Fire and grazing influence food resources of an endangered rock-wallaby
Katherine D. Tuft A B , Mathew S. Crowther A and Clare McArthur A
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations
A School of Biological Sciences, The University of Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia.
B Corresponding author. Email: katherine.tuft@australianwildlife.org
Wildlife Research 39(5) 436-445 https://doi.org/10.1071/WR11208
Submitted: 19 December 2011 Accepted: 24 April 2012 Published: 22 May 2012
Abstract
Context: Fire and grazing have complex and interacting impacts on food resources available to endangered herbivores and can potentially be manipulated as part of conservation strategies.
Aims: We examined the interacting impacts of fire and grazing on the food resources available to a colony of endangered brush-tailed rock-wallabies (Petrogale penicillata) to test fire as a potential management tool.
Methods: We conducted two manipulative experiments using a repeated-measures split-block design. We measured the effects of grazing and strategic burning on total vegetation biomass and on particular plants selected by rock-wallabies. In the first experiment we measured the impact of rock-wallaby grazing alone. In the second experiment we measured grazing impacts by both rock-wallabies and potentially competitive sympatric macropods. Grazing was manipulated with three treatments: grazed (open), ungrazed (fenced) and procedural control (half fence).
Key results: In both experiments, burning resulted in greater above-ground biomass of plants selected by rock-wallabies. The response of different plant functional groups to fire was staggered, with forb biomass peaking early and browse biomass increasing above unburnt levels a year after burning.
Conclusions: Despite the limited grazing pressure exerted by the small colony of rock-wallabies in Experiment 1 we detected a negative grazing effect on forbs growing after fire in burnt plots. In Experiment 2, grazing pressure was much more marked due to the high densities of sympatric macropods. In this case, while burning resulted in greater biomass of plants selected by rock-wallabies, grazing (predominantly by sympatric macropods) negated this effect.
Implications: Small patchwork burning can be a useful tool to improve food resources for brush-tailed rock-wallabies, with effects sustained over more than two years. However, when rock-wallabies are sympatric with possible competitor species, the grazing impacts of sympatric macropods may cancel out any benefits to rock-wallabies.
References
Adams, M. H., and Attivill, P. M. (1984). The role of Acacia species in nutrient balance and cycling in regenerating Eucalyptus regnans F. Meull. forests. I. Temporal changes in biomass and nutrient content. Australian Journal of Botany 32, 205–215.| The role of Acacia species in nutrient balance and cycling in regenerating Eucalyptus regnans F. Meull. forests. I. Temporal changes in biomass and nutrient content.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | 1:CAS:528:DyaL2cXitVyntb4%3D&md5=8e62740e0963389ecb246c2d51baef62CAS |
Andrew, M. H., Noble, I. R., and Lange, R. T. (1976). A non-destructive method for estimating the weight of forage on shrubs. Australian Rangeland Journal 1, 225–231.
| A non-destructive method for estimating the weight of forage on shrubs.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Bakker, E. S., Reiffers, R. C., Olff, H., and Gleichman, J. M. (2005). Experimental manipulation of predation risk and food quality: effect on grazing behaviour in a central-place foraging herbivore. Oecologia 146, 157–167.
| Experimental manipulation of predation risk and food quality: effect on grazing behaviour in a central-place foraging herbivore.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | 1:STN:280:DC%2BD2Mrms12gsg%3D%3D&md5=771ba93e8a0cc2c23a6fbdb378a03703CAS |
Bond, W. J., and Keeley, J. E. (2005). Fire as a global ‘herbivore’: the ecology and evolution of flammable ecosystems. Trends in Ecology & Evolution 20, 387–394.
| Fire as a global ‘herbivore’: the ecology and evolution of flammable ecosystems.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Brown, J. R., and Stuth, J. W. (1993). How herbivory affects grazing tolerant and sensitive grasses in a central Texas grassland – integrating plant response across hierarchical levels. Oikos 67, 291–298.
| How herbivory affects grazing tolerant and sensitive grasses in a central Texas grassland – integrating plant response across hierarchical levels.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Calaby, J. H., and Grigg, G. C. (1989). Changes in macropodoid communities and populations in the past 200 years, and the future. In ‘Kangaroos, Wallabies, and Rat-kangaroos’. (Eds G. C. Grigg, P. J. Jarman and I. Hume.) pp. 813–820. (Surrey Beatty: Sydney.)
