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The effect of tooth wear on the feeding behaviour of free-ranging koalas (Phascolarctos cinereus, Goldfuss)

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 December 2001

Murray Logan  and
Gordon D. Sanson
Murray Logan
Affiliation:
School of Biological Sciences, Monash University, Clayton, Victoria, 3800, Australia
Gordon D. Sanson
Affiliation:
School of Biological Sciences, Monash University, Clayton, Victoria, 3800, Australia
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Abstract

The free-ranging feeding behaviours of five adult koalas Phascolarctos cinereus with varying degrees of tooth wear were investigated using acoustically sensitive radio telemetry. An increase in tooth wear was found to be associated with a significant increase in the average amount of time spent feeding, average number of leaves consumed and the average number of daily chews. This suggests that koalas compensate for tooth wear by increasing food intake. Furthermore, there was a significant increase in the average number of chews per leaf and average chew rate, suggesting a greater investment in processing each leaf.

Keywords

tooth wearfeeding ecologycompensationskoalaPhascolarctos cinereus
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Zoology , Volume 256 , Issue 1 , January 2002 , pp. 63 - 69
Copyright
© 2002 The Zoological Society of London

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