Article
Ecology
Eddie J. B. van Etten, Robert A. Davis, Tim S. Doherty
Summary: The study explored the contemporary fire regimes in a semi-arid region of inland south-western Australia, finding significant differences in fire frequency among different vegetation types. Sandplain shrublands experienced more frequent and intense fires compared to eucalypt woodlands, which had relatively rare fire events. Fire occurrence in the region was linked to previous rainfall patterns and varied significantly depending on vegetation type.
FRONTIERS IN ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTION
(2021)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Jaime Carrasco, Rodrigo Mahaluf, Fulgencio Lison, Cristobal Pais, Alejandro Miranda, Felipe de la Barra, David Palacios, Andres Weintraub
Summary: This study proposes a solution approach to optimize the selection of landscape cells for firebreaks by considering ecological values, ignition patterns, and fire spread behavior. A firebreak placement model is formulated to balance the tradeoff between biodiversity loss due to vegetation removal and protection against future forest fires. The optimal solution reduced expected biodiversity losses by 30% compared to an untreated landscape, and by 16% compared to a randomly chosen solution. These results suggest that the biodiversity loss from vegetation removal can be offset by the protective function of firebreaks.
JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT
(2023)
Article
Microbiology
Gabriele Schiro, Yongjian Chen, Joseph C. Blankinship, Albert Barberan
Summary: In arid ecosystems, dust aerosolization is a major consequence of soil degradation and plays a significant role in the spatial distribution of soil microorganisms, particularly bacteria and archaea. However, the impact of dust dispersal on soil fungi is minimal. This study provides valuable insights for assessing soil health and stability in arid ecosystems.
ENVIRONMENTAL MICROBIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Ecology
Alok Raj, Laxmi Kant Sharma
Summary: In semi-arid regions, the vulnerability of land and food security are major challenges for the scientific community due to the dependence of livestock keepers on rangeland ecosystem services. This study examines the sensitivity and vulnerability of a fragile arid ecosystem in western India and offers recommendations for conservation management practices. By evaluating environmental indicators and using an integrative methodology, the study categorizes the area into four eco-sensitive areas and discusses reasons for vulnerability. The study suggests management strategies such as controlling invasive species dominance and utilizing cutting-edge technology for monitoring.
ECOLOGICAL MODELLING
(2023)
Article
Anthropology
Rebecca Bliege Bird, Douglas W. Bird
Summary: Research shows that fire regimes shaped by Indigenous Australians can improve landscape diversity and ultimately enhance dietary quality by increasing the availability of traditional foods.
AMERICAN JOURNAL OF HUMAN BIOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Environmental Sciences
J. Kelly Hoffman, Gerard T. Kyle, Morgan L. Treadwell, R. Patrick Bixler, Urs P. Kreuter
Summary: This study developed a model of psychological drivers affecting landowners' decisions on prescribed fire implementation. Findings suggest women are more analytical while men tend to rely on heuristics in decision making. The research also indicates different tendencies among individuals in their decisions towards prescribed fire, which could help enhance prescribed fire outreach and education efforts.
ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT
(2021)
Article
Ecology
Boyd R. Wright, Boris Laffineur, Dominic Roye, Graeme Armstrong, Roderick J. Fensham
Summary: The study focused on arid Australian spinifex grasslands and found that traditional Aboriginal burning did not regulate fire size during extreme-high rainfall periods. While some observations noted small fires during periods of average or below-average rainfall, large-scale wildfires occurred during a high-rainfall period, supporting the importance of climatic factors.
FRONTIERS IN ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTION
(2021)
Article
Ecology
Zachary J. Robbins, E. Louise Loudermilk, Matthew J. Reilly, Joseph J. O'Brien, Kate Jones, Christopher T. Gerstle, Robert M. Scheller
Summary: This study found that even when accounting for delayed mortality, individual fires are unlikely to shift the landscape composition in the forests of the Southern Appalachians, and may even lead to mesophication due to the loss of overstory dominant xeric trees.
Article
Forestry
Lucas O. Bianchi, Ricardo Villalba, Facundo J. Oddi, Ignacio A. Mundo, Marcos Radins, Mariano M. Amoroso, Ana Marina Srur, Anabela Bonada
Summary: The study aims to evaluate the influence of climate variability, landscape variations, and human activities on fire occurrence and size at a basin scale. Dendrochronological techniques were used to update the fire history, and maximum entropy models, general linear models, and superposed epoch analysis were employed to assess the influence of climate, landscape, and humans on fire occurrence and size. The results showed that fire occurrence increased with the arrival of settlers in the early 20th century and decreased in the early 21st century due to a shift in recognition of the ecosystem services provided by forests. Furthermore, fire intervals, the number of fires during drier years, and fire size increased along a northwest-southeast gradient of decreasing precipitation. The study highlights the importance of human activities, climate, and landscape characteristics in shaping fire regimes and contributes to a better understanding at larger spatial scales.
