ArticleBiology letters2014
Tree-hugging koalas demonstrate a novel thermoregulatory mechanism for arboreal mammals.
Article in Biology letters, 2014. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 29 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
29 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 129 citations in OpenAlex.
- Arboreal Mammals Are at Risk Under Climate Change: Insights From a Global Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Global change biology · 2026Pooled it
- Thermoregulatory strategies in the heat varies among Australian insectivorous bats.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- Are Hibernators Toast? Global Climate Change and Prolonged Seasonal Hibernation.Global change biology · 2026Review
- Understanding animal temperature sensation: from molecular thermosensors to physiological impacts.Science China. Life sciences · 2026Review
- Between the Trees: Quantifying Koala Ground Movement for Conservation Action.Animals : an open access journal from MDPI · 2025Article
- Article
- The Thermal Niche of the Koala (Animals : an open access journal from MDPI · 2025Article
- Thermal and morphometric correlates of the extremely low rate of energy use in a wild frugivorous primate, the Mayotte lemur.Scientific reports · 2024Article
- Hot climate, hot koalas: the role of weather, behaviour and disease on thermoregulation.Conservation physiology · 2024Article
- Re-evaluating model assumptions suggests that Australian birds are more tolerant of heat and aridity than predicted: a response to ConradieConservation physiology · 2022Article
- High temperatures and human pressures interact to influence mortality in an African carnivore.Ecology and evolution · 2021Article
- Body temperature of free-ranging koalas (Phascolarctos cinereus) in south-east Queensland.International journal of biometeorology · 2020Article
- Article
- Using Thermal Imaging to Monitor Body Temperature of Koalas (Animals : an open access journal from MDPI · 2019Article
- Coping with climate change: limited behavioral responses to hot weather in a tropical carnivore.Oecologia · 2019Article
- Forecasting the response to global warming in a heat-sensitive species.Scientific reports · 2019Article
- Ontogenetic reduction in thermal tolerance is not alleviated by earlier developmental acclimation in Rana temporaria.Oecologia · 2019Article
- Using virtual reality and thermal imagery to improve statistical modelling of vulnerable and protected species.PloS one · 2019Article
- Needing a drink: Rainfall and temperature drive the use of free water by a threatened arboreal folivore.PloS one · 2019Article
- Beneficial effect of hot spring bathing on stress levels in Japanese macaques.Primates; journal of primatology · 2018Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
6 authors at 4 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
How climate impacts organisms depends not only on their physiology, but also whether they can buffer themselves against climate variability via their behaviour. One of the way species can withstand hot temperatures is by seeking out cool microclimates, but only if their habitat provides such refugia. Here, we describe a novel thermoregulatory strategy in an arboreal mammal, the koala Phascolarctos cinereus. During hot weather, koalas enhanced conductive heat loss by seeking out and resting against tree trunks that were substantially cooler than ambient air temperature. Using a biophysical model of heat exchange, we show that this behaviour greatly reduces the amount of heat that must be lost via evaporative cooling, potentially increasing koala survival during extreme heat events. While it has long been known that internal temperatures of trees differ from ambient air temperatures, the relevance of this for arboreal and semi-arboreal mammals has not previously been explored. Our results highlight the important role of tree trunks as aboveground 'heat sinks', providing cool local microenvironments not only for koalas, but also for all tree-dwelling species.
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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.