Technology Offers Help for Endangered Koalas
April 14, 2022
“The willing and even aggressive adoption by conservation biologists of novel tools to tackle the multiple threats faced by habitats and the biota they harbor will be crucial to counteract widespread species extinction and ecosystem collapse.”
Following bushfires in 2019–20 that killed an estimated 64,000 koalas, Australia designated them an endangered species. Now researchers propose that the iconic marsupials can be restored using “assisted reproductive technology” to freeze koala sperm for impregnating females in breed-for-release programs. In Issues, John O’Brien writes that this epitomizes the range of technologies being used or developed to stem biodiversity loss. “Indeed,” he writes, “the willing and even aggressive adoption by conservation biologists of novel tools to tackle the multiple threats faced by habitats and the biota they harbor will be crucial to counteract widespread species extinction and ecosystem collapse.”