GPS tracking reveals koalas Phascolarctos cinereus use mosaics of different forest ages after environmentally regulated timber harvesting

An accurate picture of an animal's home range is fundamental for quantifying habitat quality and response to disturbance. When combined with remote sensing of vegetation attributes, there is potential to assess habitat selection at high resolution. We used a high‐quality GPS‐collaring data set...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Austral ecology 2024-04, Vol.49 (4), p.n/a
Main Authors: Law, Bradley, Gonsalves, Leroy, Slade, Chris, Brassil, Traecey, Flanagan, Cheyne
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Accuracy
Age
Climate change
disturbance history
Drought
Environmental protection
Environmental quality
Females
Forest harvesting
Forests
Global positioning systems
GPS
Habitat selection
Habitats
Height
Home range
LiDAR
Males
Mosaics
Phascolarctos cinereus
Remote sensing
Site fidelity
Tracking
Trees
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Summary:An accurate picture of an animal's home range is fundamental for quantifying habitat quality and response to disturbance. When combined with remote sensing of vegetation attributes, there is potential to assess habitat selection at high resolution. We used a high‐quality GPS‐collaring data set (> 12 500 fixes) from 10 koalas Phascolarctos cinereus and a canopy height model derived from LiDAR in multiple‐use forests harvested for timber 5–10 years previously. Our aim was to assess how individual koalas use the forest mosaic created by timber harvesting by quantifying home ranges and habitat selection of different forest age/height classes created by past harvesting. We found that koalas maintained a stable home range over the average of 7 months of tracking. On average, there was 95% overlap for individuals among seasons, illustrating high site fidelity in the regenerating forest. Also, there were no apparent shifts during the intense drought of spring 2019. Male home ranges (64 ha) were three times the size of females (21 ha). Core areas were considerably smaller, ranging from 15 (male) to 6 ha (female). Three forest age/height classes were defined from LiDAR: (i) harvest – regeneration
ISSN:1442-9985
1442-9993
DOI:10.1111/aec.13518