Modelling koala road-kill blackspots

Loss and fragmentation of habitat are considered the biggest threats to the long term survival of the koala. However, several other threats are also known to exert additional stress. Many of these are the consequence of loss of habitat which causes koalas to move long distances on the ground. Fragmentation also causes koalas to cross roads more often, which in turn can lead to collisions with vehicles (Caneris & Jones, 2004; Dique et al., 2003; Lunney et al., 2007); by forcing koalas to spent more time on the ground, they may also increase the risk of being attacked by dogs (Caneris & Jones, 2004; Lunney et al., 2007). These risks increase with the decrease in habitat availability (Cork, Clark, & Mazur, 2000). Even though mortality caused by dogs and road accidents are localised events, (Martin & Handasyde, 1999) they are of significant concern because they are contributing factors to population declines (Lunney et al., 2014; Santika, McAlpine, Lunney, Wilson, & Rhodes, 2014).