Clarke, P. J., and Knox, K. J. E. (2002). Post-fire response of shrubs in the tablelands of eastern Australia: do existing models explain habitat differences? Australian Journal of Botany 50, 53–62.
| Post-fire response of shrubs in the tablelands of eastern Australia: do existing models explain habitat differences?Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Dawson, T. J. (1989). Diets of macropodid marsupials: General patterns and environmental influences. In ‘Kangaroos, Wallabies, and Rat-kangaroos’. (Eds G. C. Grigg, P. J. Jarman and I. Hume.) pp. 129–142. (Surrey Beatty: Sydney.)
Dawson, T. J., and Ellis, B. A. (1979). Comparison of the diets of yellow-footed rock-wallabies and sympatric herbivores in western New South Wales. Australian Wildlife Research 6, 245–254.
| Comparison of the diets of yellow-footed rock-wallabies and sympatric herbivores in western New South Wales.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Fox, B. J. (1982). Fire and mammalian succession in an Australian coastal heath. Ecology 63, 1332–1341.
| Fire and mammalian succession in an Australian coastal heath.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Gill, A. M. (1981). Adaptive response of Australian vascular plant species to fires. In ‘Fire and the Australian Biota’. (Eds A. M. Gill, R. H. Groves and I. R. Noble.) pp. 243–272. (Australian Academy of Science: Canberra.)
Hunter, J. T., and Clarke, P. J. (1998). The vegetation of granitic outcrop communities of the New England batholith of eastern Australia. Cunninghamia 5, 547–618.
Johnson, C. N., Isaac, J. L., and Fisher, D. O. (2007). Rarity of a top predator triggers continent-wide collapse of mammal prey: dingoes and marsupials in Australia. Proceedings of the Royal Society Biological Sciences Series B 274, 341–346.
| Rarity of a top predator triggers continent-wide collapse of mammal prey: dingoes and marsupials in Australia.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Klop, E., van Goethem, J., and de longh, H. H. (2007). Resource selection by grazing herbivores on post-fire regrowth in a West African woodland savanna. Wildlife Research 34, 77–83.
| Resource selection by grazing herbivores on post-fire regrowth in a West African woodland savanna.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Laws, R. J., and Goldizen, A. W. (2003). Nocturnal home ranges and social interactions of the brush-tailed rock-wallaby Petrogale penicillata at Hurdle Creek, Queensland. Australian Mammalogy 25, 169–176.
Letnic, M., Crowther, M. S., and Koch, F. (2009). Does a top-predator provide an endangered rodent with refuge from an invasive mesopredator? Animal Conservation 12, 302–312.
| Does a top-predator provide an endangered rodent with refuge from an invasive mesopredator?Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Littell, R. C., Miliken, G. A., Stroup, W. W., Wolfinger, R. D., and Schabenberger, O. (2008). ‘SAS for Mixed Models.’ 2nd edn. (SAS Institute Inc.: Cary, NC.)
Lunney, D., Law, B., and Rummery, C. (1997). An ecological interpretation of the historical decline of the brush-tailed rock-wallaby (Petrogale penicillata) in New South Wales. Australian Mammalogy 19, 281–296.
Lunt, I. D., Eldridge, D. J., Morgan, J. W., and Witt, G. B. (2007). A framework to predict the effects of livestock grazing and grazing exclusion on conservation values in natural ecosystems in Australia. Australian Journal of Botany 55, 401–415.
| A framework to predict the effects of livestock grazing and grazing exclusion on conservation values in natural ecosystems in Australia.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Luo, J., and Fox, B. J. (1996). Seasonal and successional dietary shifts of two sympatric rodents in coastal heathland: a possible mechanism for coexistence. Australian Journal of Ecology 21, 121–132.
| Seasonal and successional dietary shifts of two sympatric rodents in coastal heathland: a possible mechanism for coexistence.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Manly, B. F. J., McDonald, L. L., Thomas, D. L., McDonald, T. L., and Erickson, P. (2002). ‘Resource Selection by Animals: Statistical Design and Analysis for Field Studies.’ 2nd edn. (Kluwer Academic Publishers: Dordrecht.)
