sightings in 2013, these results should not be considered representative. 45%
Proportion of Responses
40% 35% 30% 25% 20% 15% 10% 5% 0% Unsure
Female with Young
Male
Female
Dead on the ground or road
Sex of koalas as determined by citizen scienists in Victoria Figure 6. Sex of Koalas (119) identified by 11 citizen scientists in Victoria. Please note that not all citizen scientists answered this question.
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Question 2. How often do you see/hear koalas in this location? Koalas were observed frequently (today/yesterday, past week, past month) by our citizen scientists in Victoria (Table 6). However 20% did record that they were unsure of how often they saw or heard koalas. Due to low participation rate in the 2013 Koala Count in Victoria we are unable to compare years.
Table 6: The proportion and numbers (n) of Victoria citizen scientists who reported how often they see or hear koalas in the location they were recording koalas in. The answers to this question was based on 114 koalas as sighted by 11 citizen scientists in Victoria.
How often do you see/hear koalas in this location?
Answer
I am new to this location
13% (2)
Today/yesterday
20% (3)
Past week
13% (2)
Past month
13% (2)
Past 6 months
7% (1)
Past 12 months
7% (1)
More than a year ago
0
Never before
7% (1)
Not Answered
0
Unsure
20% (3)
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Question 3. Currently are the numbers of koalas in this location increasing, decreasing or staying the same? Half of our Victorian citizen scientists recorded that they had no knowledge of trends of Koala numbers while nearly 36% felt that koala numbers were increasing (Figure 7). Interestingly, nobody responded that the Koala populations were decreasing in Victoria (Figure 7). 50%
Proportion of response
45% 40% 35% 30% 25% 20% 15% 10% 5% 0% Increasing
Staying the same
Decreasing
No knowledge
Not Answered
Victorian citizen scientist perceptions of Koala opulation trends Figure 7. Perceived trends in Koala numbers of Victorian citizen scientists, based on 119 koalas by 11 citizen scientists.
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South Australia We had 19 citizen scientists from South Australia count 248 koalas and undertake 20 My Koala Walks in South Australia (Table 7). Like Victoria, we were delighted with this increase in participation rate from the 2013 Koala Count where we had 3 citizen scientist record 74 koala sightings and undertake 19 My Koala Walk.
Table 7. Local Government Areas (LGA) in South Australia where citizen scientists took part in the 2014 Koala Count, showing the number of citizen scientists who participated, the number of koalas counted (including young) and the number of My Koala Walks undertaken.
SA LGA
# of citizen scientists
# of koalas counted
# of My Koala Walk
Adelaide Hill
9
113
11
Alexandrina
1
1
0
Burnside
2
15
0
Campbelltown
2
7
0
Mid Murray
1
1
0
Mitcham
2
41
0
Mount Barker
2
2
0
Onkaparinga
2
16
5
Renmark Paringa
1
1
0
Tea Tree Gully
2
8
4
We will now look at the results of the questions that we asked during the 2014 Koala Count and, where possible, compare the 2014 answers to the 2013 Koala Count results from South Australia. Not all citizen scientists answered questions about the koalas they recorded so we will indicate the number of citizen scientists we are basing our proportion throughout the results. Please note citizen scientists often answered the same question differently on separate koala sightings. For this reason total across answers may add up to more than the total number of citizen scientists in some of the answers.
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Question 1. Is the Koala male, female, female with young, unsure or dead on road/ground? South Australian citizen scientists were unsure of the sex of nearly 70% of koalas they recorded (Figure 8). This is slightly higher than last year where we had nearly 65% of koala sex recorded as unsure. Where sex could be identified, 15% were recorded as male and nearly 14% as females with young and 2% females that are alone (Figure 8). Like Victoria, no Koalas were recorded as dead on the ground.
Proportion of Responses
80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% Unsure
Female with Young
Male
Female
Dead on the ground or road
Sex of koalas as determined by citizen scientists in South Australia Figure 8. Sex of koalas (248) as identified by 19 citizen scientists in South Australia
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Question 2. How often do you see or hear koalas in this location? Our citizen scientists reported that they saw or heard koalas frequently in the locations that they surveyed (today/yesterday, past week, past month; Table 8). As with the other states, citizen scientists seem to be surveying in areas where they have seen koalas in the past. Due to low participation in the 2013 Koala Count in South Australia we are unable to compare years.
Table 8: The proportion and numbers (n) of South Australian citizen scientists who reported how often they see or hear koalas in the location they were recording koalas in. The answers to this question was based on 248 koalas as sighted by 19 citizen scientists in South Australia.
How often do you see/hear koalas in this location?
