Expansion of mining in the banded ironstone ranges of southern Western Australia has focussed att... more Expansion of mining in the banded ironstone ranges of southern Western Australia has focussed attention on the genetic impacts of habitat loss on rare endemic taxa. One example is Tetratheca paynterae subsp. paynterae (Elaeocarpaceae), an insect-pollinated, perennial shrub confined to 4 ha of banded ironstone outcrops in the Windarling Range. Mining removed 1,900 of the 7,700 recorded plants in 2004. Further
We investigated the response of the Western Bristlebird Dasyornis longirostris to fire in the Fit... more We investigated the response of the Western Bristlebird Dasyornis longirostris to fire in the Fitzgerald River National Park (FRNP), Western Australia, over a 34-year period. This species is a threatened Western Australian endemic restricted to a highly fire-prone habitat. Commencing in 1985, we surveyed for occurrence of Western Bristlebirds within the FRNP. Monitoring that was specifically focused on fire impacts began at Fitzgerald Track in November 1994 following a fire the previous month. That site had been surveyed in June and August 1994 before the fire. Fires in other recently surveyed locations in 1997–1998, 2000, 2008 and 2019 allowed for comparisons to be made following further monitoring of these sites. Many Bristlebirds survived a fire then relocated along or near the fire edge, usually in clusters of home ranges where suitable habitat was available. Bristlebirds gradually re-occupied burnt areas when these became suitable, often to home ranges occupied before the fire....
Dataset of bird survey results at the multi-century Eucalyptus salubris (gimlet) chronosequence i... more Dataset of bird survey results at the multi-century Eucalyptus salubris (gimlet) chronosequence in the Great Western Woodlands, south-western Australia. This data has been used to describe responses of bird species, functional groups and community composition to time since fire (Gosper et al. 2019 Biol Cons 230, 82-90; Gosper et al. in press Ecol Appl).
We investigated the response of the Western Bristlebird Dasyornis longirostris to fire in the Fit... more We investigated the response of the Western Bristlebird Dasyornis longirostris to fire in the Fitzgerald River National Park (FRNP), Western Australia, over a 34-year period. This species is a threatened Western Australian endemic restricted to a highly fire-prone habitat. Commencing in 1985, we surveyed for occurrence of Western Bristlebirds within the FRNP. Monitoring that was specifically focused on fire impacts began at Fitzgerald Track in November 1994 following a fire the previous month. That site had been surveyed in June and August 1994 before the fire. Fires in other recently surveyed locations in 1997–1998, 2000, 2008 and 2019 allowed for comparisons to be made following further monitoring of these sites. Many Bristlebirds survived a fire then relocated along or near the fire edge, usually in clusters of home ranges where suitable habitat was available. Bristlebirds gradually re-occupied burnt areas when these became suitable, often to home ranges occupied before the fire....
Fire-mediated habitat change regulates woodland bird species and functional group occurrence. Eco... more Fire-mediated habitat change regulates woodland bird species and functional group occurrence. Ecological
Habitat modification by fire and habitat loss via anthropogenic vegetation clearance and fragment... more Habitat modification by fire and habitat loss via anthropogenic vegetation clearance and fragmentation both impact animal populations. Yet, there has been limited investigation as to whether animals that decline under one of these types of habitat change also decline under the other, and how their cumulative impacts affect the status of species and communities. Using a~400-year chronosequence in the world's largest extant temperate woodland in southwestern Australia, we examine how time since fire affects bird community richness, reporting rates and composition, and whether taxa grouped on the basis of responses to vegetation clearance and fragmentation in an adjoining agricultural landscape are associated with either recently-burnt or long-unburnt woodlands. Consistent with substantial changes in vegetation composition and structure after fire in obligateseeder eucalypt woodlands, woodland bird communities were strongly affected by fire. Species richness and total reporting rates increased with time since fire, and community composition changed across the entire multicentury span of the chronosequence. Woodland birds most negatively impacted by vegetation clearance and fragmentation were strongly associated with long-unburnt woodlands. In a regional southwestern Australian context, where extensive vegetation clearance has substantially reduced the range and populations of many woodland bird species, the ability of remaining unfragmented woodlands to support populations of these species will be strongly contingent on appropriate fire management. Specifically, as stand-replacement fires have affected 25-30% of extant woodland over recent decades, management to limit the extent of fire in remaining long-unburnt woodlands would appear a priority for conservation of woodland bird diversity. Keeley, 2009). An understanding of how biota respond to fire is crucial for managing fire for biodiversity conservation (Driscoll et al., 2010), as recent alterations to fire regimes via changing land management (Pausas and Keeley, 2009) have contributed to many fauna declines. These include fauna species declining due to fire suppression (e.g. in pine-oak forests, Rose and Simons, 2016) or, perhaps more commonly, due to high incidence of fire and associated lack of time for development of hollows or other habitat resources (
