Haematology and biochemistry parameters for koalas ( Phascolarctos cinereus ) on Raymond Island, Victoria : use of point‐of‐care analysers

Biochemistry and haematology analytes can provide information on the health status of individual animals or populations in direct comparison to expected values or reference intervals developed using the same analysis methodology from a healthy reference population of the target species. Point-of-care analysers are increasingly used in the assessment of wildlife health; however, their effective use in wildlife species requires establishment of appropriate expected values from clinically healthy animals. This study utilised data generated by point-of-care haematology and biochemistry analysis from a health assessment initiative to establish expected values for blood parameters of a free-ranging koala (Phascolarctos cinereus) population on Raymond Island in Victoria, Australia. The reference population consisted of 40 clinically healthy koalas from 50 koalas examined. Sample size did not permit partitioning of the expected values in koalas from this region, although sex had a significant effect on some blood analytes, suggesting that future partitioning data in development of reference intervals may improve the utility of blood parameter measurement in accurate koala health evaluations. Here, we discuss the limitations and future work required to enhance the utility of point-of-care analysers in health assessment of koalas. Utilising methodologically equivalent and population-specific expected values in the assessment of individual koala health will assist decision-making in conservation management interventions. This overcomes the difficulties of assessing health utilising blood parameters in this unusual species where it is difficult to establish robust reference intervals, reflecting potential demographic and/or regional segmentation.