Wah. Ellis et al., SEASONAL-VARIATION IN WATER FLUX, FIELD METABOLIC-RATE AND FOOD-CONSUMPTION OF FREE-RANGING KOALAS (PHASCOLARCTOS-CINEREUS), Australian journal of zoology, 43(1), 1995, pp. 59-68
Mass-corrected field metabolic rates of free-ranging male koalas in ce
ntral Queensland, Australia, varied between 0.329 MJ kg0.75 day-1 in s
ummer and 0.382 MJ kg0.75 day-1 in winter. Field water influx measured
50.8 mL kg-0.8 day-1 in winter, increasing to 59.9 mL kg0.8 day-1 in
summer for the same koalas, and was positively correlated with values
for leaf moisture of food. Winter rates of water influx for koalas fro
m Springsure were lower than those recorded for koalas from Victoria f
or the same period of the year. Mass-corrected feeding rates were lowe
r in summer than winter; wet food intake was significantly lower than
reported for similar sized female koalas from Victoria. The preferred
browse was Eucalyptus crebra in winter and E. tereticornis in summer.
Our study indicates that in central Queensland seasonal changes in die
t selection by male koalas reflect increased energy requirements in wi
nter and increased water requirements in summer.