A WILDLIFE ecologist who has spent three years tracking the movement of Port Stephens koalas has issued a dire warning.
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“The Port Stephens local government area is the last stronghold in the Hunter,” Dr Chris McLean said.
“If we don’t preserve them here they’ll become extinct in the Hunter.”
Dr McLean holds an honorary position with the University of Wollongong but also works with the University of Newcastle on koala projects.
He said there once would have been koalas around Lake Macquarie and throughout much of the Hunter, but no more.
Working with a dozen or so researchers, including students, he’s used GPS to map where koalas move in Port Stephens.
“The koalas in Port Stephens prefer swamp habitat,” he said.
“Any roads or backyards with dogs that adjoin or stand between swamp mahogany and paperbark trees present a risk.”
In the past three years the research has given them some useful insights.
“In those swamps a koala’s home range can be quite small, about two hectares,” Dr McLean said.
“We tracked one young female – she was on quite a rave – from Nelson Bay Road near the bus depot to Taylors Beach and back again before she found a male she liked.”
The Hunter Koala Preservation Society has also helped with that research. It puts a microchip in the koalas it rescues.
“The younger males can travel further,” Dr McLean said.
“They tend to get bashed up by the bigger males.”
One such male released in Soldiers Point was later picked up at Shoal Bay – about 15 kilometres away.
“He’s traveled through some very hostile territory with cars and backyards between those places,” Dr McLean said.
Future research will likely include genetic testing to determine the diversity of the colony. Droppings would be collected to help determine this.
“We don’t really want them breeding with cousins,” Dr McLean said.
“That’s been part of the problem with Tasmanian devils and why they have been susceptible to the facial tumors.
“Without genetic diversity there’s the potential for one disease to wipe out an entire species.”
Researchers can also assess the droppings for stress hormones.
There’s already evidence the Soldiers Point colony is stressed from what Dr McLean said were large, mown grass areas when compared to the more natural Taylors Beach area.
Cryptococcus, a fungal condition that affects the nose, is prevalent in Soldiers Point.
“Think of it like a uni student who has some big assignments,” Dr McLean said.
“They’re stressed and that’s when they’re more likely to fall ill.”