Jervis Bay Booderee National Park Plot Network: Temporal Trends in Mammal Responses to Fire Reveals the Complex Effects of Fire-regime Attributes, 2003-2013

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Abstract: This terrestrial mammal trapping and spotlighting data package comprises time series data for 11 mammal species at 97 long-term sites in south-eastern Australia. Observations were made between 2003 and 2013. The objectives of this research were to identify which fire regime attributes affect temporal change in the presence and abundance of Australian native mammals. In the associated research publication, the researchers explored how temporal aspects of fire regimes influenced both the presence and the conditional abundance of species. The key fire regime components examined as part of the research were: (i) severity of a major fire in 2003, (ii) the interval between the last major fire (2003) and the fire prior to that, and (iii) number of past fires. This long-term dataset has enabled quantification of the interactions between survey year and each fire regime variable, an ecological relationship notably missing from temporally-restricted studies.

In summary, multiple aspects of fire regimes influenced temporal variation in the presence and abundance of mammals. The best models indicated that 6 of the 11 species responded to two or more fire regime variables, with two species influenced by all three fire regime attributes. Almost all species responded to time since fire, either as an interaction with survey year or as a main effect. Fire severity or its interaction with survey year was important for most terrestrial rodents. The number of fires at a site was significant for species of terrestrial rodents and several other species. Key findings contain evidence of the effects on native mammals of heterogeneity in fire regimes. Refer to the relevant research paper for more detail.

The Jervis Bay Plot Network study forms part of the collection of data packages by this plot network. A synopsis of related data packages which have been collected as part of the Jervis Bay Plot Network’s full program is provided at https://doi.org/10.25911/5c3c070a5ee94 Project funding: Between 2012 and 2018 this project was part of the Long Term Ecological Research Network (LTERN), a facility within the Terrestrial Ecosystem Research Network (TERN) and supported by the Australian Government through the National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Strategy. This research has also been funded by means of an ARC Linkage Grant.