- Waudby, Helen, Turak, Eren, Callister, Kate, Florentine, Singarayer, Westbrooke, Martin, Palmer, Grant, Dayman, Ray
- Authors: Waudby, Helen , Turak, Eren , Callister, Kate , Florentine, Singarayer , Westbrooke, Martin , Palmer, Grant , Dayman, Ray
- Date: 2023
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Australian Journal of Zoology Vol. 71, no. 1 (2023), p.
- Full Text: false
- Reviewed:
- Description: Determining species’ distributions is challenging for cryptic species that are difficult to detect using standard techniques. The mallee worm-lizard (Aprasia inaurita Kluge, 1974) is a cryptic reptile in the family Pygopodidae, listed as Endangered in New South Wales. We modelled the species’ potential distribution (Maxent) to improve understanding of the species’ distribution and surveyed potential habitat in the Scotia Mallee region (an area with suitable habitat) from 2018 to 2022, with pitfall traps and artificial refuges (terracotta roof tiles). We completed 11 587 pitfall trap-nights and 3200 tile checks over eight monitoring sessions. Over this period, we detected six vertebrate species (all lizards) using roof tiles and 40 species with pitfall traps, but no mallee worm-lizards. Evaluation of existing records of the mallee worm-lizard from NSW suggested that the state constitutes the north-eastern edge of its continental range, with the species apparently present in low numbers across a wide swathe of south-western NSW. Most records were located within or near to spinifex or porcupine grass (Triodia spp.) communities, on private land. Species distribution modelling provided outputs that are useful for spatial prioritisation of conservation efforts for the species, with region-wide maps showing that much of the Scotia Mallee study area contains potentially suitable habitat for the mallee worm-lizard. However, habitat suitability scores for individual cells in this area were low, in some instances, because of high maximum summer temperatures and soil available water capacity. We anticipate that increasing temperatures associated with climate change may further reduce the suitability of habitat in this area in the future. © 2023 The Author(s)
Animal movements in fire-prone landscapes
- Nimmo, Dale, Avitabile, Sarah, Banks, Sam, Bird, Rebecca, Callister, Kate, Clarke, Michael, Dickman, Chris, Doherty, Tim, Driscoll, Don, Greenville, Aaron, Haslem, Angie, Kelly, Luke, Kenny, Sally, Lahoz-Monfort, Jose, Lee, Connie, Leonard, Steven, Moore, Harry, Newsome, Thomas, Parr, Catherine, Ritchie, Euan, Schneider, Kathryn, Turner, James, Watson, Simon, Westbrooke, Martin, Wouters, Mike, White, Matthew, Bennett, Andrew
- Authors: Nimmo, Dale , Avitabile, Sarah , Banks, Sam , Bird, Rebecca , Callister, Kate , Clarke, Michael , Dickman, Chris , Doherty, Tim , Driscoll, Don , Greenville, Aaron , Haslem, Angie , Kelly, Luke , Kenny, Sally , Lahoz-Monfort, Jose , Lee, Connie , Leonard, Steven , Moore, Harry , Newsome, Thomas , Parr, Catherine , Ritchie, Euan , Schneider, Kathryn , Turner, James , Watson, Simon , Westbrooke, Martin , Wouters, Mike , White, Matthew , Bennett, Andrew
- Date: 2019
- Type: Text , Journal article , Review
- Relation: Biological Reviews Vol. 94, no. 3 (2019), p. 981-998
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: Movement is a trait of fundamental importance in ecosystems subject to frequent disturbances, such as fire-prone ecosystems. Despite this, the role of movement in facilitating responses to fire has received little attention. Herein, we consider how animal movement interacts with fire history to shape species distributions. We consider how fire affects movement between habitat patches of differing fire histories that occur across a range of spatial and temporal scales, from daily foraging bouts to infrequent dispersal events, and annual migrations. We review animal movements in response to the immediate and abrupt impacts of fire, and the longer-term successional changes that fires set in train. We discuss how the novel threats of altered fire regimes, landscape fragmentation, and invasive species result in suboptimal movements that drive populations downwards. We then outline the types of data needed to study animal movements in relation to fire and novel threats, to hasten the integration of movement ecology and fire ecology. We conclude by outlining a research agenda for the integration of movement ecology and fire ecology by identifying key research questions that emerge from our synthesis of animal movements in fire-prone ecosystems.
- Authors: Nimmo, Dale , Avitabile, Sarah , Banks, Sam , Bird, Rebecca , Callister, Kate , Clarke, Michael , Dickman, Chris , Doherty, Tim , Driscoll, Don , Greenville, Aaron , Haslem, Angie , Kelly, Luke , Kenny, Sally , Lahoz-Monfort, Jose , Lee, Connie , Leonard, Steven , Moore, Harry , Newsome, Thomas , Parr, Catherine , Ritchie, Euan , Schneider, Kathryn , Turner, James , Watson, Simon , Westbrooke, Martin , Wouters, Mike , White, Matthew , Bennett, Andrew
- Date: 2019
- Type: Text , Journal article , Review
- Relation: Biological Reviews Vol. 94, no. 3 (2019), p. 981-998
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: Movement is a trait of fundamental importance in ecosystems subject to frequent disturbances, such as fire-prone ecosystems. Despite this, the role of movement in facilitating responses to fire has received little attention. Herein, we consider how animal movement interacts with fire history to shape species distributions. We consider how fire affects movement between habitat patches of differing fire histories that occur across a range of spatial and temporal scales, from daily foraging bouts to infrequent dispersal events, and annual migrations. We review animal movements in response to the immediate and abrupt impacts of fire, and the longer-term successional changes that fires set in train. We discuss how the novel threats of altered fire regimes, landscape fragmentation, and invasive species result in suboptimal movements that drive populations downwards. We then outline the types of data needed to study animal movements in relation to fire and novel threats, to hasten the integration of movement ecology and fire ecology. We conclude by outlining a research agenda for the integration of movement ecology and fire ecology by identifying key research questions that emerge from our synthesis of animal movements in fire-prone ecosystems.
- Callister, Kate, Florentine, Singarayer, Westbrooke, Martin
- Authors: Callister, Kate , Florentine, Singarayer , Westbrooke, Martin
- Date: 2018
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Australian Journal of Botany Vol. 66, no. 3 (2018), p. 202-212
- Full Text: false
- Reviewed:
- Description: Semiarid and arid woodlands across much of southern Australia have been subject to prolonged high total grazing pressure leading to loss of species diversity and a lack of recruitment of long-lived perennial species. Regeneration of perennial species requires grazing pressure to be maintained at low levels, but gaps remain in our ecological understanding of regeneration potential. The present study investigated the abundance of germinable seed in the soil seedbank in high quality remnants of Casuarina pauper F.Muell. ex L.A.S.Johnson (Belah) woodlands in north-west Victoria. Seed viability and response to six seed pretreatments including dry heat, wet heat, smoky water, soaking in distilled water, cold stratification and sand scarification were also tested to determine whether seed factors may be limiting regeneration. Results suggest that seed viability was not a limiting regeneration factor for nine out of the 10 perennial species tested with the exception of Alectryon oleifolius S.T. Reynolds. Only small amounts of seed from perennial species, largely Chenopodiaceae species and C. pauper, were found in the soil seedbanks of intact sites, suggesting component perennial species do not maintain long-term soil seedbanks. Results suggest that natural recovery of perennial species diversity in depauperate sites will depend on seed dispersal.
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