Overview of the National Koala Monitoring Program

CSIRO - Overview of the National Koala Monitoring Program

 

[Music plays and an image appears of a circle, and photos move through of various Koala Monitoring activities in the circle, and then the circle morphs into the CSIRO logo]

[Images move through to show an aerial view of bushland as the camera pans towards the coast, Dr Andrew Hoskins talking to the camera, and then a koala holding onto a tree trunk, and text appears: CSIRO National Koala Monitoring Program , Dr Andrew Hoskins, Quantitative Biologist]

Dr Andrew Hoskins: The National Koala Monitoring Program is using the best technology and analytics to come up with the best estimates we can of koala populations and distributions right around the country.

[Images move through to show a drone taking off from a landing pad, an aerial view of the drone flying over bushland, colleagues walking along a bush track, hands holding Koala poo, and a dog]

We can do this using thermal drones, looking for koalas from above, or looking for koala poos using things like detection dogs.

[Images move through to show Dr John McEvoy legs walking in long grass, John attaching a recorder to a tree, the recorder, a koala in a tree, and colleagues looking as they walk along a bush track]

We also use acoustic recorders which let us hear koalas in the environment, or we can use our eyes and just walk around looking for them and counting them ourselves.

[Images move through to show Andrew showing children a smart phone, taking a photo of a koala in a tree, views of colleagues talking, working and walking together, and then a koala sleeping in a tree]

We also have citizen science apps that we are able to use that lets anybody come out, look for koalas and spot them and bring that information back into the National Koala Monitoring Program.

[Images move through to show views of Sunny Behzadnia talking to the camera, a stand of gum trees, views of colleagues walking on a bush track, and then a koala in a cage, and text appears: Sunny Behzadnia, Environmental Scientist]

Sunny Behzadnia: National Koala Monitoring Program is an Australia wide initiative aimed at improving our understanding of the koala population across the country.

[Image changes to show a koala high up in the canopy of a tree snoozing, and then the image changes to show a koala climbing a tree trunk]

Think of it as a national census for koalas.

[Images move through to show an index finger tapping an iPad screen, a koala holding onto a tree trunk looking at the camera, and colleagues walking through the bush towards the camera]

We're trying to figure out how many are out there, how many koalas are moving around and how the population are changing over time.

[Image changes to show Sunny talking to the camera, and then the image changes to show Sunny and a male looking and pointing up]

The information gathered through this program helps us make better decisions for koala conservation.

[Image changes to show Dr Samantha Munroe talking to the camera, and text appears: Dr Samantha Munroe, Ecologist]

Dr Samantha Munroe: With the National Koala Monitoring Program, we are working to ensure that koalas are effectively monitored across their entire range.

[Images move through to show an aerial view of bushland as the camera pans left, gum tree trunks in the bush, and then a female holding onto a dog lead while walking in the bush]

This includes dense forests to more isolated areas where they can be harder to track.

[Image changes to show a female cueing a dog to “seek” as the camera pans left following the dog, and the image changes to show the female looking up as the camera pans up to a climbing koala]

To achieve this, we collaborate across all parts of the Australian community, including government agencies, researchers, community groups and First Nations people.

[Images move through to show a child using a smart phone on a signpost, Andrew talking as children use smart phones taking photos, and a child looking up beside Samantha looking and pointing up]

Our goal is to co-design an inclusive program that provides robust long term data on koala populations.

[Images move through to show Sunny with binoculars as Adam is pointing up, a male checking a tree, a tracking collar, a drone’s camera rotating, a female talking, and a tracking collar on a koala]

We support this with the latest generation of scientific methods and digital technologies to make gathering useful and usable data on koalas as simple and as easy as possible.

[Images move through to show views of Andrew talking to the camera on the right with a female listening on the left, a koala with a tracking collar, and then a male taking a photo of the koala]

Dr Andrew Hoskins: We're really trying to make sure we can look at all of the different monitoring approaches and technologies that are out there for koalas, and use them in a best practice way to allow us to to tell that national story of the koala.

[Music plays as image changes to show a white screen with the CSIRO logo above text: Australia’s National Science Agency]