EPIDEMIOLOGY OF CHLAMYDIA-INDUCED REPRODUCTIVE DISEASE IN MALE KOALAS (PHASCOLARCTOS CINEREUS) FROM SOUTHEAST QUEENSLAND, AUSTRALIA AS ASSESSED FROM PENILE URETHRAL SWABS AND SEMEN.

Declining population sizes of koalas (Phascolarctos cinereus) in SE Queensland (QLD), Australia can partially be attributed to chlamydiosis, with the majority of epidemiological studies focusing on the prevalence of infection and associated pathology in female koalas, with lesser attention given to males. We aimed to explore the epidemiology of Chlamydia pecorum infection in the male urogenital tract from wild (hospitalized and free-ranging) koalas in SE QLD. Although 67% of male koalas were infected with C. pecorum in their urogenital tract and 55% were shedding the organism in their semen, only a third of the males sampled presented with overt signs of urogenital disease. Infection with C. pecorum was lower in populations from rural locations, compared with periurban locations, with a corresponding low association between urogenital infection and clinical disease. The presence of C. pecorum in penile urethral swabs was a good predictor of the presence of C. pecorum in semen, with a significant correlation (P=0.006) in 58% of males. In contrast, the C. pecorum load in penile urethral swabs was not a good predictor of the C. pecorum load in semen, with no significant correlation. In addition, 57% of male koalas had large numbers of bacterial copy numbers in the penile urethra (upper quartile) and 40% shedding into semen with no overt signs of disease. Investigation of the association of C. pecorum infection, body condition score, and age revealed that the highest incidence of urogenital infection occurred in males with the lowest body score (1 out of 10). Furthermore, 63% of sexually mature male koalas (>2 yr old) had urethral infections and 50% had C. pecorum in their semen. Our study suggested that the role of chlamydia in male koala infertility has been previously underestimated.

The Role of Bioacoustic Signals in Koala Sexual Selection: Insights from Seasonal Patterns of Associations Revealed with GPS-Proximity Units.

Despite being a charismatic and well-known species, the social system of the koala (Phascolarctos cinereus--the only extant member of the family Phascolarctidae) is poorly known and much of the koala's sociality and mating behaviors remain un-quantified. We evaluated these using proximity logging-GPS enabled tracking collars on wild koalas and discuss their implications for the mating system of this species. The frequency and duration of male-female encounters increased during the breeding season, with male-male encounters quite uncommon, suggesting little direct mating competition. By comparison, female-female interactions were very common across both seasons. Body mass of males was not correlated with their interactions with females during the breeding season, although male size is associated with a variety of acoustic parameters indicating individuality. We hypothesise that vocal advertising reduces the likelihood of male-male encounters in the breeding season while increasing the rate of male-female encounters. We suggest that male mating-season bellows function to reduce physical confrontations with other males allowing them to space themselves apart, while, at the same time, attracting females. We conclude that indirect male-male competition, female mate choice, and possibly female competition, mediate sexual selection in koalas.

Feasibility of automated speech sample collection with stuttering children using interactive voice response (IVR) technology.

PURPOSE: To investigate the feasibility of adopting automated interactive voice response (IVR) technology for remotely capturing standardized speech samples from stuttering children. METHOD: Participants were 10 6-year-old stuttering children. Their parents called a toll-free number from their homes and were prompted to elicit speech from their children using a standard protocol involving conversation, picture description and games. The automated IVR system was implemented using an off-the-shelf telephony software program and delivered by a standard desktop computer. The software infrastructure utilizes voice over internet protocol. Speech samples were automatically recorded during the calls. Video recordings were simultaneously acquired in the home at the time of the call to evaluate the fidelity of the telephone collected samples. Key outcome measures included syllables spoken, percentage of syllables stuttered and an overall rating of stuttering severity using a 10-point scale. RESULT: Data revealed a high level of relative reliability in terms of intra-class correlation between the video and telephone acquired samples on all outcome measures during the conversation task. Findings were less consistent for speech samples during picture description and games. CONCLUSION: Results suggest that IVR technology can be used successfully to automate remote capture of child speech samples.