Unfortunately for scientists, it's almost irrelevant what fascinating new research they publish on the tiny antechinus, because headline-hungry journalists will almost always lead with its lethal sexual appetite.

Key points: Antechinus kept in warmer conditions weren't able to adjust their metabolism as effectively

Antechinus kept in warmer conditions weren't able to adjust their metabolism as effectively Warming climate may make surviving winter more difficult

Warming climate may make surviving winter more difficult Animals that mate once and die may be especially vulnerable to big disturbances

Despite having many redeeming features, the Australian marsupial mouse is mostly famous because the males literally shag themselves to death during mating season.

There are eye-witness accounts of male antechinus covered in sores, hair falling out, dragging themselves around looking for a female to mate with, toward the end of their two to three-week cataclysmic mating period.

And as if it didn't have enough on its plate already, researchers believe life is going to get much harder for the yellow-footed antechinus — Antechinus flavipes — because of climate change.

In research published in Frontiers of Physiology, scientists found that warming temperatures during the early months of the yellow-footed antechinus's development may make it less able to survive winter.

After a group of yellow-footed antechinus were weaned from their mother, at about 100 days old, scientists transferred them to temperature-controlled enclosures for about 90 days.

One group was kept at about 17 degrees Celsius and the other at 25C.

During that period, the researchers monitored things like activity levels and growth rate, while otherwise keeping conditions between the groups as identical as possible.

At the end of the acclimatisation period, the researchers exposed each group to a series of temperature tests, and monitored their basal metabolic rate, or BMR.

Your BMR is the amount of energy your body burns to maintain your basic life functions — breathing, cell production, warmth, and so on.

First, the animals were placed in chambers at 18C, and the temperature was increased by 4C increments every two hours, up to 30C.

Secondly, they were placed in chambers at 14C and the temperature was dropped to 10C after three hours.

They found the animals that had spent the acclimatisation period in the cooler (17C) enclosure altered their metabolic rate up and down depending on the temperature of their new environment.

But animals acclimatised in the warmer enclosure maintained the same, lower BMR when transferred to the cold environment.

Pregnant, lactating females may be especially at risk

Antechinus raised in warm conditions were less able to adapt to temperature change. ( Supplied: Christine Hosking )

The researchers think this indicates animals that spend their first few months in warmer temperatures may have less phenotypic plasticity — ability to respond to external environmental factors.

Yellow-footed antechinus, particularly in southern regions, are born between September and November.

They spend their first few months of life in summer and autumn.

In winter, they're typically able to slow down their BMR, and may even enter an energy-saving torpor — similar to a hibernation — to get through the cold months, before becoming active again when it's time to mate.

Climate change is not only predicted to bring warmer temperatures, but also more intense and longer heatwaves.

And this may prove problematic for the species, according to lead researcher Clare Stawski from the University of New England and the Norwegian University of Science and Technology.

"We hypothesise that as individuals raised in warm conditions appear to have less phenotypic flexibility, they may not be able to respond effectively to prolonged increases in temperature and therefore struggle throughout winter," Dr Stawski said.

Antechinus are one of a few native animals that have a reproductive strategy called semelparity — that is, where an animal only has a single reproductive period before they die.

This makes their populations especially vulnerable to big disturbances, such as a heatwaves, according to Dr Stawski.

"This may be especially true during the period where there are no males and only pregnant or lactating females," she said.

Species with smaller range may be hit the hardest

The yellow-footed antechinus is fairly widely distributed around Australia, from around Cooktown in north Queensland down to eastern South Australia, with an isolated population in Western Australia.

This suggests they may be able to adapt to different conditions over time, according to antechinus expert Andrew Baker from the Queensland University of Technology.

Some of the species with smaller ranges, such as the black-tailed antechinus — Antechinus arktos — may be even more vulnerable to changing climate conditions, Dr Baker said.

He's been monitoring the black-tailed antechinus in its limited range around Springbrook in south-east Queensland, and last year his results were worrying.

"Last year we were trapping around Springbrook for arktos and we didn't catch one," he said. "Not. A. One."

"And [brown antechinus] you're normally tripping over those and we didn't catch one [either]. For the amount of trapping we did we should have caught 200."

He worries that the drought may have had a massive impact on already vulnerable populations there.

"That's the worry now is that we've had this [drought-breaking] rain which is good for the region, but what's happened to the cohort?"