The effects of lactation on the feeding behaviour and activity patterns of free-ranging female koalas (Phascolarctos cinereus Goldfuss)

2003 ◽  
Vol 51 (4) ◽  
pp. 415 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Logan ◽  
G. D. Sanson
Keyword(s):  
Feeding Behaviour ◽  
Radio Telemetry ◽  
Activity Patterns ◽  
Tooth Wear ◽  
Phascolarctos Cinereus ◽  
Active Time ◽  
Compensation Mechanisms ◽  
Lactating Females ◽  
Time Spent Feeding ◽  
Free Ranging

The free-ranging feeding behaviour and activity patterns of three lactating and two non-lactating female koalas (Phascolarctos cinereus) were investigated using acoustically sensitive radio-telemetry. Lactating females were found to consume more leaf material, masticate more per leaf and at a greater rate, and perform more ingestive and mercyism mastications per 24 h than non-lactating females. Results suggest than female koalas are 'income breeders' that compensate for the higher energetic demands of lactation by increasing intake and, to a lesser degree, investing more in each mouthful so as to produce a shift in digesta particle size distribution in favour of more finer particles. Compared with non-lactating females, lactating female koalas were also found to spend more time moving within trees, feeding per 24 h and per bout, and less time resting and sleeping per 24 h, although the proportion of active time spent feeding was similar (~80%). This implies that female koalas adopt a 'time minimizing strategy whereby activity budgets respond to current requirements. Lactation-compensation mechanisms are compared with those reported for koalas with high tooth wear, and the capacity of aging female koalas to compensate for lactation are discussed.

The effects of tooth wear on the activity patterns of free-ranging koalas (Phascolarctos cinereus Goldfuss)

2002 ◽  
Vol 50 (3) ◽  
pp. 281 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Logan ◽  
G. D. Sanson
Keyword(s):  
Radio Telemetry ◽  
Activity Patterns ◽  
Tooth Wear ◽  
Home Ranges ◽  
Adult Males ◽  
Large Area ◽  
Phascolarctos Cinereus ◽  
Order Of Magnitude ◽  
Low Degrees ◽  
Free Ranging

The free-ranging activity patterns of five adult males and one sub-adult male koala (Phascolarctos cinereus) with varying degrees of tooth wear were investigated using acoustically sensitive radio-telemetry. Increased tooth wear was found to be associated with a significant decrease in the amount of time spent sleeping and being inactive. Furthermore, compared with individuals with low degrees of tooth wear, individuals with high tooth wear were found to spend considerably less time moving within and between trees, and had home ranges an order of magnitude smaller. Hence, feeding compensations were found to come at the expense of other activities such as sociality and therefore have important consequences for reproductive output. Individuals with high tooth wear also spent longer feeding per bout, and spaced feeding bouts out more evenly throughout a 24-h period, thereby exhibiting reduced degrees of nocturnality. The sub-adult was found to range over a disproportionately large area and spend a relatively large amount of time moving between trees, indicative of a dispersing individual. Moreover, the activity patterns of this individual were found to differ slightly from the adult trends and were perhaps affected by the extra energetic demands associated with dispersal.

The association of tooth wear with sociality of free-ranging male koalas (Phascolarctos cinereus Goldfuss)

2002 ◽  
Vol 50 (6) ◽  
pp. 621 ◽  
Author(s):  
Murray Logan ◽  
Gordon D. Sanson
Keyword(s):  
Life History ◽  
Adult Male ◽  
Reproductive Effort ◽  
Radio Telemetry ◽  
Tooth Wear ◽  
Phascolarctos Cinereus ◽  
Free Ranging

The sociality (as measured by the degree of bellowing and amount of tree use) of five adult male koalas and one sub-adult male koala (Phascolarctos cinereus), with varying degrees of tooth wear, were investigated using acoustically sensitive radio-telemetry. Initial increases in tooth wear that coincide with an increase in age to maturity were associated with an increase in reproductive effort. Advanced tooth wear was found to be associated with a decrease in reproductive effort. This trend in reproductive effort is consistent with life-history predictions, and suggests that tooth wear has the potential to impose limitations on the reproductive longevity and fecundity of free-ranging male koalas.

