Invertebrate

• The pattern of fire most commonly experienced within an ecosystem is known as the fire regime.
• We wanted to find out how Australian fire regimes are changing and what this means for biodiversity.
• Read more:
  Research reveals fire is pushing 88% of Australia's threatened land mammals closer to extinction

Uncovering long-term changes

• However, evidence of how fire regimes are shifting within both threatened species’ ranges and protected areas is scarce, particularly at the national scale and over long periods.
• To address this gap, we compiled maps of bushfires and prescribed burns in southern Australia from 1980 to 2021.

More fire putting wildlife at risk

• Meanwhile, areas of recently burnt vegetation (5 years or less since the most recent fire) are growing.
• On average, the percentage of long unburnt vegetation within reserves declined from 61% to 36% over the four decades we studied.
• Going from about 42,000 sq km to about 64,000 sq km in total, which is an increase of 22,000 square kilometres.

Which areas have seen the biggest changes?

• This pattern was most prominent in southeastern Australia, including the Kosciuszko and Alpine national parks.
• Feral horses are finishing the job

  In these locations, dry years with low rainfall can make abundant vegetation more flammable.

• These conditions contribute to high fire risk across very large areas, as observed in the 2019–20 fire season.

What does this mean for Australia’s wildlife?

• Indigenous land management, including cultural burning, is one approach that holds promise in reducing the incidence of large fires while providing fire for those species that need it.
• We can also help wildlife become more resilient to shifting fire regimes by reducing other pressures such as invasive predators.
• Our findings underscore the increased need for management strategies that conserve threatened species in an increasingly fiery future.

• William Geary is affiliated with the Victorian Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action.
• Dale Nimmo receives funding from the Australian Research Council, the Department of Biodiversity Conservation and Attractions, and the Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action.

• GREAT BEAR SEA, BC, Feb. 29, 2024 /CNW/ - A new report by WWF-Canada uses data on ship speed and waste generated in B.C.
• The analysis shows that shipping speeds, combined with billions of litres of waste, pose immediate and cumulative risks to species at risk, including fin whales and humpbacks.
• It builds on the data and findings from WWF-Canada's Shipping Traffic and Speed in Cetacean Habitats on Canada's Pacific Coast and National Vessel Dumping Assessment .
• In 2022, an estimated 56 billion litres of waste were generated by commercial ships in the Northern Shelf Bioregion.

• We know many species can live at much colder or warmer temperatures than humans.
• This means biological processes increase in line with temperature, reach a maximum, and then rapidly decline when it gets too hot.
• When the number of species was plotted against the average annual temperature, there was a decline above 20°C.
• Read more:
  Remote Pacific coral reef shows at least some ability to cope with ocean warming – new study

Biological processes and biodiversity

• Research in Tasmania modelled the growth rates of microbes and multi-cellular organisms and found the most stable temperature for their biological processes was also 20°C.
• This “Corkrey model” built on other studies showing 20°C was the most stable temperature for biological molecules.

marine and freshwater species’ tolerance of low oxygen
marine pelagic (open water living) and benthic (seabed living) algal productivity and fish predation rates on bait
global species richness in pelagic fishes, plankton, benthic invertebrates and fossil molluscs
and genetic diversity.
There were also increased extinctions in the fossil record when temperatures exceeded 20°C.

Increased species richness

• While many species have evolved to live at warmer and colder temperatures, most species live at 20°C.
• As species evolve to live at temperatures above and below 20°C, their thermal niche gets wider.
• In turn, this should maximise species richness across all domains of life, from bacteria to the multi-cellular plants and animals.

Predicting the effects of climate change

• This means the many marine species that can adapt to global warming by shifting their geographic distribution are unlikely to go extinct due to climate change.
• Despite the complexity of multi-cellular species, it is remarkable that the cellular-level temperature efficiencies are reflected in those other aspects of biodiversity.
• Exactly why 20°C is pivotal and energy-efficient for cellular processes may be due to the molecular properties of water associated with cells.

Mark John Costello received funding from the Royal Society of New Zealand-Te Apārangi that contributed to this research.. Ross Corkrey does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

• The second annual Bug of the Year contest has been won by the red admiral butterfly.
• It received a total of 2,275 votes from the nearly 17,000 votes cast by New Zealanders at home and abroad.
• One of our most spectacular butterflies, the red admiral inherits the crown from last year’s inaugural winner, the native bee, or ngaro huruhuru (Leioproctus fulvescens).

Moths and butterflies aren’t so different

• Read more:
  Unveiling the enigmatic world of moths: from ancient pollinators to whistling wonders

  Aotearoa has over 2,000 species of lepidoptera – butterflies and moths – and roughly 90% of these are endemic.

• You might be surprised to know there are no clear differences between what are commonly called butterflies and those called moths.
• Because they feed from floral nectar sources and transfer pollen in the process, moths and butterflies are important pollinators.

Gardens as butterfly habitats

• And resilient and diverse pollinator populations benefit both natural and created ecosystems like gardens.
• Read more:
  How butterflies conquered the world: a new 'family tree' traces their 100-million-year journey across the globe

  The Moths and Butterflies of New Zealand Trust conducts an online course on how to assess, create and maintain butterfly habitats.

• Lepidoptera differ from some other invertebrates in that females prefer to (or exclusively) lay their eggs on specific host plants.
• It is well known that monarch butterfly caterpillars need to feed on milkweed (swan plant).

Pollinator protection

• Besides planting with butterflies and moths in mind, there are many other actions you can take in the garden to help make it suitable for thriving pollinator populations.
• Read more:
  Next time you see a butterfly, treasure the memory: scientists raise alarm on these 26 species

  Introduced predators also threaten our unique bugs.

• This will include the best times to spot native and introduced bugs, and other ways to promote invertebrate conservation and biodiversity.

Janice Lord is a member of the Entomological Society of New Zealand. Connal McLean is a volunteer with The Moths and Butterflies of New Zealand Trust.