Reptile

• 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.

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• You can get sick with Salmonella by touching reptiles and rodents, their food, and their environments and then touching your face, eyes, or mouth without washing your hands.
• You can also get sick by touching contaminated surfaces or objects in a home or exhibit where snakes and feeder rodents are kept.
• This can occur at birthday parties, school or daycare events, museums, science centres, zoos, or at a travelling reptile show.
• To prevent the direct or indirect spread of Salmonella to others, follow the advice outlined in this section to help reduce your risk of becoming ill from contact with reptiles (including snakes), rodents, and their environments.

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