Where there’s smoke, there’s cats: long-unburnt habitat is crucial to mitigating the impacts of cats on the Ngarlgumirdi, greater bilby (Macrotis lagotis)

• DOI: 10.1071/wr23117
• Publication Date: 2024-04-23T05:11:38Z
• Authors: Harry A. Moore; Lesley A. Gibson; Martin A. Dziminski; Ian J. Radford; Ben Corey; Karen Bettink; Fiona M. Carpenter; Ruth McPhail; Tracy Sonneman; Bruce Greatwich
• Keywords: Feral cat

Context The decline of the greater bilby (Macrotis lagotis), or Ngarlgumirdi (Yawuru), like other critical-weight range Australian mammals, is believed to be primarily due synergetic impacts predation by feral cats and foxes, habitat disturbance caused large introduced herbivores, increases in frequency intensity wildfires. Although it has been demonstrated that low-intensity prescribed burning mosaics some habitats have potential benefit including Ngarlgumirdi, creating with sufficient vegetation cover, contributions specific fire-mosaic attributes persistence remain unclear.Aims To elucidate on occupancy Dampier Peninsula.Methods We used 2-ha sign-plot data collected four Indigenous Ranger groups, combination 20years satellite-derived fire-history information investigate multiscale fire (Felis catus) Peninsula West Kimberley region, a large, unfenced landscape most fire-prone section Ngarlgumirdi's current range.Key results found was more common areas had higher proportion not burnt for at least 3years, whereas were less prevalent these areas. Similarly, likely occur landscapes affected frequent fires, there.Conclusions Our findings highlighted importance decreasing increasing extent long-unburnt (>3years) preserving mitigating ecological damage inflicted cats. Findings consistent across spatial scales (1-, 3-, 5- 10-km radius from each monitoring site).Implications These management increase native species resilience absence direct cat control methods. Further, they support recent cross-tenure initiative led Traditional Owners implement aims reduce high-severity wildfires Peninsula.