Study Reveals How Australian Marsupials' Desire for Sex May Cause Death

The researchers noticed that male northern quolles seem to sleep less than females during the mating season.

A new study has provided insights into the mating habits of endangered Australian marsupials known as the northern quoll.

During the course of the investigation led by researchers from the University of the Sunshine Coast (UniSC), scientists sought to determine why males tend to die after only one season while females can live to breed again for up to four years.

"Male quolls breed for one season, while females can breed for up to four, so this suggested that if no difference was detected in their daily behaviours that they perish due to an unexplored aspect of their physiology," said UniSC PhD candidate Joshua Gaschk, lead author of the study. "Instead, we found that male and female quoll behaviour differed significantly in many ways."

The researchers’ findings appear to suggest that male northern quolls may sleep less than females during mating season as they travel far and wide in search of prospective mates.

"They cover large distances to mate as often as possible and it seems that their drive is so strong that they forgo sleeping to spend more time searching for females," Dr. Christofer Clemente, senior lecturer in animal ecophysiology at UniSC, as quoted in a press release issued by the university.

“Something is definitely causing their health to fail after just one season and we think it is linked to sleep deprivation,” he added.

Clemente observed that male quolls lose weight, become more aggressive and spend less time grooming themselves during mating season.

"Sleep deprivation, and associated symptoms for a prolonged duration would make recuperation impossible and could explain the causes of death recorded in the males after breeding season," Gaschk remarked.