Author:
Steve Phillips, Grant Brearley, Amanda Lane, Kirsty Wallis
Abstract:
Copies of presentations given by Biolink staff at the 65th Annual Scientific Meeting of the Australian Mammal Society (2019).
Abstracts of the presentations are as follows;
Killing them softly with our song… negative outcomes arising from the management of disease in peri-urban koalas (Dr Steve Phillips)
Since its discovery in the mid-1970s, diseases collectively considered under the umbrella of Chlamydiosis have been perceived as a serious threat to the viability and conservation status of most free-ranging koala populations in eastern Australia. But if this is really true and notwithstanding other biotic considerations – why are koalas still relatively widespread across their remaining geographic range? Current solutions to the management of Chlamydiosis in free-ranging koala populations range from antibiotic therapies and the development of specialized vaccines, to the euthanasia of diseased animals, all of which are implemented and/or being undertaken in an attempt to improve the reproductive capacity and health of populations so affected. Using longitudinal hospital data collected over the last 20 – 30 years, we demonstrate ongoing koala population viability against a cyclical background of disease-mediated mortalities in a koala population on the far north coast of NSW, as well as the facilitation of near endangerment of a regionally significant population in south-east Queensland by poorly informed euthanasia practices. Moreover, there is little benefit in attempting to control disease if the causal factors that contribute to its prevalence / expression are not effectively managed in the first instance. It is time for a new song.
