Murraya Lane ‘Recent research on Koalas and their habitats in burnt and unburnt landscapes’

Murraya, from ANU, will talk about resident and rehabilitated koalas and compare the nutritional composition between mature foliage and epicormic growth in unburnt and burnt landscapes.

Abstract
Murraya spent 1 year tracking both resident koalas (those living in the landscape) and rehabilitated koalas (those rescued after the fires and released) in a burnt and an unburnt landscape to look at the effects of fire and rehabilitation on koala movements and comparing these.  She also collected leaves from these landscapes, sampling mature trees and trees with epicormic growth (the first growth you see after fire) every 4-6 weeks to see: 1) the nutritional composition of epicormic growth and how it changes over time and 2) compare the nutritional composition between mature foliage and epicormic growth (unburnt vs. burnt landscapes). She will compare the nutritional composition between mature foliage and epicormic growth in unburnt and burnt landscapes.

Biography 
Murraya Lane is a PhD student at the Australian National University in the Research School of Biology in the Marsh lab. Originally from Melbourne, Murraya completed her bachelor's degree in science at the University of Melbourne (majoring in zoology), and her honours degree at La Trobe University, which looked at the effects of reintroduced native mammals on the behaviour and abundance of the inland robust scorpion (Urodacus yaschenkoi). Murraya commenced her PhD in 2020 (a great time to leave Melbourne before the pandemic took hold!), with the main focus of that being nutritional ecology and the effects of fire. I have spent the last few years observing the effects of fire on koalas and eucalyptus species - their primary food source.

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Lunchtime talks are held at 12.30 pm every Thursday from February to November.  Talks last for 1 hour.  We welcome donations by gold coins, notes, or electronically. The Friends use donations received at each talk to support Gardens’ programs and development and thank all those who have donated.  Please note: unless otherwise indicated, talks are in the ANBG Theatrette.

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