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Small mammal diversity is higher in infrequently compared with frequently burnt rainforest-savanna mosaics in the north Kimberley, Australia
Citation
Ondei, S and Prior, LD and McGregor, HW and Reid, AM and Johnson, CN and Vigilante, T and Goonack, C and Williams, D and Bowman, DMJS, Small mammal diversity is higher in infrequently compared with frequently burnt rainforest-savanna mosaics in the north Kimberley, Australia, Wildlife Research, 48, (3) pp. 218-229. ISSN 1035-3712 (2021) [Refereed Article]
Copyright Statement
Copyright CSIRO 20
DOI: doi:10.1071/WR20010
Abstract
Context: Populations of native mammals are declining at an alarming rate in many parts of tropical northern Australia. Fire regimes are considered a contributing factor, but this hypothesis is difficult to test because of the ubiquity of fire.
Aims: This preliminary study investigated relative abundance and richness of small mammals on a gradient of fire regimes in the Uunguu Indigenous Protected Area (north Kimberley, Australia).
Methods: Species were sampled using 40 unbaited camera traps, positioned for a year on 20 transects crossing the rainforest–savanna boundary at locations with comparable environment and geology but varying fire history. The relative importance of the factors ‘fire frequency’, ‘late dry season fire frequency’, ‘time since burnt’ and ‘vegetation type’ as predictors of the number of small mammal species and detections was tested using Spatial Generalised Linear Mixed Models to account for spatial autocorrelation.
Key results: Nine species of small mammals were observed. Mammals were more abundant and diverse in locations with low overall fire frequency, which was a better predictor than late dry season fire frequency or time since burnt. The model including fire frequency and vegetation explained the highest proportion of total variation in mammal diversity (R2 = 42.0%), with most of this variation explained by fire frequency alone (R2 = 40.5%). The best model for number of detections (R2 = 20.9%) included both factors.
Conclusions: In the north Kimberley, small mammals are likely to be more abundant and diverse in areas with low fire frequency.
Implications: This natural experiment supports the theory that frequent fires are contributing to the decline of small mammals observed across northern Australia.
Item Details
Item Type: | Refereed Article |
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Keywords: | Australian tropics, fire regimes, mammals, rainforests, savannas, feral cats, fire, indigenous Australians |
Research Division: | Biological Sciences |
Research Group: | Ecology |
Research Field: | Terrestrial ecology |
Objective Division: | Environmental Management |
Objective Group: | Terrestrial systems and management |
Objective Field: | Control of pests, diseases and exotic species in terrestrial environments |
UTAS Author: | Ondei, S (Dr Stefania Ondei) |
UTAS Author: | Prior, LD (Dr Lynda Prior) |
UTAS Author: | McGregor, HW (Dr Hugh McGregor) |
UTAS Author: | Johnson, CN (Professor Christopher Johnson) |
UTAS Author: | Bowman, DMJS (Professor David Bowman) |
ID Code: | 145844 |
Year Published: | 2021 |
Web of Science® Times Cited: | 2 |
Deposited By: | Plant Science |
Deposited On: | 2021-08-08 |
Last Modified: | 2021-09-15 |
Downloads: | 0 |
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