Loss of tooth-supporting bone in the koala (Phascolarctos cinereus) with age

2011 ◽  
Vol 59 (1) ◽  
pp. 49 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elizabeth F. Lee ◽  
Srinivas Varanasi ◽  
Lyndall M. Pettett ◽  
Philip S. Bird ◽  
Anne L. Symons
Keyword(s):  
Bone Loss ◽  
Alveolar Bone ◽  
Age Groups ◽  
Tooth Wear ◽  
Bone Defects ◽  
Third Molars ◽  
Phascolarctos Cinereus ◽  
Severe Bone Loss ◽  
Free Ranging ◽  
Bone Height

This study investigated changes in alveolar bone height in free-ranging koalas of different age groups. Twenty-seven free-ranging Queensland koalas (15 female, 12 male), admitted to the Moggill Koala Hospital, Brisbane, were used in this study. Koalas were divided into three groups (young, adult, old) on the basis of tooth wear, each group containing nine animals. Defleshed jaws were examined for the presence of alveolar bone defects. The distance from the cemento-enamel junction and the interproximal crestal alveolar bone height was measured on the buccal aspects of the second and third molars. Jaws were photographed and radiographed. Bone defects (dehiscences and fenestrations) were observed in both jaws and were predominantly located on the buccal aspect of the alveolar process. The loss of height of crestal alveolar bone, relative to the cemento-enamel junction, increased with age, with 25 koalas showing moderate to severe bone loss and only two koalas having none/mild loss levels at all measurement sites. Female koalas had higher frequency of ‘none/mild’ cases of bone loss than did males. There was no variation in levels of alveolar bone loss between the upper and lower jaws or the corresponding right and left arches.

scholarly journals Activity Patterns of Free-Ranging Koalas (Phascolarctos cinereus) Revealed by Accelerometry

PLoS ONE ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 8 (11) ◽  
pp. e80366 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michelle A. Ryan ◽  
Desley A. Whisson ◽  
Greg J. Holland ◽  
John P. Y. Arnould
Keyword(s):  
Activity Patterns ◽  
Phascolarctos Cinereus ◽  
Free Ranging

scholarly journals Thermal physiology and activity in relation to reproductive status and sex in a free-ranging semelparous marsupial

2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Cassandra A Parker ◽  
Fritz Geiser ◽  
Clare Stawski
Keyword(s):  
Activity Patterns ◽  
Reproductive Season ◽  
Reproductive Status ◽  
Water Shortages ◽  
Mating Period ◽  
Physiological Adaptations ◽  
Lactating Females ◽  
Energetic Constraints ◽  
Reproductive Females ◽  
Free Ranging

Abstract In a changing climate, southern hemisphere mammals are predicted to face rising temperatures and aridity, resulting in food and water shortages, which may further challenge already constrained energetic demands. Especially semelparous mammals may be threatened because survival of the entire population depends on the success of a single breeding event. One of these species, the yellow-footed antechinus, Antechinus flavipes, a small, heterothermic marsupial mammal, commences reproduction during winter, when insect prey is limited and energetic constraints are high. We examined the inter-relations between thermal and foraging biology of free-ranging A. flavipes and examined whether they use torpor for energy conservation, despite the fact that reproduction and torpor are considered to be incompatible for many mammals. Females used torpor during the reproductive season, but patterns changed with reproductive status. Prior to breeding, females used frequent (86% of days), deep and long torpor that was more pronounced than any other reproductive group, including pre-mating males (64% of days). Pregnant females continued to use torpor, albeit torpor was less frequent (28% of days) and significantly shorter and shallower than before breeding. Parturient and lactating females did not express torpor. During the mating period, males reduced torpor use (24% of days). Pre-reproductive females and pre-mating males were the least active and may use torpor to minimize predator exposure and enhance fat deposition in anticipation of the energetic demands associated with impending mating, gestation and lactation. Reproductive females were most active and likely foraged and fed to promote growth and development of young. Our data show that A. flavipes are balancing energetic demands during the reproductive season by modifying torpor and activity patterns. As the timing of reproduction is fixed for this genus, it is probable that climate change will render these behavioural and physiological adaptations as inadequate and threaten this and other semelparous species.

Using automated radio telemetry to quantify activity patterns of songbirds during stopover

The Auk ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 135 (4) ◽  
pp. 949-963 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lynn N. Schofield ◽  
Jill L. Deppe ◽  
Theodore J. Zenzal ◽  
Michael P. Ward ◽  
Robert H. Diehl ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Radio Telemetry ◽  
Activity Patterns
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