FOREST ECOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT
(2023)
Article
Fisheries
John Tibby, Jonathan C. Marshall, Jaye S. Lobegeiger, Kathryn J. Amos, Giselle Pickering, Theresa Myburgh
Summary: Waterholes are important refugia for aquatic organisms during no-flow spells in arid and semi-arid river systems. Sediment accumulation reduces the persistence of waterholes. A study on the Moonie River in Australia found that sediment depth decreased after a flood, but net sediment accumulation still occurs. The reduction in waterhole persistence caused by sedimentation is a significant threat.
MARINE AND FRESHWATER RESEARCH
(2023)
Article
Plant Sciences
Boyd R. Wright, Peter K. Latz, David E. Albrecht, Roderick J. Fensham
Summary: Eradication of buffel grass leads to increased frequency, richness, and diversity of native vegetation and seed bank pools, as well as improved availability of seed resources for granivores. However, the impact on grass species seeds is not substantial.
APPLIED VEGETATION SCIENCE
(2021)
Article
Environmental Sciences
A. Fajardo-Cantos, E. Pena-Molina, A. Diaz-Montero, J. Gonzalez-Romero, D. Moya, M. E. Lucas-Borja, J. De Las Heras
Summary: The study assesses the ecological effects of early-season prescribed burns on Macrochloa tenacissima communities in Pinus halepensis Mill forests. It reveals significant impacts on vegetation diversity and ecophysiology, as well as changes in alpha grass leaf chemical composition.
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
(2023)
Review
Mathematical & Computational Biology
Ettore Cerracchio, Steven Miletic, Birte U. Forstmann
Summary: This article discusses the role of decision-making biases in the decision-making process and compares studies that used different models to investigate these biases. The results indicate that evidence accumulation models provide a more comprehensive explanation of decision-making phenomena by including response time behavior.
FRONTIERS IN COMPUTATIONAL NEUROSCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Alejandro Llanos-Garrido, Andrea Briega-Alvarez, Javier Perez-Tris, Jose A. Diaz
Summary: By studying the correlation between genotypes of lizards and environmental factors, the research explored the impact of genetic variation on species distribution range. The results showed that genetic variation can affect species adaptability and distribution range. The experiment supports the relationship between genetic variation and species adaptability and environmental variation.
Article
Engineering, Environmental
Michael-Shawn Fletcher, Tegan Hall, Andreas Nicholas Alexandra
Summary: The study demonstrates how the Australian landscape was heavily influenced by Indigenous land management practices prior to British invasion in the 18th century, and how the disruption of these practices led to ecological succession and encroachment of cool temperate rainforest into important grasslands. It challenges the traditional portrayal of Indigenous Australians as low-impact 'hunter-gatherers' and emphasizes the importance of Indigenous fire management in the face of increased bushfire risk and biodiversity loss.
Review
Biodiversity Conservation
Darren Southwell, Sarah Legge, John Woinarski, David Lindenmayer, Tyrone Lavery, Brendan Wintle
Summary: This article discusses the impact of the 2019-2020 fires in Australia on threatened species and considerations for emergency survey design, emphasizing the urgency and complexity of post-wildfire surveys.
DIVERSITY AND DISTRIBUTIONS
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Michael R. Kearney, Moshe E. Jasper, Vanessa L. White, Ian J. Aitkenhead, Mark J. Blacket, Jacinta D. Kong, Steven L. Chown, Ary A. Hoffmann
Summary: The rarity of parthenogenetic species is not due to rapid extinction but rather constrained origin. This study found that a diploid grasshopper species underwent a single hybrid mating origin at least 0.25 million years ago and showed no changes in fitness compared to its sexual progenitors.
Article
Ecology
David H. Klinges, James P. Duffy, Michael R. Kearney, Ilya M. D. Maclean
Summary: Microclimate models rely on macroclimate data as input. However, the resolution of these inputs can affect the accuracy of microclimate predictions. This study presents an R language package, mcera5, which provides convenient access and processing of ERA5 climate datasets, enhancing the speed and accuracy of microclimate predictions.
METHODS IN ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTION
(2022)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Natalie J. Briscoe, Hugh McGregor, David Roshier, Andrew Carter, Brendan A. Wintle, Michael R. Kearney
Summary: This study investigates the dependence of threatened species on climatic microrefugia and the potential refugial role of harsh climates for predators. By developing a biophysical model of feral cat heat stress and validating it with GPS and microclimate data, the researchers highlight the importance of refuges, particularly rabbit burrows, for the survival of feral cats. This approach can identify natural refuges for native prey and guide habitat management strategies for controlling cat abundance.
CONSERVATION LETTERS
(2022)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
David E. Uribe-Rivera, Gurutzeta Guillera-Arroita, Saras M. Windecker, Patricio Pliscoff, Brendan A. Wintle
Summary: Ecological models used for predicting range change have recently become more diverse, incorporating a greater number of ecological and observational processes. However, there is a lack of empirical validation for process-explicit models, with only a few models being tested for their predictive performance and none being tested for model transferability. This study highlights the need for more benchmark testing and focus on model transferability to properly assess the performance of process-explicit models.
