Using citizen science to measure recolonisation of birds after the Australian 2019-20 mega-fires

Large and severe fires (“mega-fires”) are increasing in frequency across the globe, often pushing into ecosystems that have previously had very long fire return intervals. The 2019-20 Australian bushfire season was one of the most catastrophic fire events on record. Almost 19 million hectares were burnt across the continent displacing and killing unprecedented numbers of native fauna, including bird species. Some bird species are known to thrive in post-fire environments, while others may be absent for an extended period from the firegrounds until there is sufficient ecosystem recovery. To test for systematic patterns in species use of the post-fire environment, we combined citizen science data from eBird with data on sedentism, body size, and the specialisation of diet and habitat. Using generalised additive models, we modelled the response of 76 bird species in SE Australia to the 2019-20 mega-fires. Twenty-two species decreased in occurrence after the fire; thirty species increased; and no significant effect was found for the remaining twenty-four species. Furthermore, diet specialism was associated with reduced recolonisation after fire, with diet specialists less likely to be found in burned areas after the fire event compared to before, a result which generates testable hypotheses for recovery from other mega-fires across the globe. Being displaced from the firegrounds for an event of this geographic magnitude may have severe consequences for population dynamics and thus warrant considerable conservation attention in pre-fire planning and in the post-fire aftermath.

Time since fire is an over-simplified measure of habitat suitability for the New Holland mouse

Fire has shaped much of the Australian landscape, and alterations to natural or historical fire regimes are implicated in the decline of many native mammal species. Time since fire (TSF) is a common metric used to understand vegetation and faunal responses to fire but is unlikely to capture the complexity of successional changes following fire. The New Holland mouse (Pseudomys novaehollandiae), a threatened and declining rodent species native to southeastern Australia, is traditionally considered an early post-fire successional species. Here, we use a 48-year dataset to test whether this posited association with early TSF is upheld, and whether the species’ occurrence and abundance are governed by TSF. We find support for a minimal influence of TSF on the species’ occurrence, and that while abundance of P. novaehollandiae is partly explained by TSF, considerable uncertainty and variation among fire events and locations limit the usefulness of TSF in informing conservation management strategies. We suggest that it is not helpful to consider the species as early successional and that fire planning for P. novaehollandiae conservation is best considered at a local scale. Additionally, we provide guidelines for maximizing individual survival and persistence during and after planned burns.

The failure of planning to address the urban interface and intermix fire-hazard problems in the San Francisco Bay Area

Post-fire planning following major fires in the San Francisco Bay area has identified problems of wildland fuel management and solutions to these problems; however, the failure to carry out many of the fuel management recommendations has led to increasing fire hazard for the urban interface and urban intermix zones. A proposal for a new state agency to oversee fuel management is presented.

Increasing the efficiency of solving the target allocation problem in aerospace defence systems

The article considers methods of solving the target allocation problem in surface-to-air missile systems for missile defence. Important specifics of the problem in question are rapid nature of anti-missile combat and the requirement for target illumination during homing. The control methods suggested make it possible to increase the efficiency of solving the target allocation problem by means of using prior data on target engagement probability and radar load estimation in the neighbourhood of future position points at the fire planning stage

Sharing contracted resources for fire suppression: engine dispatch in the Northwestern United States

As demand for wildfire response resources grows across the globe, a central challenge is developing new and flexible systems and capacity to ensure that resources needed for fire response arrive when and where they are needed. Private contractors have become increasingly important in providing equipment and services to support agency wildfire suppression needs in the USA. Understanding the capacity of contracted resources for federal agency fire suppression needs is critical for preseason fire planning and response. Using National Resource Ordering and Status System data, we examined Northwest region engine dispatches from 2008 to 2015. The number of times and days engines were out on assignments increased over the study period, and dispatch centres routinely shared engines within and outside their geographic area. However, in 2015, not all of the available engines were recorded as utilised at peak demand during one of the largest fire seasons in the Northwest. This study provides insight into the ways in which fire managers share important resources such as engines and the information they have available to make decisions during an incident, and raises questions about what the right amount of capacity is to be able to respond in extreme fire years.