Search

Summary: Fire is a major type of ecological disturbance shaping plant communities and species distributions. Fires in the spring and summer of 2019/2020 in Australia burnt large areas where this type of disturbance was rare in the past, including in the South‐East Queensland region. To assess the potential impacts of these fires, online GIS data layers were used to map where the fires occurred and which protected areas, plant communities and threatened plants were likely burnt. Based on clustering of Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite sensor fire points, 3% (240,000 ha) of the region may have burnt including 107,606 ha of National Parks, sections of 18 Broad Vegetation Groups and 74 Regional Ecosystems and potential habitat of 74 threatened plant species. This included 16% of wet open forests and 13% of rainforests. The results provide preliminary insights into the potential scale of the fires and impact on biodiversity from mapping based on online data, but we also that more detailed mapping including of fire intensity and perimeter combined with ground truthing and ongoing monitoring would be required to better understand changes in fire regimes in the region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Volunteers and citizen scientists can make an important contribution to bird monitoring and threatened species conservation projects. Members of BirdLife Australia's Threatened Bird Network (TBN), a programme which encouraged community participation in conservation projects for threatened birds, were surveyed in 2013 to gain an insight into their demographics and volunteering motivation and preferences. In the 2013 survey, a large proportion of survey respondents were aged between 55 and 74 years old and over half were retired, representing a higher proportion of retired participants than found in a similar study of TBN members in 2000. A large proportion (69%) of respondents had volunteered with TBN projects (occasionally or at least once per year), despite being involved with other environmental groups. Respondents that volunteered mostly preferred short‐term (one day) field‐based volunteer activities, with nearly half also preferring to travel 50 km or less to participate in a project. Less than one third of respondents had never volunteered with TBN projects; this was attributed to not enough projects close to home, time restrictions and lack of transport. Preferences of volunteers in the 2013 survey were similar to those undertaken in 2000 for the majority of responses, including the preference for the activity occurring outdoors, the importance of regular feedback from the organiser, the moderate importance placed on seeing target species and the lack of importance for the provision of transport. A higher importance was placed on the following factors in the 2013 survey responses compared to 2000 (potentially influenced by the higher number of retirees): Having activities closer to home, the activity not being too physically demanding, the opportunity for free time during the activity, good weather was predicted on the day of the activity, existing skills were adequate for the activity, and accommodation was provided if required. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Fire is an important ecological process that shapes vegetation structure and habitat for faunal assemblages globally. Prescribed burns are increasingly being used in conservation and management to restore fire regimes in fire‐suppressed vegetation communities. Small threatened macropods require structurally complex habitat that allows them to evade detection by predators. Given that fire can alter vegetation structure, it can be viewed as a strong ecological force in shifting the dynamics between predator and prey species. Previous studies in temperate Australia have shown that prescribed burns in the presence of European Red Fox (Vulpes vulpes) and feral Cat (Felis catus) can have negative impacts on small macropods and medium‐sized mammals. Post‐fire response of threatened small macropods and their predators has not been experimentally examined in subtropical Australia despite this region providing refugia for the Long‐nosed Potoroo (Potorous tridactylus) and Red‐legged Pademelon (Thylogale stigmatica). We conducted a before‐after‐control‐impact fire experiment at two paired sites after low–moderate intensity burns typical of cool season prescribed burns. We used camera trapping to investigate changes in activity of threatened small macropods and their predators. We also recorded vegetation change. Despite large reductions in ground and shrub cover, activity of small macropods and the Dingo (Canis dingo) did not change in response to fires. Therefore, the threat of dingo predation appears to have remained unchanged following the fires. Although feral cats and foxes were present, they showed negligible activity across our sites. Our study suggests that small‐scale patchy ecological burns may not lead to increased predation of small macropods in our landscape. We attribute this to sufficient post‐fire refugia and very low densities of foxes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Feral Horse (Equus caballus) impacts in northern Kosciuszko National Park, New South Wales, Australia are directly occurring in habitat of the nationally threatened Broad‐toothed Rat (Mastacomys fuscus). This species is endemic primarily to the mountain regions of south‐eastern mainland Australia and Tasmania, with a disjunct population at Barrington Tops. The Broad‐toothed Rat's preferred habitat is being increasingly impacted by browsing and trampling associated with the expansion of feral horse populations. This study surveyed 180 sites supporting preferred habitat for this species to determine Broad‐toothed Rat presence and relative abundance in relation to the level of feral horse impacts within the reserve. There was a significant negative relationship between feral horse impacts and both Broad‐toothed Rat presence and abundance. No scats were identified at localities where feral horse impacts were severe, and at moderate horse impact sites, there was a proportion (34%) without scats found. Locations with low horse impacts had little impact on Broad‐toothed Rat occurrence. As feral horse populations increase, Broad‐toothed Rat populations may be further impacted. Such impacts will be due to the loss of vegetation cover from feral horse trampling and grazing, making animals more vulnerable to predation by predators or impacting on their ability to disperse to more suitable habitat. Habitat remnants and vegetation corridors along drainage lines require protection from feral horses to prevent localized extinctions of Broad‐toothed Rat. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]