Scientific Research
and Innovation

Scientific Research
and Innovation

At Endeavour Veterinary Ecology, research is at the heart of everything we do. Our commitment to ongoing research and innovation is driven by the urgent need to protect koalas in the face of mounting challenges. By continually expanding our knowledge base, we aim to inform effective conservation actions and safeguard koalas for future generations.

At Endeavour Veterinary Ecology, research is at the heart of everything we do. Our commitment to ongoing research and innovation is driven by the urgent need to protect koalas in the face of mounting challenges. By continually expanding our knowledge base, we aim to inform effective conservation actions and safeguard koalas for future generations.

Leaders in Scientific Research and Innovation

There is still much to learn about koalas, their habitat requirements, and managing the threats to the species. Continuing to enhance our knowledge is key to informing effective conservation actions at a time when koalas are most at risk.

Research is critical to ensuring that we address critical knowledge gaps in how best to conserve koalas. This will help us ensure that policy development and conservation decisions are based on the best available scientific information, with minimal uncertainty.

 

The Research Legacy on Our Client Projects

Our work on client projects has led to valuable conservation benefits by advancing the knowledge of koala biology and ecology through applied research and academic collaborations.

We collect a large volume of data while working with koala populations and monitoring hundreds of koalas at any one time. This has resulted in valuable partnerships with numerous researchers and academic institutions, focusing on areas such as survey design, habitat requirements, disease management, koala reproduction, and population recovery to inform management decisions at state and federal levels.

Leaders in Scientific Research and Innovation

There is still much to learn about koalas, their habitat requirements, and managing the threats to the species. Continuing to enhance our knowledge is key to informing effective conservation actions at a time when koalas are most at risk.

Research is critical to ensuring that we address critical knowledge gaps in how best to conserve koalas. This will help us ensure that policy development and conservation decisions are based on the best available scientific information, with minimal uncertainty.

 

The Research Legacy on Our Client Projects

Our work on client projects has led to valuable conservation benefits by advancing the knowledge of koala biology and ecology through applied research and academic collaborations.

We collect a large volume of data while working with koala populations and monitoring hundreds of koalas at any one time. This has resulted in valuable partnerships with numerous researchers and academic institutions, focusing on areas such as survey design, habitat requirements, disease management, koala reproduction, and population recovery to inform management decisions at state and federal levels.

 

Our team has published over 180 research papers on koalas, which have been influential in setting standards in koala policy, best practice guidelines, and management plans Australia-wide.

  • Koala Sensitive Design Guideline for the Queensland Government
  • Koala Translocation Review and Recommendations for the NSW Government
  • Koala Translocation Review and Recommendations for the Queensland Government
  •  Fauna Spotter Code of Practice for the Queensland Government
  • Major Technical Report for the Moreton Bay Rail Koala Management Plan for the City of Moreton Bay

Since our establishment, we have also been involved in numerous collaborative scientific publications, feasibility studies, and clinical trials, and remain active in groundbreaking research yet to be published.

Some of our active research projects/collaborations are:

  • In-field trials for the development of a dedicated koala chlamydia vaccine (University of the Sunshine Coast)
  • Development of road mitigation devices to reduce threats to koalas from vehicles
  • Drivers and biomarkers of disease and success in wild koalas (University of Sydney)
  • Developing a rapid antigen test to detect Chlamydia in koalas (University of the Sunshine Coast/Radatec Pty Ltd)
  • Side-by-side comparison of two chlamydia vaccines (Queensland University of Technology)
  •  Identification of mosquito vector host-seeking at koala roosting heights (QIMR)
  • The reproductive system of male and female koalas (University of Queensland)
 

Our team has published over 180 research papers on koalas, which have been influential in setting standards in koala policy, best practice guidelines, and management plans Australia-wide.

  • Koala Sensitive Design Guideline for the Queensland Government
  • Koala Translocation Review and Recommendations for the NSW Government
  • Koala Translocation Review and Recommendations for the Queensland Government
  •  Fauna Spotter Code of Practice for the Queensland Government
  • Major Technical Report for the Moreton Bay Rail Koala Management Plan for the City of Moreton Bay

Since our establishment, we have also been involved in numerous collaborative scientific publications, feasibility studies, and clinical trials, and remain active in groundbreaking research yet to be published.

Some of our active research projects/collaborations are:

  • In-field trials for the development of a dedicated koala chlamydia vaccine (University of the Sunshine Coast)
  • Development of road mitigation devices to reduce threats to koalas from vehicles
  • Drivers and biomarkers of disease and success in wild koalas (University of Sydney)
  • Developing a rapid antigen test to detect Chlamydia in koalas (University of the Sunshine Coast/Radatec Pty Ltd)
  • Side-by-side comparison of two chlamydia vaccines (Queensland University of Technology)
  •  Identification of mosquito vector host-seeking at koala roosting heights (QIMR)
  • The reproductive system of male and female koalas (University of Queensland)

Koala Egress Trials

Koala habitats are often adjacent to busy road and rail corridors that are protected by koala-safe fencing. Unfortunately, during their search for a new home range or mating season, koalas sometimes wander onto these corridors, endangering both their lives and motorists. The koalas struggle to find their way out and may repeatedly traverse the road and railway line in attempts to return through the fencing.