Measures of abundance and population trends are necessary for informed management of rare species... more Measures of abundance and population trends are necessary for informed management of rare species, but obtaining reliable estimates of sparsely occurring species is an ongoing challenge in conservation biology. It is even more difficult when the species of interest is also cryptic. We censused a population of one such species, the Western Ground Parrot (Pezoporus wallicus flaviventris), over several years to develop a monitoring protocol to assist in future management, extend understanding of its response to fire, and provide a model that could be used with other cryptic bird species. Abundance of Western Ground Parrots, monitored by means of calling frequencies, varied from year to year at a study site in Fitzgerald River National Park, southwestern Australia. Frequency of calling increased significantly from 1996 to 2000. During this time, frequency of calling peaked in 1998 in part of the study site that had been unburnt for more than 40 years, and remained high in 2000. Frequency of calling was similar in a more recently burnt part of the study area except in May 1998, when frequency was lower following a fire that burnt part of this area five months previously. Frequency of calling dropped significantly in both the long unburnt and recently burnt areas between 2000 and 2004; exact reasons for this are unknown. Western Ground Parrots can use recently burnt vegetation where it is immediately adjacent to an established population, but do not need fire to create habitat, at least in the timescale of 40 years. The current monitoring protocol, where eight listening posts are counted approximately three times each, is capable of detecting an annual change in frequency of calling of ~13%. The number of listening posts would need to be increased to 14 in order to detect an annual change of 10%, and would need to be increased to 40 in order to detect an annual change of 5%. Monitoring population change in the cryptic and threatened Western Ground Parrot in relation to fire www.publish.csiro.au/journals/emu
We investigated the response of the Western Bristlebird Dasyornis longirostris to fire in the Fit... more We investigated the response of the Western Bristlebird Dasyornis longirostris to fire in the Fitzgerald River National Park (FRNP), Western Australia, over a 34-year period. This species is a threatened Western Australian endemic restricted to a highly fire-prone habitat. Commencing in 1985, we surveyed for occurrence of Western Bristlebirds within the FRNP. Monitoring that was specifically focused on fire impacts began at Fitzgerald Track in November 1994 following a fire the previous month. That site had been surveyed in June and August 1994 before the fire. Fires in other recently surveyed locations in 1997–1998, 2000, 2008 and 2019 allowed for comparisons to be made following further monitoring of these sites. Many Bristlebirds survived a fire then relocated along or near the fire edge, usually in clusters of home ranges where suitable habitat was available. Bristlebirds gradually re-occupied burnt areas when these became suitable, often to home ranges occupied before the fire....
Introduction Reliable data on population trends are essential for management of individual specie... more Introduction Reliable data on population trends are essential for management of individual species, particularly those that are threatened or subject to harvesting (eg Male 1995; Caughley and Gunn 1996; Jones 2004; Runge et al. 2004). It is important to evalu-ate the ...
Expansion of mining in the banded ironstone ranges of southern Western Australia has focussed att... more Expansion of mining in the banded ironstone ranges of southern Western Australia has focussed attention on the genetic impacts of habitat loss on rare endemic taxa. One example is Tetratheca paynterae subsp. paynterae (Elaeocarpaceae), an insect-pollinated, perennial shrub confined to 4 ha of banded ironstone outcrops in the Windarling Range. Mining removed 1,900 of the 7,700 recorded plants in 2004. Further
We investigated the response of the Western Bristlebird Dasyornis longirostris to fire in the Fit... more We investigated the response of the Western Bristlebird Dasyornis longirostris to fire in the Fitzgerald River National Park (FRNP), Western Australia, over a 34-year period. This species is a threatened Western Australian endemic restricted to a highly fire-prone habitat. Commencing in 1985, we surveyed for occurrence of Western Bristlebirds within the FRNP. Monitoring that was specifically focused on fire impacts began at Fitzgerald Track in November 1994 following a fire the previous month. That site had been surveyed in June and August 1994 before the fire. Fires in other recently surveyed locations in 1997–1998, 2000, 2008 and 2019 allowed for comparisons to be made following further monitoring of these sites. Many Bristlebirds survived a fire then relocated along or near the fire edge, usually in clusters of home ranges where suitable habitat was available. Bristlebirds gradually re-occupied burnt areas when these became suitable, often to home ranges occupied before the fire....
Dataset of bird survey results at the multi-century Eucalyptus salubris (gimlet) chronosequence i... more Dataset of bird survey results at the multi-century Eucalyptus salubris (gimlet) chronosequence in the Great Western Woodlands, south-western Australia. This data has been used to describe responses of bird species, functional groups and community composition to time since fire (Gosper et al. 2019 Biol Cons 230, 82-90; Gosper et al. in press Ecol Appl).
We investigated the response of the Western Bristlebird Dasyornis longirostris to fire in the Fit... more We investigated the response of the Western Bristlebird Dasyornis longirostris to fire in the Fitzgerald River National Park (FRNP), Western Australia, over a 34-year period. This species is a threatened Western Australian endemic restricted to a highly fire-prone habitat. Commencing in 1985, we surveyed for occurrence of Western Bristlebirds within the FRNP. Monitoring that was specifically focused on fire impacts began at Fitzgerald Track in November 1994 following a fire the previous month. That site had been surveyed in June and August 1994 before the fire. Fires in other recently surveyed locations in 1997–1998, 2000, 2008 and 2019 allowed for comparisons to be made following further monitoring of these sites. Many Bristlebirds survived a fire then relocated along or near the fire edge, usually in clusters of home ranges where suitable habitat was available. Bristlebirds gradually re-occupied burnt areas when these became suitable, often to home ranges occupied before the fire....
