Heathlands News
In the heathlands of the Otways, the high-stakes mating strategy of the threatened Swamp Antechinus (Antechinus minimus maritimus) is becoming an important focus for land managers as they look to undertake more "cool" planned burns in the winter.
Master’s Student Jesse Ellis is working to fill some of the knowledge gaps between this unique biology and winter fire management, to understand how Swamp Antechinus can survive, and thrive, in a landscape managed by fire.
A month since the fires in the Otways started… and the Carlisle River fire has now been listed as under control. As we turn our attention to research and our response for wildlife and habitat, we’ve been reflecting on what unfolded over the past month.
So how are we doing down here at the Conservation Ecology Centre?
The words of ecologist Tamika Farley-Lehmer sum up how we’ve been feeling beautifully…
Tamika Farley-Lehmer (she/her) began working in the fire space as a forest firefighter in 2019, before moving into fire ecology. In her ecologist role, she focussed on implementing science-based burning regimes in the Otways region with the Conservation Ecology Centre. She collaborated on various projects studying the relationships between fire, plants and animals, including animal movement, predator and prey interactions, habitat utilisation, and post-fire plant responses.
Fire offers both opportunities and risks for many species. Its impacts will depend on the scale of the fire, the animal’s movement decisions and capacity, and how fire alters the distribution and abundance of key resources.
