Johnston Stephen D, Hulse Lyndal, Keeley Tamara, Mucci Albano, Seddon Jennifer, Maynard Sam
School of Environment, The University of Queensland, Gatton 4343, Australia.
School of Veterinary Science, The University of Queensland, Gatton 4343, Australia.
Biology (Basel). 2024 Jul 15;13(7):523. doi: 10.3390/biology13070523.
The use of samples or scats to provide important ecological, genetic, disease and physiology details on free-range populations is gaining popularity as an alternative non-invasive methodology. Koala populations in SE Queensland and NSW have recently been listed as endangered and continue to face anthropomorphic and stochastic environmental impacts that could potentially lead to their extinction. This scoping review examines the current and potential utility of the koala scat to contribute data relevant to the assessment of koala conservation status and decision making. Although we demonstrate that there is great potential for this methodology in providing details for both individual wild animal and population biology (distribution, abundance, sex ratio, immigration/emigration, genetic diversity, evolutionary significant unit, disease epidemiology, nutrition, reproductive status and stress physiology), the calibre of this information is likely to be a function of the quality of the scat that is sampled.
使用样本或粪便来提供有关散养种群的重要生态、遗传、疾病和生理细节，作为一种替代性的非侵入性方法正越来越受欢迎。昆士兰州东南部和新南威尔士州的考拉种群最近被列为濒危物种，并且继续面临可能导致其灭绝的人为和随机环境影响。本综述探讨了考拉粪便在提供与考拉保护状况评估和决策相关数据方面的当前和潜在效用。尽管我们证明了这种方法在为个体野生动物和种群生物学（分布、丰度、性别比例、迁入/迁出、遗传多样性、进化显著单元、疾病流行病学、营养、繁殖状况和应激生理学）提供细节方面具有巨大潜力，但这些信息的质量可能取决于所采集粪便的质量。