EVE has designed a test site to study koala behaviour in their attempt to find a way through to their habitat, allowing us to trial various devices and innovations to determine sensible solutions.

Our tests include new escape devices to allow easy access out of these corridors, assessing materials that deal with scaling concrete road barriers, noise activation alerts for areas that can’t be fenced.

Through these studies and iterative device development we can reduce the risk of injury and death for not only koalas but other native fauna.

In October 2024, EVE officially launched the Fauna Escape Hatch (aka Koala Doggy Door) as a result of these trials. Designed for seamless integration into infrastructure such as roads, railways, and construction sites, this eco-friendly, one-way gate provides safe passage for koalas and other ground-traversing species. It is currently installed at 16 hotspot locations across the City of Moreton Bay and has also generated interest from other local government areas in Queensland, with plans for broader expansion interstate over the next 12 months.

Koala Egress Trials

Koala habitats are often adjacent to busy road and rail corridors that are protected by koala-safe fencing. Unfortunately, during their search for a new home range or mating season, koalas sometimes wander onto these corridors, endangering both their lives and motorists. The koalas struggle to find their way out and may repeatedly traverse the road and railway line in attempts to return through the fencing.

EVE has designed a test site to study koala behaviour in their attempt to find a way through to their habitat, allowing us to trial various devices and innovations to determine sensible solutions.

Our tests include new escape devices to allow easy access out of these corridors, assessing materials that deal with scaling concrete road barriers, noise activation alerts for areas that can’t be fenced.

Through these studies and iterative device development we can reduce the risk of injury and death for not only koalas but other native fauna.

Our Research Partners

Did You Know? Alternative Solutions are Achievable.

Our extensive monitoring and management of koala populations has been critical in furthering our understanding of how we can coexist with koalas.
A few key findings from our scientific research have demonstrated:

  • Koalas can co-exist readily within the urban environment if the landscape is designed in a koala-sensitive manner.
  • Koala translocation can be successfully achieved under the right management scenarios, as a last resort management option.
  • Accurate assessments of koala health, distribution and abundance are necessary to implement successful management strategies and recover populations.
  • Innovative survey methods, such as thermal drone technologies, help increase our ability to facilitate up-to-date population censuses.
  • Knowledge of koala behaviour and ecology assists with the design of effective road mitigation strategies such fauna escape devices.

Did You Know? Alternative Solutions are Achievable.

Our extensive monitoring and management of koala populations has been critical in furthering our understanding of how we can coexist with koalas.
A few key findings from our scientific research have demonstrated:

  • Koalas can co-exist readily within the urban environment if the landscape is designed in a koala-sensitive manner.
  • Koala translocation can be successfully achieved under the right management scenarios, as a last resort management option.
  • Accurate assessments of koala health, distribution and abundance are necessary to implement successful management strategies and recover populations.
  • Innovative survey methods, such as thermal drone technologies, help increase our ability to facilitate up-to-date population censuses.
  • Knowledge of koala behaviour and ecology assists with the design of effective road mitigation strategies such fauna escape devices.

NSW Koala Translocation Review and Recommendations

 

In January 2024, EVE partnered with koala researchers from Southern Cross University, University of Queensland, and University of the Sunshine Coast to deliver the NSW Koala Translocation Report. This report is the most comprehensive review of koala translocation ever undertaken, with the formulation of guidelines for compassionate and effective translocation.

The report was prepared following a call for research grant proposals by the former NSW Department of Planning, Industry and Environment (DPIE, now Department of Planning and Environment, DPE) in 2019 for research investigating koala translocation. Endeavour Veterinary Ecology was awarded a grant to investigate the effectiveness and challenges associated with undertaking koala translocation, with an emphasis on New South Wales (NSW).

This project has been supported by the NSW Government under the NSW Koala Strategy.

NSW Koala Translocation Review and Recommendations

 

In January 2024, EVE partnered with koala researchers from Southern Cross University, University of Queensland, and University of the Sunshine Coast to deliver the NSW Koala Translocation Report. This report is the most comprehensive review of koala translocation ever undertaken, with the formulation of guidelines for compassionate and effective translocation.

The report was prepared following a call for research grant proposals by the former NSW Department of Planning, Industry and Environment (DPIE, now Department of Planning and Environment, DPE) in 2019 for research investigating koala translocation. Endeavour Veterinary Ecology was awarded a grant to investigate the effectiveness and challenges associated with undertaking koala translocation, with an emphasis on New South Wales (NSW).

This project has been supported by the NSW Government under the NSW Koala Strategy.