Multiple Threats Affecting the Marsupials of Australasia: Impacts and Management

Doherty, Tim S.; Geary, William L.; Miritis, Vivianna; Watchorn, Darcy J.

doi:10.1007/978-3-030-88800-8_53-1

Cited by 3 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 68 publications

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“…Our original intention was to assess the effects of fire in the presence and absence of intense cat control due to evidence that very recently burned areas can be preferred hunting grounds of feral cats (Doherty et al, 2023;McGregor et al, 2016). However, 2 factors prevented us from achieving this.…”

Section: Study Areamentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Theoretically, higher resource availability could help buffer any negative effects of fires on animal populations, but this could be offset by increased predation pressure. There is some evidence that feral cats are attracted to very recently burned areas due to the ease of hunting when vegetation cover is reduced (Doherty et al, 2023;McGregor et al, 2016). Evidence suggests that the suppressive effects of predators on small mammal populations in arid Australia are strongest during the "decline" phase, when the system is transitioning from boom to bust Letnic et al, 2011;Spencer et al, 2017), but it is unclear how prescribed burning might alter this dynamic.…”

Section: Study Limitations and Future Researchmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Experimentally testing animal responses to prescribed fire size and severity

Doherty,

Bohórquez Fandiño,

Watchorn

et al. 2024

Conservation Biology

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Deserts are often highly biodiverse and provide important habitats for many threatened species. Fire is a dominant disturbance in deserts, and prescribed burning is increasingly being used by conservation managers and Indigenous peoples to mitigate the damaging effects of climate change, invasive plants, and land‐use change. The size, severity, and patchiness of fires can affect how animals respond to fire. However, there are almost no studies examining such burn characteristics in desert environments, which precludes the use of such information in conservation planning. Using a before‐after control‐impact approach with 20 sampling sites, we studied the outcomes of 10 prescribed burns of varying in size (5–267 ha), severity, and patchiness to identify which variables best predicted changes in small mammal and reptile species richness and abundance. Three of 13 species showed a clear response to fire. Captures increased for 2 species (1 mammal, 1 reptile) and decreased for 1 species (a reptile) as the proportional area burned around traps increased. 2 other mammal species showed weaker positive responses to fire. Total burn size and burn patchiness were not influential predictors for any species. Changes in capture rates occurred only at sites with the largest and most severe burns. No fire‐related changes in capture rates were observed where fires were small and very patchy. Our results suggest there may be thresholds of fire size or fire severity that trigger responses to fire, which has consequences for management programs underpinned by the patch mosaic burning paradigm. The prescribed burns we studied, which are typical in scale and intensity across many desert regions, facilitated the presence of some taxa and were unlikely to have widespread or persistent negative impacts on small mammal or reptile communities in this ecosystem provided that long unburned habitat harboring threatened species is protected.This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved

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Section: Study Areamentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Study Limitations and Future Researchmentioning

confidence: 99%

Experimentally testing animal responses to prescribed fire size and severity

Doherty,

Bohórquez Fandiño,

Watchorn

et al. 2024

Conservation Biology

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“…To this end, we experimentally tested the efficacy of a novel artificial refuge design (Bleicher & Dickman, 2020) for improving small mammal population persistence after prescribed fire. We conducted our study in the temperate forest biome of southeastern Australia, a region where the potential for an interaction between invasive mammalian predators and fire is particularly high and likely poses a considerable threat to small native mammals (Doherty, Geary, et al, 2023; Hradsky, 2020). We used a modified before‐after control‐impact (BACI) experimental approach to assess whether changes in the relative abundance and species richness of small mammals were influenced by the provision of artificial refuges after prescribed burns.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Artificial refuges did not increase small mammal abundance after fire

Watchorn,

Doherty,

Wilson

et al. 2024

Conservat Sci and Prac

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The interacting threats of invasive predators and altered fire regimes are key conservation issues for many native species globally. Artificial refuges have been proposed as a potential conservation tool to provide prey species with protection from invasive predators after fire, but we do not yet know whether they improve animal survival. To address this knowledge gap, we experimentally tested how small mammal abundance and species richness were influenced by the provision of artificial refuges after prescribed burns. We surveyed small mammals across five unburnt sites, seven burnt sites with artificial refuges, and eight burnt control sites following two prescribed fires in southeastern Australia. There were negative and neutral responses of small mammals to the burns, and relative abundance was positively correlated with structurally complex vegetation. Artificial refuges had no impact on abundance or species richness, irrespective of burn coverage. These findings suggest that this artificial refuge design may not be an effective tool for improving small mammal population persistence postfire, and as such we should not yet scale up their application. However, given the inherent context‐dependency of field experiments involving fire, which include difficult‐to‐control variables such as fire severity, predator activity, and population dynamics, we encourage researchers to undertake further experiments with artificial refuges in fire‐affected areas, including after severe wildfires when less vegetation cover remains. Such studies will help to build our understanding of their utility as a conservation tool across different ecosystems and fire types.

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A review of progress of a research program for the endangered northern quoll (Dasyurus hallucatus) in the multi-use landscapes of the Pilbara

Gibson

Moore²,

Cowan³

et al. 2023

Aust. Mammal.

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Maximising conservation outcomes for threatened species in multi-use landscapes is likely to require a multi-stakeholder, coordinated approach that is tenure blind. Here, we conduct a review of a research program targeting the endangered northern quoll (Dasyurus hallucatus) in the Pilbara region of Western Australia; an area with a high concentration of mining and pastoral activities. To inform ongoing investment to support northern quoll conservation, we identify future directions that either add value to research already undertaken or are based on the original priorities that have not been addressed. The original program was developed using a collaborative process involving workshops attended by multiple stakeholders to identify research priorities. To date, the program has significantly improved our knowledge of Pilbara northern quolls, particularly in relation to effective survey and monitoring techniques, the influence of habitat quantity, configuration, and composition on occupancy, movement ecology, population dynamics and structure, and the threat posed by introduced predators. The efficacy of artificial refuges that were created to replicate natural denning habitat has also been investigated. Suggested future research directions focus on refining the northern quoll regional monitoring program, understanding how interacting threats such as introduced predators, fire, and herbivore grazing influence northern quoll populations in the Pilbara, and how best to mitigate other threats such as mining associated activities and the impending cane toad invasion.

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Multiple Threats Affecting the Marsupials of Australasia: Impacts and Management

Cited by 3 publications

References 68 publications

Experimentally testing animal responses to prescribed fire size and severity

Experimentally testing animal responses to prescribed fire size and severity

Artificial refuges did not increase small mammal abundance after fire

A review of progress of a research program for the endangered northern quoll (Dasyurus hallucatus) in the multi-use landscapes of the Pilbara

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