Animal population decline and recovery after severe fire: Relating ecological and life history traits with expert estimates of population impacts from the Australian 2019-20 megafires
- Ensbey, Michelle, Legge, Sarah, Jolly, Chris, Garnett, Stephen, Gallagher, Rachael, Lintermans, Mark, Nimmo, Dale, Rumpff, Libby, Scheele, Ben, Whiterod, Nick, Woinarski, John, Ahyong, Shane, Blackmore, Caroline, Bower, Deborah, Burbidge, Allan, Burns, Phoebe, Butler, Gavin, Catullo, Renee, Chapple, David, Dickman, Christopher, Doyle, Katie, Ferris, Jason, Fisher, Diana, Geyle, Hayley, Gillespie, Graeme, Greenlees, Matt, Hohnen, Rosemary, Hoskin, Conrad, Kennard, Mark, King, Alison, Kuchinke, Diana, Law, Brad, Lawler, Ivan, Lawler, Susan, Loyn, Richard, Lunney, Daniel, Lyon, Jarod, MacHunter, Josephine, Mahony, Michael, Mahony, Stephen, McCormack, Rob, Melville, Jane, Menkhorst, Peter, Michael, Damian, Mitchell, Nicola, Mulder, Eridani, Newell, David, Pearce, Luke, Raadik, Tarmo, Rowley, Jodi, Sitters, Holly, Southwell, Darren, Spencer, Ricky, West, Matt, Zukowski, Sylvia
- Authors: Ensbey, Michelle , Legge, Sarah , Jolly, Chris , Garnett, Stephen , Gallagher, Rachael , Lintermans, Mark , Nimmo, Dale , Rumpff, Libby , Scheele, Ben , Whiterod, Nick , Woinarski, John , Ahyong, Shane , Blackmore, Caroline , Bower, Deborah , Burbidge, Allan , Burns, Phoebe , Butler, Gavin , Catullo, Renee , Chapple, David , Dickman, Christopher , Doyle, Katie , Ferris, Jason , Fisher, Diana , Geyle, Hayley , Gillespie, Graeme , Greenlees, Matt , Hohnen, Rosemary , Hoskin, Conrad , Kennard, Mark , King, Alison , Kuchinke, Diana , Law, Brad , Lawler, Ivan , Lawler, Susan , Loyn, Richard , Lunney, Daniel , Lyon, Jarod , MacHunter, Josephine , Mahony, Michael , Mahony, Stephen , McCormack, Rob , Melville, Jane , Menkhorst, Peter , Michael, Damian , Mitchell, Nicola , Mulder, Eridani , Newell, David , Pearce, Luke , Raadik, Tarmo , Rowley, Jodi , Sitters, Holly , Southwell, Darren , Spencer, Ricky , West, Matt , Zukowski, Sylvia
- Date: 2023
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Biological conservation Vol. 283, no. (2023), p. 110021
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: Catastrophic megafires can increase extinction risks identifying species priorities for management and policy support is critical for preparing and responding to future fires. However, empirical data on population loss and recovery post-fire, especially megafire, are limited and taxonomically biased. These gaps could be bridged if species' morphological, behavioural, ecological and life history traits indicated their fire responses. Using expert elicitation that estimated population changes following the 2019–20 Australian megafires for 142 terrestrial and aquatic animal species (from every vertebrate class, one invertebrate group), we examined whether expert estimates of fire-related mortality, mortality in the year post-fire, and recovery trajectories over 10 years/three generations post-fire, were related to species traits. Expert estimates for fire-related mortality were lower for species that could potentially flee or shelter from fire, and that associated with fire-prone habitats. Post-fire mortality estimates were linked to diet, diet specialisation, home range size, and susceptibility to introduced herbivores that damage or compete for resources. Longer-term population recovery estimates were linked to diet/habitat specialisation, susceptibility to introduced species species with slower life histories and shorter subadult dispersal distances also had lower recovery estimates. Across animal groups, experts estimated that recovery was poorest for species with pre-fire population decline and more threatened conservation status. Sustained management is likely needed to recover species with habitat and diet specialisations, slower life histories, pre-existing declines and threatened conservation statuses. This study shows that traits could help inform management priorities before and after future megafires, but further empirical data on animal fire response is essential.
