Negative Human Impacts
- Koalas are iconic animals native to Australia. They are true habitat and food specialists, only ever inhabiting forests and woodlands where Eucalyptus trees are present.
- Increasing atmospheric CO2 levels will reduce the nutritional quality of Eucalyptus leaves, causing nutrient shortages in the species that forage on them. As a result, Koalas may no longer be able to meet their nutritional demands, resulting in malnutrition and starvation.
- Increasing frequency and intensity of droughts can force Koalas to descend from trees in search of water or new habitats. This makes them particularly vulnerable to wild and domestic predators, as well as to road traffic, often resulting in death.
- Koalas have very limited capability to adapt to rapid, human-induced climate change, making them very vulnerable to its negative impacts.
- Clearing is mainly associated with urban development in coastal regions and agricultural development
Positive Human Impacts
- Unfortunately there aren't many positive impacts humans have had on the Koalas' and their ecosystem. But there are few such as the foundations made to protect them and where they inhabit, and the laws passed to reduce the deforestation in the Eucalyptus forests. The foundations are the Australian Koala Foundation, The SSC: Species Survival Commission, and there are a few individuals that have foundations that support the Koalas like Tony Burke. These people and foundations have helped save many koalas and their homes and if people keep putting forth the effort to take care of these animals and the ecosystem they live in the species will survive.