Can hyperspectral data be used to map koala and possum habitat?

We assess the feasibility of remotely measuring leaf palatability for folivorous marsupials, and thus the potential for conducting large-scale mapping of habitat quality. A number of studies have found nutrient composition of eucalypt foliage to be a major determinant of the distribution of folivorous marsupials, including the koala and two species of possum. More recently it has been demonstrated that a specific group of secondary plant chemicals, the diformyl-phloroglucinols (DFPs), are the most important feeding deterrents, and are thus vital determinants of habitat quality. We report on the use of imaging spectroscopy to attempt to identify one such DFP, sideroxylonal-A, in the foliage of Eucalyptus melliodora, a key food source. Results from this study indicate that calibration equations derived from modified partial least squares regression may be used to predict sideroxylonal-A concentration, and hence leaf palatability, of E. melliodora foliage. Extension of this methodology to the canopy level would enable the remote estimation of habitat quality.