Abstract
Context and challenges
• Australia harbours a disproportionate share of global squamate diversity (lizards and snakes). The areas impacted by the 2019–20 wildfires comprise diverse squamate communities that include many threatened and narrowly distributed species.
• The impact of fire on most Australian squamates is not well understood. Reptile populations are monitored less than any other vertebrate group, and many species have unresolved taxonomy.
Main findings
• Very few studies have considered the effects of fire on squamate mortality or how attributes of fire regimes affect squamates in areas impacted by the 2019–20 wildfires.
• The habitat of 445 squamate species from 11 families was within the footprint of the 2019–20 wildfires, representing nearly 40% of Australia’s described species. This included 29 species listed as threatened nationally or globally.
• One species, Kate’s leaf-tailed gecko (Saltuarius kateae), had its entire known (highly restricted) range burnt, but post-fire sampling indicated that the species persists and is breeding in the firegrounds.
• Species in most need of monitoring and conservation following the 2019–20 wildfires are narrowly distributed species with moderate-to-high fire overlap and traits that make them vulnerable to fire and post-fire conditions.
• Assessments of within-species diversity across 14 priority species identified 19 evolutionarily significant units and more than 18 management units.
• Assessment of the on-ground effects of the 2019–20 wildfires is hampered by a lack of long-term monitoring and investment. There is an urgent need to break a cycle of chronic under-funding of reptile monitoring and conservation in Australia, particularly given the increasing prevalence of large, high severity wildfires.
• Australia harbours a disproportionate share of global squamate diversity (lizards and snakes). The areas impacted by the 2019–20 wildfires comprise diverse squamate communities that include many threatened and narrowly distributed species.
• The impact of fire on most Australian squamates is not well understood. Reptile populations are monitored less than any other vertebrate group, and many species have unresolved taxonomy.
Main findings
• Very few studies have considered the effects of fire on squamate mortality or how attributes of fire regimes affect squamates in areas impacted by the 2019–20 wildfires.
• The habitat of 445 squamate species from 11 families was within the footprint of the 2019–20 wildfires, representing nearly 40% of Australia’s described species. This included 29 species listed as threatened nationally or globally.
• One species, Kate’s leaf-tailed gecko (Saltuarius kateae), had its entire known (highly restricted) range burnt, but post-fire sampling indicated that the species persists and is breeding in the firegrounds.
• Species in most need of monitoring and conservation following the 2019–20 wildfires are narrowly distributed species with moderate-to-high fire overlap and traits that make them vulnerable to fire and post-fire conditions.
• Assessments of within-species diversity across 14 priority species identified 19 evolutionarily significant units and more than 18 management units.
• Assessment of the on-ground effects of the 2019–20 wildfires is hampered by a lack of long-term monitoring and investment. There is an urgent need to break a cycle of chronic under-funding of reptile monitoring and conservation in Australia, particularly given the increasing prevalence of large, high severity wildfires.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Title of host publication | Australia's Megafires |
| Subtitle of host publication | Biodiversity Impacts and Lessons from 2019-2020 |
| Editors | Libby Rumpff, Sarah Legge, Stephen van Leeuwen, Brendan Wintle, John Woinarski |
| Place of Publication | Clayton South |
| Publisher | CSIRO Publishing |
| Chapter | 14 |
| Pages | 182–195 |
| Number of pages | 14 |
| ISBN (Electronic) | 9781486316656, 9781486316663 |
| ISBN (Print) | 9781486316649 |
| Publication status | Published - 2023 |