Review
Biodiversity Conservation
Natalie J. Briscoe, Shane D. Morris, Paul D. Mathewson, Lauren B. Buckley, Marko Jusup, Ofir Levy, Ilya M. D. Maclean, Sylvain Pincebourde, Eric A. Riddell, Jessica A. Roberts, Rafael Schouten, Michael W. Sears, Michael Ray Kearney
Summary: A core challenge in global change biology is to predict and manage species responses to future environmental change. Biophysical ecology models can accurately characterize how organisms experience their environments and respond, but their widespread application is still limited. Greater understanding and training in biophysical ecology theory and methods is vital to expand their use and potential.
GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Ecology
Michael R. Kearney, Urtzi Enriquez-Urzelai
Summary: Eggs are sensitive to thermal and hydric conditions and cannot avoid stressful environments. A model integrating microclimatic predictions with heat and water exchange models has been developed using NicheMapR package. The framework allows the computation of metabolic heat production and mass exchange dynamics. It has been tested using laboratory and field data on reptiles, insects, and birds and can provide insights into egg development under environmental change.
METHODS IN ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTION
(2023)
Article
Entomology
Md Anwar Hossain, Jose J. Lahoz-Monfort, Michael R. Kearney
Summary: The baseline distribution data of grasshoppers in Australia, obtained through extensive surveys conducted over 54 years, provides valuable insights into their historic patterns of species richness, population trends, and extinction. The data, digitized from field notebooks and geocoded using historic maps and Google Earth, revealed spatial variation in species richness, with higher richness in arid interior and northwestern regions. The surveys were non-randomly distributed, with higher intensity along coastal areas. Despite variations among surveyors, this dataset is one of the most comprehensive continent-wide surveys of Australian invertebrates, assisting future research on their ecology, biogeography, conservation, and responses to environmental change.
AUSTRAL ENTOMOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Matthew W. Rees, Jack H. Pascoe, Mark Le Pla, Alan Robley, Emma K. Birnbaum, Brendan A. Wintle, Bronwyn A. Hradsky
Summary: This study examines mesopredator release in response to targeted control of dominant predators. The results indicate that feral cat density can increase when red foxes are controlled, highlighting the importance of managing invasive predators in conservation efforts.
JOURNAL OF APPLIED ECOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Ary A. Hoffmann, Moshe Jasper, Vanessa L. White, Hiromi Yagui, Michael R. Kearney
Summary: Low-vagility species can hold strong genetic signatures and face vulnerability due to habitat loss. The genetic variation of Vandiemenella viatica populations in Tasmania and Victoria was analyzed, revealing low genetic diversity associated with past biogeographical processes. This study highlights the importance of preserving genetic variation.
Editorial Material
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Michael R. Kearney, Marko Jusup
Summary: The model used by White et al. to study metabolic scaling and life-history optimization lacks the ability to capture actual combinations of growth and reproduction, including those observed in domestic chickens. The interpretation and analysis of the study may change significantly when using more realistic parameters. Further exploration and justification of the model's biological and thermodynamic realism are needed before applying it to life-history optimization studies.
Article
Ecology
Abigail V. Meyer, Yutaro Sakairi, Michael R. Kearney, Lauren B. Buckley
Summary: Most ecological analyses and forecasts are based on weather station data or coarse interpolated, gridded air temperature data, but these may not accurately capture fine-scale spatial and temporal environmental variations that affect organisms' microclimates. New sources of data with higher resolution are emerging, offering the potential to revolutionize our understanding of microclimate variability and its ecological implications. We reviewed and evaluated available data on the quality of input environmental data, the capability of algorithms to capture microclimatic processes, and the best ways to access microclimatic data.
Article
Biology
Shannon R. Conradie, Michael R. Kearney, Blair O. Wolf, Susan J. Cunningham, Marc T. Freeman, Ryno Kemp, Andrew E. McKechnie
Summary: This study evaluated the performance of a biophysical model in predicting water loss, metabolic rate, and thermoregulatory responses of arid-zone birds. The results showed that the model accurately predicted these variables and captured the adaptive responses to hot weather.
JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL BIOLOGY
(2023)
Letter
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Matthew Selinske
Article
Forestry
John C. Z. Woinarski, Phillipa C. C. McCormack, Jan McDonald, Sarah Legge, Stephen T. T. Garnett, Brendan Wintle, Libby Rumpff
Summary: Biodiversity is declining and extreme events like wildfires worsen the losses. Decision-makers need to prioritize what to protect, traditionally prioritizing human life, infrastructure, and then biodiversity. Based on the 2019-20 Australian wildfires, a series of steps are proposed to identify and prioritize biodiversity assets, enhance their protection through planning and practice, and strengthen legislation to safeguard them.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF WILDLAND FIRE
(2023)