Using a Multi-Century Post-Fire Chronosequence to Develop Criteria to Distinguish Prior and Bowman’s (2020) Post-Fire Obligate Coloniser and Fire-Intolerant Flora

Prior and Bowman added a new dimension to existing frameworks of post-fire responses of woody plants, by including the trait of colonisation ability (C) for those taxa which neither resprout (Rf−) nor produce seedlings (Sf−) after fire. Specifically, they recognised distinctions between: (i) post-fire obligate colonisers, being species that neither resprout nor produce seedlings from persistent seed banks post-fire but are able to colonise burnt areas through dispersal from unburnt populations, and (ii) fire-intolerant, which are unable to recover after fire by either resprouting, seeding or colonisation. We use data on temporal and spatial patterns of colonisation of Rf−Sf− mistletoes from a chronosequence study with an exceptionally long span of times since fire as a practical example of the delineation of post-fire obligate coloniser and fire-intolerant species. We propose that when a population of a species is burnt, if the species is unable to regularly colonise and reach reproductive maturity in burnt areas spatially distant from fire edges within plausible and regularly-occurring maximum fire-return intervals for the now-burnt community type, it would be classified as fire-intolerant. In our examples, Lysiana meets the criteria for fire-intolerant in obligate-seeder eucalypt woodland, while Amyema is classed as a post-fire obligate coloniser.

The distribution and frequency of detection of woodland birds after selective logging of a small woodland remnant in an agricultural landscape in inland southern Australia

The majority of studies into the response of birds to logging in Australian forests has been done in forest-dominated landscapes or relatively large forest blocks, where the surrounding landscape can ameliorate impacts. This is the first study to examine the response of birds to logging of a small, relatively isolated woodland remnant in a landscape dominated by agriculture, with a focus on declining woodland birds. Approximately two thirds of a 120 ha cypress-eucalypt woodland remnant was selectively logged. Eighty bird species in total were recorded 2–3½ years after logging, including 18 recognised as declining woodland birds. Sixty-four species were recorded in the unlogged area and 72 in the logged area. Of the 31 species recorded sufficiently frequently for analysis, 19 showed no statistical difference in occurrence between logged and unlogged areas at the power of the study, nine were more prevalent in unlogged areas and three more prevalent in logged areas. Declining woodland birds comprised 22½% of overall species and 33% of those more prevalent in unlogged areas. Mapping of records enabled the response of a subset of species to be examined in greater detail. Four species illustrate the range of responses by declining woodland birds: Eastern Yellow Robin Eopsaltria australis was confined to unlogged areas, White-browed Babbler Pomatostomus superciliosus favoured unlogged areas, Varied Sittella Daphoenositta chrysoptera favoured proximity to unlogged areas and Red-capped Robin Petroica goodenovii was widely distributed in both logged and unlogged areas. The likelihood of recovery of local woodland bird populations is discussed in the context of limited landscape connectivity and the recent colonisation of the remnant by the hyper-aggressive Noisy Miner Manorina melanocephala. White-browed Babbler and Eastern Yellow Robin are considered to be at high risk of local extinction in the remnant.

New stiletto flies in the genus Anabarhynchus Macquart (Diptera: Therevidae) from Kangaroo Island, South Australia

Anabarhynchus Macquart 1848 is a species-rich genus of stiletto flies (Diptera: Therevidae) belonging to the subfamily Therevinae, with over 113 species described from Australia. These flies are diverse and abundant in Australia’s eucalypt woodland and mallee habitats. Here we describe, diagnose and illustrate a further three new Anabarhynchus species in the genus as follows: A. aurantilateralis sp. nov. and A. halmaturinus sp. nov., and A. venabrunneis sp. nov., from Kangaroo Island. These new species bring the total number of described Australian species in the genus to 116, with 13 of these known to occur on Kangaroo Island.