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Australian Mammalogy Australian Mammalogy Society
Journal of the Australian Mammal Society
RESEARCH ARTICLE

Water turnover and the northern range of the koala (Phascolarctos cinereus).

I.D. Clifton, W.A.H. Ellis, A. Melzer and G. Tucker

Australian Mammalogy 29(1) 85 - 88
Published: 2007

Abstract

Water turnover for koalas is positively correlated with the moisture content of selected trees suggesting that browse choice was driven by water requirements in summer but energy demands in winter. We compared the distribution of the koala to relative humidity and found that the bioregional delineation of the koala?s range corresponds closely to regions experiencing an average 9am relative humidity of less than 80% in February. This indicates that the northern coastal distribution of the koala may be limited by respiratory evaporative water loss as a cooling mechanism.

https://doi.org/10.1071/AM07010

© Australian Mammal Society 2007

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