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RESEARCH ARTICLE
Contents Vol 33(4)

Do tropical savanna skink assemblages show a short-term response to low-intensity fire?

Evelyn Nicholson A , Alan Lill A B and Alan Andersen C
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

A Wildlife Ecology Research Group, School of Biological Sciences, Monash University, Clayton, Vic. 3800, Australia.

B School of Psychology, Psychiatry and Psychological Medicine, Monash University, Clayton, Vic. 3800, Australia.

C Bushfire Cooperative Research Centre, CSIRO Tropical Ecosystems Research Centre, PMB 44, Winnellie, NT 0822, Australia.

Wildlife Research 33(4) 331-338 https://doi.org/10.1071/WR05067
Submitted: 7 July 2005  Accepted: 18 April 2006   Published: 27 June 2006

Abstract

The composition of skink assemblages at a tropical savanna site in northern Australia was documented immediately before and after low-intensity, experimental fires in the early dry season (June), and compared with the composition in neighbouring unburnt plots. The composition of the assemblage of captured skinks was not significantly affected by fire, and no change in total abundance of skinks was recorded. Arthropods constitute the principal food of the skinks and the composition of the captured arthropod samples on the treatment plots was significantly affected by the fires, with spiders, beetles and hemipterans increasing in numbers during the immediate post-fire period. Seasonal changes in captured skink assemblage composition, unrelated to the fire event, occurred between the wet–dry season transition and the early dry season. These changes were associated with variation in four weather variables and were possibly also related to seasonal reproductive activity. Our study demonstrates a high degree of resilience of savanna skinks to individual fire events; however, the longer-term effect of different fire regimes requires further investigation.


Acknowledgments

We thank Adam Liedloff, Tony Hertog, Kate Parr and Robert Eager (Tropical Ecosystems Research Centre, CSIRO) and staff from the Territory Wildlife Park for their advice and assistance during fieldwork. Paul Horner (Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory) kindly provided valuable information about savanna skinks. Ralph Mac Nally and Merrilyn Serong (School of Biological Sciences, Monash University) provided much appreciated assistance with statistical analysis. Special thanks are due to Frank Gigliotti for his support and assistance in all stages of the project and to Graeme Nicholson who suggested valuable improvements to the manuscript. The study was carried out with financial support from the Bushfire Cooperative Research Centre. Approval was obtained from the Animal Ethics Committees of Monash University’s School of Biological Sciences and Charles Darwin University. Research was carried out under Wildlife Permit No. 17811 issued by the Northern Territory Parks and Wildlife Commission.


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