EDUCATION RESOURCES:
NGSS Standards:
K-LS1-1, K-ESS3-1, 4-LS1-1
Crosscutting Concept:
Patterns, Systems and System Models
How does a koala eat eucalyptus leaves? Eucalyptus is toxic to most animals, but they’re a koala’s only food. In this episode, we look past the cuddliness to discover how koalas manage to chow down on the Australian tree species. Biologist Michaela Blyton shares the story of how she convinced some extremely picky koalas to try new foods in the midst of a conservation crisis. Spoiler alert: It involves starting a koala hotel, and inventing a pill with an unusual ingredient.
KOALA POOP TRANSPLANTS AT CAPE OTWAY
Our episode takes place in Cape Otway, along Australia's Southern Coast. It was the site of the first ever koala poop transplant!
Here are a few articles about Michaela and her colleagues' work.
Poo transplants can alter koala's microbiome so they can eat different types of leaves - ABC Science
Want to know more about the background of Michaela's study? What happened at Cape Otway, and what were other conservation strategies? (These articles may not be suitable for all readers, as they contain graphic descriptions of koala tragedy.)
This article, written by scientists, describes the complexity of the situation:
KOALAS EAT POOP. IT'S TRUE.
Koala shocker! Those adorable baby koalas get their microbiome kickstarted by an activity called "pap feeding." Basically, they nuzzle at their mom's butts until she excretes a big, sloppy poop. (That's a technical term! No just kidding.) It's not poop, it's pap! This is like a transition between milk and those tough, toxic leaves.
See it to believe it.
From the BBC:
An even shorter explanation of pap feeding! For "Microbe Minute."
Want to know more about the koala microbiome? YES YOU DO! Here's Michaela's lab page, where you can learn more about their research.
To learn more about the science of poop, listen to our episode, "The Science of Poop."
Want to hear more from our interview with Michaela? She dives deep into the "bag of guts" to compare the human and koala digestive systems, and explains how she came up with the idea for a koala poop transplant.
