Under Fire: High Survival Rates of a Critically Endangered Marsupial During a Low‐Severity Prescribed Burn
- 1Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions Perth Western Australia Australia
- 2University of Western Australia Perth Western Australia Australia
- 3Gulbali Institute, Charles Sturt University Albury New South Wales Australia
Abstract
Climate change is intensifying fire weather globally, increasing land managers' reliance on prescribed burning to reduce fuel loads and mitigate wildfire risk. Yet the direct effects of prescribed fire on threatened wildlife remain poorly understood, partly because individual‐level data on survival and behaviour during fire events are exceptionally rare. We used VHF telemetry and accelerometry to track the survival, space use and diel activity of nine western ringtail possums ( Pseudocheirus occidentalis ; ngwayir; eight collared, one uncollared joey)—a Critically Endangered arboreal marsupial widely regarded as highly sensitive to fire—through a low‐ to moderate‐severity prescribed burn at Yalgorup National Park, south‐west Western Australia. All nine animals survived direct fire exposure despite several refuge trees being scorched or structurally damaged. Post‐fire, possums relocated an average of 181 m, but movement distances were unrelated to burn severity and possums showed no selection for unburnt habitat, suggesting limited spatial disruption at the home‐range scale. This may partly reflect the predominantly low‐severity nature of the burn (95.7% of the burnt area). Accelerometry revealed suppressed nocturnal activity during smoke exposure and the fire period, with only partial recovery in the days following the burn, indicating measurable sublethal costs even where direct mortality did not occur. We interpret these behavioural responses as potentially consistent with adaptations shaped by long‐term exposure to frequent, low‐severity fire regimes historically associated with Noongar burning on the Swan Coastal Plain. Although based on a small number of individuals at a single site, and a carefully implemented low‐ to moderate‐severity prescribed burn, our findings provide rare empirical evidence that a critically endangered marsupial can survive prescribed fire. These results have implications for how prescribed burning programs are designed and implemented in the context of evolving fire regimes under climate change.
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BibTeX
@article{moore2026under,
title = {{Under Fire: High Survival Rates of a Critically Endangered Marsupial During a Low‐Severity Prescribed Burn}},
author = {Harry Moore and Shelby Middleton and Dale Nimmo and Ciara McIlduff and Nicole Willers},
journal = {Ecology and Evolution},
year = {2026},
month = nov,
doi = {10.1002/ece3.74637},
url = {https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ece3.74637},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Under Fire: High Survival Rates of a Critically Endangered Marsupial During a Low‐Severity Prescribed Burn
AU - Harry Moore
AU - Shelby Middleton
AU - Dale Nimmo
AU - Ciara McIlduff
AU - Nicole Willers
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/11/05
JO - Ecology and Evolution
DO - 10.1002/ece3.74637
UR - https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ece3.74637
AB - Climate change is intensifying fire weather globally, increasing land managers' reliance on prescribed burning to reduce fuel loads and mitigate wildfire risk. Yet the direct effects of prescribed fire on threatened wildlife remain poorly understood, partly because individual‐level data on survival and behaviour during fire events are exceptionally rare. We used VHF telemetry and accelerometry to track the survival, space use and diel activity of nine western ringtail possums ( Pseudocheirus occidentalis ; ngwayir; eight collared, one uncollared joey)—a Critically Endangered arboreal marsupial widely regarded as highly sensitive to fire—through a low‐ to moderate‐severity prescribed burn at Yalgorup National Park, south‐west Western Australia. All nine animals survived direct fire exposure despite several refuge trees being scorched or structurally damaged. Post‐fire, possums relocated an average of 181 m, but movement distances were unrelated to burn severity and possums showed no selection for unburnt habitat, suggesting limited spatial disruption at the home‐range scale. This may partly reflect the predominantly low‐severity nature of the burn (95.7% of the burnt area). Accelerometry revealed suppressed nocturnal activity during smoke exposure and the fire period, with only partial recovery in the days following the burn, indicating measurable sublethal costs even where direct mortality did not occur. We interpret these behavioural responses as potentially consistent with adaptations shaped by long‐term exposure to frequent, low‐severity fire regimes historically associated with Noongar burning on the Swan Coastal Plain. Although based on a small number of individuals at a single site, and a carefully implemented low‐ to moderate‐severity prescribed burn, our findings provide rare empirical evidence that a critically endangered marsupial can survive prescribed fire. These results have implications for how prescribed burning programs are designed and implemented in the context of evolving fire regimes under climate change.
SN - 2045-7758
SN - 2045-7758
ER -