Answer
I am new to this location
8% (3)
Today/yesterday
13% (5)
Past week
28% (11)
Past month
13% (5)
Past 6 months
8% (3)
Past 12 months
5% (2)
More than a year ago
8% (3)
Never before
6% (2)
Not Answered
10% (4)
Unsure
5% (2)
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Question 3. Currently are the numbers of koalas in this location increasing, decreasing or staying the same? Answer: Nearly 32% of our citizen scientists felt that koala numbers were staying the same followed by an equal number (9%) thinking koalas were increasing and decreasing (Figure 9). Due to low participation rate in the 2013 Koala Count in South Australia we are unable to compare years. 40%
Proportion of responses
35% 30% 25% 20% 15% 10% 5% 0% Increasing
Staying the same
Decreasing
No knowledge
Not Answered
South Australian citizen scientist perception of Koala population trends Figure 9. Perceived trends in koala numbers of South Australian citizen scientists, based on 248 koalas by 19 citizen scientists.
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Discussion The 2014 Koala Count was very successful and demonstrates that citizen science surveys can provide valuable information on koalas that could not be otherwise collected so comprehensively, quickly and economically. The biggest impediment to citizen science projects, like the Koala Count, is lack of volunteer participation or interest. To help overcome this, we tried to reach as many people as possible through social media (Facebook and Twitter), interviews on local radio and press, workshops and engaging local conservation bodies. We also had great support from the Gold Coast Council and consequently had great participation from these areas. The high participation rate in the Northern Rivers of NSW is due to support in these areas from councils and local conservation groups (Friends of the Koala). Koalas are a perfect candidate for a citizen science program as they are widespread, patchily distributed, primarily occur on private land (Knight, 1999) and are cryptic i.e. they are fairly hard to detect (MacKenzie et al., 2003). We asked our citizen scientists to use the My Koala Walk survey to record where they looked for koalas but did not find any. Detectability of a cryptic species like koalas can be tricky. Missed koala sightings might reflect differences in survey effort or observer ability rather than true absences. This can lead to erroneous estimates of species distribution if species are actually present but remain undetected (Gu and Swihart, 2004). Another issue is that the data collected can often exhibit strong spatial and temporal biases in survey effort meaning that some places are more likely to be surveyed than others and surveys will not be evenly distributed in time (Phillips et al., 2009). We controlled for temporal biases by conducting the Koala Count during a defined period (November 7-17th) however spatial distribution was dependent on the choices of our citizen scientists.
Sex of Koalas We asked our citizen scientists to record the sex of koalas as this can give an indication of breeding in the population. As the results show, females with young were proportionally higher than females alone in all states expect Victoria. The breeding season of koalas runs roughly from August to February which falls during the Koala Count. During this time we expect an increased level of activity and sounds from koalas. Also this is when the young from the previous year are dispersing from their mothers. There were a number of issues associated with recording koala sex; primarily some of our citizen scientists were unable to distinguish between males and females. To overcome the problem, our citizen scientists could choose unsure and as our results showed this was the case for all states expect Victoria. It is not surprising that sex could not always be identified considering koalas are often high in a tree or in a position where gender can be difficult to identify (i.e. hugging the trunk of the tree). One way the sex of koalas can be identified is if the koalas’ chest can be seen. Male koalas have a large scent gland, which gives them a brown stain in the middle of their chest. The male will rub his chest on the trees in his territory, leaving his scent and marking the areas as his.
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Frequency and Trends in Koala Numbers We asked our citizen scientists how often they see koalas and their views on trends in koala numbers in their local area. This allowed us to get an understanding of how often people are encountering koalas and if they notice changes in koala numbers in their area. Our citizen scientists across all states reported that they encountered koalas frequently (today/yesterday, past week), which indicates that citizen scientists seemed to be more likely to conduct a koala survey in an area where they had seen or heard Koalas before. We can tell this as the proportion of the positive answer to the question decreased with longer times between koala sightings as seen for NSW and Queensland. In addition, koalas were recorded as mainly increasing and/or staying the same which would suggest that the areas people are searching in areas that have resident populations and contain prime habitat (Harris and Goldingay, 2003). It is important to note that koalas may be falsely perceived as increasing as they move around the landscape thus becoming more visible to our citizen scientists. Koalas are often forced to the ground to search for food, shelter and mates as a result of habitat loss and fragmentation of trees (Reed and Lunney 1990, Harris and Goldingay, 2003). Due to the effects of habitat loss and fragmentation of trees, koalas increasingly must move through urban areas to find food, shelter trees or a mate. Koalas are naturally an arboreal species and it is suspected that they did not often come down to the ground before European settlement. However the current rate of loss