Feb 2025: Global increases in wildfires are making rainforests vulnerable to fire, especially at the margins.
Smith Lab PhD student Rhiannon Bird, just published her honours research, showing that fire in rainforest margins reduced mammal diversity and caused variation in how rainforest-associated species used their habitat. Fire in surrounding eucalypt forest was also associated with reduced movement of a generalist species, the bush rat, Rattus fuscipes.
Modified habitat use and behaviour could be detected up to 15 months post-fire, highlighting the ongoing impacts of fire in rainforest margins.
Smith Lab PhD student Rhiannon Bird, just published her honours research, showing that fire in rainforest margins reduced mammal diversity and caused variation in how rainforest-associated species used their habitat. Fire in surrounding eucalypt forest was also associated with reduced movement of a generalist species, the bush rat, Rattus fuscipes.
Modified habitat use and behaviour could be detected up to 15 months post-fire, highlighting the ongoing impacts of fire in rainforest margins.
Bird RR, Zsoldos RR, Jimenez Sandoval MV, Watson SJ, Smith AL (2025). Wildfire in rainforest margins is associated with variation in mammal diversity and habitat use. Wildlife Research 52, WR24103