The plight to save koala habitats and populations has become a hot issue in Port Stephens and now residents can take part in a data collection campaign which will assist preservation efforts.
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Following the approval of the Brandy Hill quarry extension, which will see 52 hectares of koala habitat cleared, a citizen science initiative has been launched by the University of Newcastle which aims to capture a complete picture of the Port's koala population to "inform a koala monitoring program".
"In Port Stephens and other coastal regions in NSW, koala populations are declining rapidly due to multiple threats, mostly caused by humans, such as habitat destruction, bushfires, vehicle strikes, dog attacks and disease," conservation scientist scientist and project leader Dr Ryan Witt said.
"Declining population size and habitat isolation leads to inbreeding, which results in koala populations that are less fertile, more susceptible to disease and less equipped to cope with the threats of climate change.
"There are so many unknowns about koala population levels but if we can piece together an accurate picture of the population, we'll be able to understand the risks they face and put plans in place to stop their decline."
For the past 12 months Dr Witt and his team including PhD candidate Lachlan Howell and honours student Shelby Ryan has been surveying for koalas on public land in Port Stephens.
It was Dr Witt and UoN Associate Professor John Clulow who compiled a report for Save Port Stephens Koalas on koala populations in and around Brandy Hill, which was submitted to Federal Environment Minister Sussan Ley in a bid to stop her from approving the Hanson quarry extension.
Dr Witt and team are now inviting the community to assist their research by reporting sightings or sounds of koalas, discoveries of sick or deceased koalas, koala threats and pests in the area through an online survey.
"We know the Port Stephens community are passionate about their koalas and saving the population so by working in partnership with the community we are tapping into that passion and their knowledge," Dr Witt said.
"We'll be combining conservation science with citizen science to identify and map areas important to koalas, which will allow us to inform future research and management actions for koalas in Port Stephens."
Emeritus Professor John Rodger from FAUNA Research Alliance, which is partly funding the citizen science initiative, said that the project is crucial for providing a roadmap for koala protection not only in Port Stephens, but Australia.
Residents can report their sightings through an online community survey at faunaresearchalliance.com until April 2021.
