2012–14 Koala survey report in coastal forests of south-eastern NSW – Bermagui/Mumbulla area Corridors and core habitat for koalas

Abstract

The survey program was managed by Office of Environment and Heritage and most of the surveys were undertaken teams of local contractors who gained their experience through the 2007–09 survey program. Ten contractors, 160 volunteers and 19 local Aboriginal people contributed more than 1200 person days of fieldwork searching for koala pellets under 27,540 trees. Koala evidence was located at 105 of the 918 survey sites, giving an overall occupancy rate of 11.44 % (see Table 1). The occupancy rates by tenure and overall were similar to those reported from 2007–09 despite the larger survey area and sample size (Biolink 2007 defines occupancy rate as the proportion of the sites assessed which had Koala faecal pellets expressed as a percentage). This report provides information on the koala survey component of the project. This was primarily undertaken in the period 2012–14 and built on a previous survey that was undertaken in 2007–09. The objectives of the study were to gather and analyse data to: 1. assess the distribution and abundance of the population 2. compare its results with the koala survey undertaken in 2007–09 3. provide baseline data for an ongoing monitoring program 4. provide data for specific areas to assist with operational decision-making in regards to applied fire and logging in order to minimise impact on koalas. The survey in 2007–09 assessed approximately 21,000 hectares of forest, including National Park, Nature Reserve, State Forest and private land (Figure 1). Less than 12% of the sites surveyed had evidence of koalas and the highest concentrations of activity were identified in Mumbulla State Forest. The study provided a population estimate of less than 50 koalas within the study area (Allen et al. 2010).