Immediate effects of fire on survivorship of the northern bettong (Bettongia tropica): an endangered Australian marsupial

Abstract

Fire is being used increasingly to manage natural habitats, however, a paucity of species specific information exists regarding direct effects of fire on animal survival. In this study I assessed post-fire survivorship of an endangered Australian marsupial, the northern bettong (Bettongia tropica), over two burning seasons. During both seasons, a combination of radio-telemetry and capture data indicated that post-fire survivorship of bettongs was high, and not significantly different to survival rates on unburnt sites. During each burning season, I also collected dingo scats before and after fire in order to assess changes in dingo predation on bettongs with fire. Predation levels were found to be very low overall and did not increase after fire. Results are discussed in light of other studies of post-fire survival, with the conclusion that post-fire survival by northern bettongs is high, and dingo predation negligible.