Dr Michaela Blyton’s research focuses on wildlife health and providing the science behind conservation actions to protect endangered Australian marsupials. Over 20% of Australian mammals are threatened with extinction. Among them is the iconic koala that faces threats from habitat loss, climate change and disease. Dr Blyton’s work combines genetic and microbiology techniques to better understand and combat these threats.
Dr. Blyton has shown that the koala’s gut microbiome shapes which species of eucalypts they can eat, which is now guiding the design of translocation and breed to release programs to ensure that koalas have the right microbiomes for their future diets. Dr. Blyton has also developed a molecular method to determine which species of eucalypts a koala has eaten from its poo. This tool is being used to identify koala food tree species across the country to enable targeted habitat protection and regeneration. Further, her work on koala retrovirus has shown that it likely leaves koalas susceptible to chlamydiosis, which causes infertility and death. This has led to her further research into controlling it’s spread and effects.