Impact of Fire and Habitat Composition on Macropod Daily Roo-tine Erin Thomas, Matthew Swan, Julian Di Stefano Fire Ecology and Biodiversity Group SPECIES

Swamp wallaby Red-necked wallaby Eastern Grey Kangaroo Western Grey kangaroo (Wallabia bicolor) (Macropus rufogriseus) (Macropus giganteus) (Macropus fuliginosus) AIM PRELIMINARY GRAPHS Determine environmental variables = 0.25 Lateral Cover: measure of influencing daily activity pattens = 0.5 ------vegetation density = 1 (max) from 0-100cm BACKGROUND Eastern Grey Kangaroo Western Grey Kangaroo 24hr patterns of activity are often overlooked in favour of diurnal studies

Macropods use different resources, and thus habitats for feeding/resting.

The daily cycle of habitat selection is rarely addressed for macropods

Environmental variables such as cover, Swamp Wallaby Red-necked Wallaby food and time since fire likely influence

patterns of activity ACTIVITY INDEX STUDY DESIGN Camera traps at 156 sites for a month.

Surveys vegetation heights at 60 points per site. Collated as a proportion per site of grass, shrub and lateral cover

Time since fire recorded for site. Within a 1km radius, determined, fire age PRELIMINARY FINDINGS diversity index, and proportion of area 1. All species show crepuscular (dawn/dusk) activity cycles. burnt in 0-3, 4-10, 11-34, 35+ years ago. 2.Swamp wallabies show most activity in high lateral cover, whereas all other species show little activity in high cover. Land-use type calculated as a 3. Likely that other variables influence these activity pattens proportion of a 1km radius. Classified as pasture, plantation or native vegetation Using this base model to compare the influence of all other variables, and determine which are having the WHAT NEXT? greatest influence on activity patterns throughout the day

I acknowledge the traditional owners of this land, the Gunditjmara and Wadwurrung people, and pay my respects [email protected] to Elders past present and emerging. @ErinBThomas