Nicholson, E., Lill, A., and Andersen, A. (2006). Do tropical savanna skink assemblages show a short-term response to low-intensity fire? Wildlife Research 33, 331–338.
| Do tropical savanna skink assemblages show a short-term response to low-intensity fire?Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
NPWS (2003). Warrumbungle brush-tailed rock-wallaby endangered population recovery plan. NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service, Hurstville, NSW.
Pople, A. R., Grigg, G. C., Cairns, S. C., Beard, L. A., and Alexander, P. (2000). Trends in the numbers of red kangaroos and emus on either side of the South Australian dingo fence: evidence for predator regulation? Wildlife Research 27, 269–276.
| Trends in the numbers of red kangaroos and emus on either side of the South Australian dingo fence: evidence for predator regulation?Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Prober, S. M., and Theile, K. R. (2005). Effects of the 2003 Bogong Complex fires on brush-tailed rock-wallaby habitat and Acacia doratoxylon scrubs in Little River Gorge, East Gippsland. Ecological Interactions report, Victoria.
Radho-Toly, S., Majer, J. D., and Yates, C. (2001). Impact of fire on leaf nutrients, arthropod fauna and herbivory of native and exotic eucalypts in Kings Park, Perth, Western Australia. Austral Ecology 26, 500–506.
| Impact of fire on leaf nutrients, arthropod fauna and herbivory of native and exotic eucalypts in Kings Park, Perth, Western Australia.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Short, J. C. (1989). The diet of the brush-tailed rock-wallaby in New South Wales. Australian Wildlife Research 16, 11–18.
| The diet of the brush-tailed rock-wallaby in New South Wales.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Sutherland, E. F., and Dickman, C. R. (1999). Mechanisms of recovery after fire by rodents in the Australian environment: a review. Wildlife Research 26, 405–419.
| Mechanisms of recovery after fire by rodents in the Australian environment: a review.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Tuft, K. D. (2010). The foraging ecology of the brush-tailed rock-wallaby. Ph.D. Thesis, University of Sydney.
Tuft, K. D., Crowther, M. S., Connell, K., Muller, S., and McAthur, C. (2011a). Predation risk and competitive interactions affect foraging of an endangered refuge-dependent herbivore. Animal Conservation 14, 447–457.
Tuft, K. D., Crowther, M. S., and McArthur, C. (2011b). Multiple scales of diet selection by brush-tailed rock-wallabies (Petrogale penicillata). Australian Mammalogy 33, 169–180.
| Multiple scales of diet selection by brush-tailed rock-wallabies (Petrogale penicillata).Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Tulloch, A. I., and Dickman, C. R. (2007). Effects of food and fire on the demography of a nectar-feeding marsupial: a field experiment. Journal of Zoology 273, 382–388.
| Effects of food and fire on the demography of a nectar-feeding marsupial: a field experiment.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Van Dyck, S. M., and Strahan, R. (2008). ‘The Mammals of Australia.’ 3rd edn. (New Holland: Sydney.)
Villalba, J. J., and Provenza, F. D. (1999). Effects of food structure and nutritional quality and animal nutritional state on intake behaviour and food preferences of sheep. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 63, 145–163.
| Effects of food structure and nutritional quality and animal nutritional state on intake behaviour and food preferences of sheep.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Yang, L. H., Bastow, J. L., Spence, K. A., and Wright, A. N. (2008). What can we learn from resource pulses? Ecology 89, 621–634.
| What can we learn from resource pulses?Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Yibarbuk, D., Whitehead, P. J., Russell-Smith, J., Jackson, D., Godjuwa, C., Fisher, A., Cooke, P., Choquenot, D., and Bowman, D. M. J. S. (2001). Fire ecology and Aboriginal land management in central Arnhem land, northern Australia: a tradition of ecosystem management. Journal of Biogeography 28, 325–343.
| Fire ecology and Aboriginal land management in central Arnhem land, northern Australia: a tradition of ecosystem management.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
