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Category: Life history
Seasonal oestrous cycle activity of captive female koalas in south-east Queensland
Ballantyne, K, Lisle, A, Mucci, A, Johnston, SD 2015, Australian Mammalogy, vol. 37, pp. 245-252.
Over a four-year period, 33 mature, captive female koalas were investigated regarding the seasonality of their oestrous behaviour, with the potential impacts of rainfall, temperature and photoperiod explored specifically. Findings revealed noticeable seasonality in behavioural oestrus, as well as a significant correlation between oestrous cycle activity and both average monthly temperature and photoperiod.
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Category: Anatomy & physiology
Seasonal reproduction in wild and captive male koala (Phascolarctos cinereus) populations in south-east Queensland
Allen, CD, de Villiers, DL, Manning, BD, Dique, DS, Burridge, M, Chafer, ML, Nicolson, VN, Jago, SC, McKinnon, AJ, Booth, RJ, McKee, JJ, Pyne, MJ, Peng Zee, Y, Lundie-Jenkins, G, Theilemann, P, Wilson, RJ, Carrick, FN & Johnston, SD 2010, Reproduction, Fertility and Development, vol. 22, no. 1, pp. 695-709.
Male koalas exhibit seasonal changes in anatomical and physiological characteristics relating to fertility and reproduction. These seasonal variations have implications for artificial insemination (AI) programmes, as semen samples collected from wild koalas during winter appear to retain the highest quality after thawing from cryopreservation.
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Category: Digestion, nutrition & metabolism
Seasonal variation in water flux, field metabolic rate and food consumption of free-ranging koalas (Phascolarctos cinereus)
Ellis, WAH, Melzer, A, Green, B, Newgrain, K, Hindell, MA & Carrick, FN 1995, Australian Journal of Zoology, vol. 43, pp. 59-68.
Male free-ranging koalas in central Queensland, Australia were found to have field metabolic rates (corrected for mass) that exhibited a variation of 0.382 MJ kg0.75 per day in the winter and 0.329 MJ kg0.75 per day during the summer. Measurements of influx of water in the same koalas were 59.9 mL kg0.8 per day during the summer and 50.8 kg0.8 per day in the winter. This water influx had a positive correlation with the moisture values in the consumed food. Water influx in the winter was lower in Springsure koalas compared to those from Victoria. Feeding rates were discovered to be higher in the winter compared to summer.
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