- Authors: Ensbey, Michelle , Legge, Sarah , Jolly, Chris , Garnett, Stephen , Gallagher, Rachael , Lintermans, Mark , Nimmo, Dale , Rumpff, Libby , Scheele, Ben , Whiterod, Nick , Woinarski, John , Ahyong, Shane , Blackmore, Caroline , Bower, Deborah , Burbidge, Allan , Burns, Phoebe , Butler, Gavin , Catullo, Renee , Chapple, David , Dickman, Christopher , Doyle, Katie , Ferris, Jason , Fisher, Diana , Geyle, Hayley , Gillespie, Graeme , Greenlees, Matt , Hohnen, Rosemary , Hoskin, Conrad , Kennard, Mark , King, Alison , Kuchinke, Diana , Law, Brad , Lawler, Ivan , Lawler, Susan , Loyn, Richard , Lunney, Daniel , Lyon, Jarod , MacHunter, Josephine , Mahony, Michael , Mahony, Stephen , McCormack, Rob , Melville, Jane , Menkhorst, Peter , Michael, Damian , Mitchell, Nicola , Mulder, Eridani , Newell, David , Pearce, Luke , Raadik, Tarmo , Rowley, Jodi , Sitters, Holly , Southwell, Darren , Spencer, Ricky , West, Matt , Zukowski, Sylvia
- Date: 2023
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Biological conservation Vol. 283, no. (2023), p. 110021
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: Catastrophic megafires can increase extinction risks identifying species priorities for management and policy support is critical for preparing and responding to future fires. However, empirical data on population loss and recovery post-fire, especially megafire, are limited and taxonomically biased. These gaps could be bridged if species' morphological, behavioural, ecological and life history traits indicated their fire responses. Using expert elicitation that estimated population changes following the 2019–20 Australian megafires for 142 terrestrial and aquatic animal species (from every vertebrate class, one invertebrate group), we examined whether expert estimates of fire-related mortality, mortality in the year post-fire, and recovery trajectories over 10 years/three generations post-fire, were related to species traits. Expert estimates for fire-related mortality were lower for species that could potentially flee or shelter from fire, and that associated with fire-prone habitats. Post-fire mortality estimates were linked to diet, diet specialisation, home range size, and susceptibility to introduced herbivores that damage or compete for resources. Longer-term population recovery estimates were linked to diet/habitat specialisation, susceptibility to introduced species species with slower life histories and shorter subadult dispersal distances also had lower recovery estimates. Across animal groups, experts estimated that recovery was poorest for species with pre-fire population decline and more threatened conservation status. Sustained management is likely needed to recover species with habitat and diet specialisations, slower life histories, pre-existing declines and threatened conservation statuses. This study shows that traits could help inform management priorities before and after future megafires, but further empirical data on animal fire response is essential.
Long-term declines in multiple waterbird species in a tidal embayment, south-east Australia
- Hansen, Birgita, Menkhorst, Peter, Moloney, Paul, Loyn, Richard
- Authors: Hansen, Birgita , Menkhorst, Peter , Moloney, Paul , Loyn, Richard
- Date: 2015
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Austral Ecology Vol. , no. (2015), p.
- Full Text: false
- Reviewed:
- Description: Worldwide, local extinctions and severe declines in waterbird densities are being reported from many important waterbird sites. Waterbird sites often exist as a network, collectively providing crucial habitat for different life history stages of different species. Therefore, population changes at one site may strongly influence others. In Australia, many waterbird species are highly mobile, and move rapidly over long distances in response to rainfall. Large tidal wetlands often serve as drought refugia or alternative breeding habitat for these species. These sites are also the migration terminus of many species of shorebirds that spend their non-breeding season in Australia. One such site in south-eastern Australia is Western Port, a Ramsar-listed tidal embayment forming part of the East Asian-Australasian Shorebird Site Network. We measured waterbird population trends over nearly 40 years in Western Port to see whether changes showed consistent trends over time across multiple species. Thirty-nine species were recorded often enough to allow an analysis of trends over time using dynamic linear models and, where appropriate, piecewise linear regression. Twenty-two species had declined, including four species of duck, five species of fish-eating bird (cormorants, terns and pelicans), one species each of grebe, gull and heron, and 10 species of shorebird. Only two species (Australian pied oystercatcher Haematopus longirostris and straw-necked ibis Threskiornis spinicollis) increased significantly over the same time period. Patterns of decline in non-migratory waterbirds may reflect diminishing wetland availability, local reductions in fish prey, increased predation pressure and changes in inland wetland resources. Declines in migratory shorebirds are most likely related to loss of habitat elsewhere in their trans-equatorial migration routes. These trends in waterbirds that use Western Port reflect widespread impacts on populations elsewhere in Australia and overseas, necessitating more than simply local management of this tidal embayment.
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