Koala disease research fund
Overview
The Koala Disease Research Fund was established to support research into mitigating the effects of disease on wild populations of koalas. The fund is a key component of the actions being taken by the Queensland Government to halt the decline of koala populations in South East Queensland.
Approximately $400,000 has been awarded to disease research projects under the Koala Disease Research Fund. A call for disease research projects was announced in July 2009. Projects were considered for their relevance to research priorities and on their capacity to be completed within 12 months.
Research priorities
Priorities that research projects were considered against included:
- assessing and developing appropriate methods to reduce vulnerability of wild populations to disease
- establishing the relationship between habitat loss (and other environmental stressors) to disease in koalas
- quantifying the impacts of disease on breeding and fecundity rates
- developing tools that result in improved management outcomes.
Funded projects
After considering the research priorities and timeframes, four projects were chosen. The successful projects are:
- Queensland University of Technology—Development of a Chlamydial vaccine for koalas
- The University of Queensland—Causes and consequences of disease in populations of Queensland koalas
- The University of Melbourne—Investigation into the presence and prevalence of Chlamydiaceae spp in northern and southern populations of koalas Phascolarctus cinereus and identification of risk factors associated with infection
- The University of Queensland—The relationship between habitat loss, stressors and disease in Queensland koalas.
Last updated 28 July 2011