Seasonal Reproduction of a Wild Population of Male Koalas in South East Queensland.

Camryn Allen, Deidré de Villiers, Brett Manning, David Dique Jenny Ward, Jeff McKee, Rosie Booth, Allan McKinnon, Vere Nicolson, Michael Pyne, Yeng Peng Zee, and Steve Johnston

The objective of this study is to gain a better understanding of male koala reproduction in order to improve the management and conservation of wild and captive koala populations. Seasonal changes in 12 radio-collared free-range male koalas in Brisbane Koala Bushland in Burbank were recorded for over 1 year. The koalas were caught every 6 weeks and examined for testosterone concentration, as well as seminal quality, testicular size, sternal gland size and activity, and changes in their home-range. Our null hypothesis is that free-range male koalas show no evidence of seasonal changes in their reproductive biology.