Fire-mediated habitat change regulates woodland bird species and functional group occurrence. Eco... more Fire-mediated habitat change regulates woodland bird species and functional group occurrence. Ecological
Habitat modification by fire and habitat loss via anthropogenic vegetation clearance and fragment... more Habitat modification by fire and habitat loss via anthropogenic vegetation clearance and fragmentation both impact animal populations. Yet, there has been limited investigation as to whether animals that decline under one of these types of habitat change also decline under the other, and how their cumulative impacts affect the status of species and communities. Using a~400-year chronosequence in the world's largest extant temperate woodland in southwestern Australia, we examine how time since fire affects bird community richness, reporting rates and composition, and whether taxa grouped on the basis of responses to vegetation clearance and fragmentation in an adjoining agricultural landscape are associated with either recently-burnt or long-unburnt woodlands. Consistent with substantial changes in vegetation composition and structure after fire in obligateseeder eucalypt woodlands, woodland bird communities were strongly affected by fire. Species richness and total reporting rates increased with time since fire, and community composition changed across the entire multicentury span of the chronosequence. Woodland birds most negatively impacted by vegetation clearance and fragmentation were strongly associated with long-unburnt woodlands. In a regional southwestern Australian context, where extensive vegetation clearance has substantially reduced the range and populations of many woodland bird species, the ability of remaining unfragmented woodlands to support populations of these species will be strongly contingent on appropriate fire management. Specifically, as stand-replacement fires have affected 25-30% of extant woodland over recent decades, management to limit the extent of fire in remaining long-unburnt woodlands would appear a priority for conservation of woodland bird diversity. Keeley, 2009). An understanding of how biota respond to fire is crucial for managing fire for biodiversity conservation (Driscoll et al., 2010), as recent alterations to fire regimes via changing land management (Pausas and Keeley, 2009) have contributed to many fauna declines. These include fauna species declining due to fire suppression (e.g. in pine-oak forests, Rose and Simons, 2016) or, perhaps more commonly, due to high incidence of fire and associated lack of time for development of hollows or other habitat resources (
Measures of abundance and population trends are necessary for informed management of rare species... more Measures of abundance and population trends are necessary for informed management of rare species, but obtaining reliable estimates of sparsely occurring species is an ongoing challenge in conservation biology. It is even more difficult when the species of interest is also cryptic. We censused a population of one such species, the Western Ground Parrot (Pezoporus wallicus flaviventris), over several years to develop a monitoring protocol to assist in future management, extend understanding of its response to fire, and provide a model that could be used with other cryptic bird species. Abundance of Western Ground Parrots, monitored by means of calling frequencies, varied from year to year at a study site in Fitzgerald River National Park, southwestern Australia. Frequency of calling increased significantly from 1996 to 2000. During this time, frequency of calling peaked in 1998 in part of the study site that had been unburnt for more than 40 years, and remained high in 2000. Frequency of calling was similar in a more recently burnt part of the study area except in May 1998, when frequency was lower following a fire that burnt part of this area five months previously. Frequency of calling dropped significantly in both the long unburnt and recently burnt areas between 2000 and 2004; exact reasons for this are unknown. Western Ground Parrots can use recently burnt vegetation where it is immediately adjacent to an established population, but do not need fire to create habitat, at least in the timescale of 40 years. The current monitoring protocol, where eight listening posts are counted approximately three times each, is capable of detecting an annual change in frequency of calling of ~13%. The number of listening posts would need to be increased to 14 in order to detect an annual change of 10%, and would need to be increased to 40 in order to detect an annual change of 5%. Monitoring population change in the cryptic and threatened Western Ground Parrot in relation to fire www.publish.csiro.au/journals/emu
We investigated the response of the Western Bristlebird Dasyornis longirostris to fire in the Fit... more We investigated the response of the Western Bristlebird Dasyornis longirostris to fire in the Fitzgerald River National Park (FRNP), Western Australia, over a 34-year period. This species is a threatened Western Australian endemic restricted to a highly fire-prone habitat. Commencing in 1985, we surveyed for occurrence of Western Bristlebirds within the FRNP. Monitoring that was specifically focused on fire impacts began at Fitzgerald Track in November 1994 following a fire the previous month. That site had been surveyed in June and August 1994 before the fire. Fires in other recently surveyed locations in 1997–1998, 2000, 2008 and 2019 allowed for comparisons to be made following further monitoring of these sites. Many Bristlebirds survived a fire then relocated along or near the fire edge, usually in clusters of home ranges where suitable habitat was available. Bristlebirds gradually re-occupied burnt areas when these became suitable, often to home ranges occupied before the fire....
Introduction Reliable data on population trends are essential for management of individual specie... more Introduction Reliable data on population trends are essential for management of individual species, particularly those that are threatened or subject to harvesting (eg Male 1995; Caughley and Gunn 1996; Jones 2004; Runge et al. 2004). It is important to evalu-ate the ...
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