Impact of 2019-2020 mega-fires on Australian fauna habitat

• Published in: Nature ecology & evolution Vol. 4; no. 10; pp. 1321 - 1326
• Main Authors: Ward, Michelle, Tulloch, Ayesha I T, Radford, James Q, Williams, Brooke A, Reside, April E, Macdonald, Stewart L, Mayfield, Helen J, Maron, Martine, Possingham, Hugh P, Vine, Samantha J, O'Connor, James L, Massingham, Emily J, Greenville, Aaron C, Woinarski, John C Z, Garnett, Stephen T, Lintermans, Mark, Scheele, Ben C, Carwardine, Josie, Nimmo, Dale G, Lindenmayer, David B, Kooyman, Robert M, Simmonds, Jeremy S, Sonter, Laura J, Watson, James E M
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Nature Publishing Group 01.10.2020
• Subjects: Anthropogenic factors; Australia; Climate Change; Drought; Droughts; Ecosystem; Endangered & extinct species; Extinguishing; Fauna; Fires; Geographical distribution; Habitats; Human influences; Indigenous species; Land use; Land use management; Population decline; Recovery; Remote sensing; Species extinction; Taxa; Threatened species; Vertebrates; Australia
• ISSN: 2397-334X; 2397-334X
• DOI: 10.1038/s41559-020-1251-1

Australia's 2019-2020 mega-fires were exacerbated by drought, anthropogenic climate change and existing land-use management. Here, using a combination of remotely sensed data and species distribution models, we found these fires burnt ~97,000 km of vegetation across southern and eastern Australia, which is considered habitat for 832 species of native vertebrate fauna. Seventy taxa had a substantial proportion (>30%) of habitat impacted; 21 of these were already listed as threatened with extinction. To avoid further species declines, Australia must urgently reassess the extinction vulnerability of fire-impacted species and assist the recovery of populations in both burnt and unburnt areas. Population recovery requires multipronged strategies aimed at ameliorating current and fire-induced threats, including proactively protecting unburnt habitats.