A Necropsy Study of Disease and Comorbidity Trends in Morbidity and Mortality in the Koala (Phascolarctos cinereus) in South-East Queensland, Australia.

ABSTRACT: Koalas are an iconic Australian marsupial undergoing precipitous population reduction in South-East Queensland from complex interacting threats. To investigate the causes of death and the interaction of comorbidities with demography in South-East Queensland koalas, a large scale, high-throughput prospective necropsy survey was conducted spanning 2013-2016. During this period, 519 necropsies were conducted in 155 young/subadult koalas, 235 mature, 119 old koalas and 10 of unknown age. Similar numbers of males and females were assessed. Trauma and infectious disease at were the most common single diagnoses. However, comorbidity was frequent, including multicentric infection or infectious disease in combination with trauma or senescence. Female koalas had proportionally more reproductive chla

SUBMITTER: Gonzalez-Astudillo V 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6877607 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature