The Conversation

The Blinky Bill effect: when gum trees are cut down, where do the koalas go?

Author: Kita Ashman, PhD candidate in koala conservation, Deakin University

In the past two decades there has been an unprecedented increase in the area of blue gum (Eucalyptus globulus) plantations in southern Australia. In southwest Victoria alone, some additional 80,000 hectares of commercial blue gum have been planted.

This expansion has significantly increased the habitat available for koalas. In fact, my research,...

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