Fire in northern Australia’s tropical savanna is a threat to endangered fairy-wrens

Thu, 31 Aug 2023 19:45:20 +1000

Andrew Pam <xanni [at] glasswings.com.au>

Andrew Pam
<https://theconversation.com/fire-in-northern-australias-tropical-savanna-is-a-threat-to-endangered-fairy-wrens-210066>

"Wildfire threatens the survival of endangered purple-crowned fairy-wrens
living along the rivers and creeks of northern Australia, our new research has
found.

For almost two decades, we studied the fairy-wrens at a wildlife sanctuary in
the far north of Western Australia.

Over this time, one low-intensity fire and one high-intensity fire burnt
through our study site. Both occurred late in the wet season, when fires
generally burn at lower intensity. But drought and weather conditions meant the
second fire unexpectedly burnt at high intensity instead.

We wanted to find out what happened to the birds before, during and after each
fire. We found even low-intensity burns reduced population density. As this
species is a biological indicator of ecosystem health, our new research can
help fine-tune fire management practices, to reduce the extent and intensity of
fires along waterways."

Cheers,
       *** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net               Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/                 Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/            Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/               Manager, Serious Cybernetics

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