Time since fire influences food resources for an endangered species, Carnaby’s cockatoo, in a fire-prone landscape

Where threatened species persist in multiple use landscapes, management activities, such as prescribed burning, may influence the availability of resources for those species. We examined how time since fire can influence food resources for the endangered Carnaby's cockatoo (Calyptorhynchus latirostris) in banksia woodlands of southwestern Australia. Tree density and cone productivity of dominant plant species, Banksia attenuata and Banksia menziesii, were compared across 44 sites of varying post-fire aged vegetation. The number of Carnaby's cockatoos that could be supported in banksia woodlands was estimated using the bird's energetic requirements and seed energy content. Banksia attenuata produced more cones at sites aged 10-30. years since fire in both survey years, while cone productivity for B. menziesii was highest in very old sites (>35. years since fire) in one year only. Higher numbers of Carnaby's cockatoos were predicted to be supported in vegetation aged between 14-30. years since fire, peaking in vegetation aged 20-25. years. The current distribution of post-fire aged vegetation within this area (>60% burnt within the last 7. years) is predicted to support ~2725 Carnaby's cockatoos, representing 25-35% of the estimated birds reliant on the area. Our results indicate that food resources are influenced by time since fire and, consequently, if optimising food resources was an objective, may be manipulated by altering burning patterns. While human and asset protection is a priority for prescribed burning, management of landscapes for improved persistence of threatened species is also important and complex trade-offs will have to be considered

Mammal assemblages in Boonanarring Nature Reserve, Dandaragan Plateau, Western Australia from 1986 and 2012

Although long term monitoring can provide land managers and researchers with insights intofaunal changes there are few such programmes in Australia, and many conservation actions areimplemented without assessment of their biodiversity benefits or costs. This study investigatedthe current status of native small mammals in the Boonanarring Nature Reserve (BNR), WesternAustralia, aiming to compare the contemporary distribution of mammals to those recorded 26 yearsago.Of particular importance is the evidence that no small mammal species have been lost from thereserve in the last 26 years; Pseudomys albocinereus, Tarsipes rostratus and Sminthopsis (sp)p. wererecorded in both years’ surveys. Records of P. albocinereus in this study are significant as theyconfirm the persistence of the species on the Dandaragan Plateau, whereas on the adjacent SwanCoastal Plain the species has not been recorded since 1987.Overall, the persistence of small mammals in this reserve, unlike the nearby reserves on the SwanCoastal Plain (SCP), could be attributed to the mix of vegetation types within the reserve and thelarger size of Boonanarring Nature Reserve. However, deficiencies in the monitoring programmewere identified. There is a need to improve the long-term monitoring of small mammals within theBNR with long-term, repeat-measures, analysis and reporting

Guidelines for ecological burning regimes in Banksia woodlands: challenges in a peri-urban system in Western Australia

Background/question/methods: In Mediterranean ecosystems a major challenge for land managers is the development of fire regimes that are optimal for biodiversity and reduce the occurrence of damaging wildfires. The aim of this study was to develop guidelines for ecological fire regimes in a peri-urban landscape dominated by remnant Banksia woodlands. Tolerable fire intervals of key fire flora and fauna response species were determined based on plant juvenile periods and fauna requirements, and fire history over four decades was analysed. Temporal and spatial distribution of post-fire ages at the landscape and local scales were assessed and ideal age class distributions estimated. Results/conclusions: Based on tolerable fire intervals it was recommended that a minimum fire interval of 8-16 years be adopted for the woodland communities. The fuel age distribution at the landscape level and within major vegetation communities was highly skewed to 1-6 years post-fire age and areas of old fuel age (>21 years) were very low. The current fire regime has implications for key flora and fauna species, particularly those that require long-unburnt Banksia woodlands, such as the critically endangered Carnaby’s black-cockatoo (Calyptorhynchus latirostris), honey possum (Tarsipes rostratus) and common dwarf skink (Menetia greyii). Planning to protect and increase areas of long-unburnt vegetation is recommended for these species. Susceptible biota associated with wetlands (southern brown bandicoot Isoodon obesulus, water rat Hydromys chrysogaster) also require protection from frequent fire. The guidelines provide a model for ecological burning regimes for optimal biodiversity outcomes in similar Mediterranean ecosystems

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