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Evolutionary, molecular and comparative zoology
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RESEARCH ARTICLE (Open Access)
Contents Vol 71(3)

The nutritional quality of post-fire eucalypt regrowth and its consumption by koalas in the New South Wales Southern Tablelands

Murraya R. Lane https://orcid.org/0009-0000-1181-135X A * , Kara N. Youngentob B , Robert G. Clark C and Karen J. Marsh A
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

A Research School of Biology, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT 2601, Australia.

B Fenner School of Environment and Society, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT 2601, Australia.

C Research School of Finance, Actuarial Studies and Statistics, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT 2601, Australia.

* Correspondence to: murraya.lane@anu.edu.au

Handling Editor: Paul Cooper

Australian Journal of Zoology 71, ZO23024 https://doi.org/10.1071/ZO23024
Submitted: 28 June 2023  Accepted: 5 February 2024  Published: 4 March 2024

© 2023 The Author(s) (or their employer(s)). Published by CSIRO Publishing. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY)

Abstract

Most forests and woodlands of south-eastern Australia are fire prone. These landscapes are typically dominated by tree species of the genus Eucalyptus, and many of these are proficient epicormic resprouters after fire. Several marsupial folivores rely on Eucalyptus foliage, including the koala. Little is known about the nutritional composition of epicormic leaves and whether folivores can utilise them. Following the 2019–20 megafires, we offered koalas epicormic leaves from eight eucalypt species that occur in the New South Wales Southern Tablelands and measured concentrations of foliar chemical constituents known to influence koala feeding (total and available nitrogen, formylated phloroglucinol compounds (FPCs), and unsubstituted B-ring flavanones (UBFs)). Captive koalas ate epicormic leaves from the four eucalypt species belonging to the subgenus Symphyomyrtus but ate relatively little from the species of the subgenus Eucalyptus. Available nitrogen was significantly higher in symphyomyrtle epicormic regrowth than in monocalypts and differed between species. Concentrations of FPCs and UBFs also differed between eucalypt species. Our results suggest that post-fire epicormic regrowth from symphyomyrtle species may be more readily browsed than that of monocalypts by koalas in the NSW Southern Tablelands. Therefore, some burnt areas are likely to be better quality habitat for koalas than others.

Keywords: browse quality, bushfire, dry matter intake, epicormic leaves, herbivory, marsupial folivores, nitrogen, plant secondary metabolites.

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