of trees are forcing koalas to travel on the ground more frequently, making them vulnerable to dog attacks and vehicle strikes whilst also becoming more visible to us. This would explain why our citizen scientists recorded an increase in koala numbers. Interestingly, the severity of the threat posed by habitat loss and fragmentation to koalas is not fully appreciated by the community and planners. As suggested by Harris and Goldingay (2003) this may be because dog attacks and vehicle strikes are more frequently observed or reported by the media. Australia and its koalas are very much feeling the impacts of climate change and consequently the increase of droughts and heatwaves. Climatic condition can affect the quality of nutrients and moisture available in the leaves of eucalyptus trees (Moore and Foley, 2000). Heatwaves and droughts both have the potential to cause koalas to become stressed as they cannot meet their bodies’ nutritional and water requirements. Fragmentation and loss of habitat are thought to further increase stress in koalas through overcrowding and lack of territory space (MacCallum and Dobson, 2002). Koalas who suffer from chronic stress due to these effects can have reduced resistance to diseases (specifically Chlamydia) and can reduce their reproduction rate (Booth et al., 1990). Consequently factors such as stress can increase the prevalence and incidence of disease being spread and have a far greater potential to further limit population growth than the presence of disease alone (White and Timms, 1994)
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Bushfires At the time of writing this report, Victoria and South Australia are suffering from devastating bushfires and our thoughts are with those affected. Bushfires have been identified as a threatening process affecting koala population. This is because fires can act as a barrier to koala dispersal or prevent immigration of koalas from neighbouring areas, leading to population decline (Lunney et al., 2002). The overriding threat of habitat loss and fragmentation further compounds its effects, making bushfires especially devastating to koala populations. Where burnt areas have been isolated from unburnt areas by clearing, koalas will be especially vulnerable to traffic and dogs as they try to escape the fire across cleared land and roads (Matthews et al., 2007). In contrast, where there is extensive tree cover, fires are generally patchy and koalas will move into back into a burnt forest rapidly following regrowth of the eucalypts trees (Matthews et al., 2007). Unlike the permanent removal of trees through land clearing, fires will cause only a brief change in the availability of trees to koalas because burnt trees can re-sprout new growth quickly. This highlights the importance of connected refuge areas for koalas to move into when fires occur.
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Conclusion Koalas are an excellent example of a species that could benefit from management via adaptive citizen science research. Declines in koala abundance across its range are attributed, in part, to the cumulative effects of mortality factors that accompany human population growth (loss of trees, increase in dogs and traffic). National legislation to protect koalas does not require landowners to protect koalas from common sources of mortality such as dogs, collision with cars or protection of feeding and shelter trees. We believe that to generate the necessary changes in human behaviour, public involvement is critical for the conservation of koalas. A big Thank You again to all our citizen scientists who took part in the Koala Count. You all have contributed greatly to our understanding of koalas in their areas and helped us established a two year population study that will be extremely valuable for further research. We hope to you can take part in our 2015 Koala Count stating November 7th.
Literature Cited Booth, R.J., Carrick, F.N., Addison, P.A., 1990. The structure of the koala adrenal gland and the morphological changes associated with the stress of disease. In: Lee, A.K., Handasyde K.A., Sanson G.D. (Eds.), Biology of the koala. Surrey Beatty and Sons, Chipping Norton, NSW, pp. 106-116. Gu, W.D., Swihart, R.K., 2004. Absent or undetected? Effects of non-detection of species occurrence on wildlife-habitat models. Biological Conservation 116, 195-203 Knight, R.L., 1999. Private lands: the neglected geography. Conservation Biology 13, 223-224. Harris, J.M., Goldingay, R.L., 2003. A community-based survey of the koala Phascolarctos cinereus in the Lismore region of north-eastern New South Wales. Australian Mammalogy 25, 155-167 Lunney, D., O’Neill, L., Matthews. A., Sherwin, W.B., 2002. Modelling mammalian extinction and forecasting recovery: koalas at Iluka (NSW, Australia). Biological Conservation 106, 101-113. MacKenzie, D.I., Nichols, J.D., Hines, J.E., M.G., Franklin, A.D., 2003. Estimating site occupancy, colonization and local extinction when a species is detected imperfectly. Ecology 84, 2200-2207 Matthews, A., Lunney D., Greeser, S., Maitz, W., 2007. Tree use by koalas (Phascolarctos cinereus) after fire in remnant coastal forest. Wildlife Research 34, 84-93. McCallum, H., Dobson, A. 2002. Disease, habitat fragmentation and conservation. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 269, 2041-2049. Moore, B.D., Foley, W.J., 2000. A review of feeding and diet selections in koalas (Phascolarctos cinereus). Australian Journal of Zoology 48, 317-333 Reed, P., Lunney, D., 1990. Habitat loss: the key problem for the long-term survival of koalas in New South Wales. In: Lee, A.K., Handasyde, K.A., Sanson, G.D. (Eds), Biology of the koala. Surrey Beatty and Sons, Chipping Norton, NSW, pp 9-13. Whites, N.A., Timms, P., 1994. Chlamydia psittaci in a koala (Phascolarctos cinereus) population in South-east Queensland. Wildlife Research 21, 41-48.
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