Fire is an important ecological process that shapes vegetation structure and habitat for faunal assemblages globally. Prescribed burns are increasingly being used in conservation and management to restore fire regimes in fire‐suppressed vegetation communities. Small threatened macropods require structurally complex habitat that allows them to evade detection by predators. Given that fire can alter vegetation structure, it can be viewed as a strong ecological force in shifting the dynamics between predator and prey species. Previous studies in temperate Australia have shown that prescribed burns in the presence of European Red Fox (Vulpes vulpes ) and feral Cat (Felis catus ) can have negative impacts on small macropods and medium‐sized mammals. Post‐fire response of threatened small macropods and their predators has not been experimentally examined in subtropical Australia despite this region providing refugia for the Long‐nosed Potoroo (Potorous tridactylus ) and Red‐legged Pademelon (Thylogale stigmatica ). We conducted a before‐after‐control‐impact fire experiment at two paired sites after low–moderate intensity burns typical of cool season prescribed burns. We used camera trapping to investigate changes in activity of threatened small macropods and their predators. We also recorded vegetation change. Despite large reductions in ground and shrub cover, activity of small macropods and the Dingo (Canis dingo ) did not change in response to fires. Therefore, the threat of dingo predation appears to have remained unchanged following the fires. Although feral cats and foxes were present, they showed negligible activity across our sites. Our study suggests that small‐scale patchy ecological burns may not lead to increased predation of small macropods in our landscape. We attribute this to sufficient post‐fire refugia and very low densities of foxes.

中文翻译：

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在亚热带澳大利亚，受威胁的小型巨足类动物及其捕食者对指定烧伤的短期反应

火灾是重要的生态过程，会影响全球动物群落的植被结构和栖息地。在保护和管理中越来越多地使用规定的烧伤来恢复受火抑制的植被社区的火灾状况。受威胁的小型小脚豆需要结构复杂的栖息地，以使其逃避掠食者的侦查。鉴于大火可以改变植被结构，因此可以将其视为在捕食者和猎物物种之间转移动态的强大生态力量。先前在澳大利亚温带地区进行的研究表明，在欧洲红狐狸（Vulpes vulpes）和野猫（Felis catus）存在的情况下，有规定的烧伤）可能会对小型巨脚类动物和中型哺乳动物产生负面影响。尽管该地区为长鼻波托鲁（Poorous tridactylus）和红脚帕德蜜隆（Thylogale stigmatica）提供了避难所，但尚未在亚热带澳大利亚进行实验性地检查了濒临灭绝的小型宏足类动物及其天敌的射击后反应。在凉爽季节规定的烧伤典型的中低度烧伤之后，我们在两个成对的地点进行了“控制后影响”实验。我们使用相机诱捕技术来研究受威胁的小型巨足动物及其捕食者的活动变化。我们还记录了植被变化。尽管地面和灌木的覆盖面积大大减少，但小脚足类动物和丁哥犬的活动却有所减少）并未因火灾而改变。因此，大火之后野狗被捕的威胁似乎没有改变。尽管有野猫和狐狸，但它们在我们各个站点的活动微不足道。我们的研究表明，小规模的斑驳生态烧伤可能不会导致景观中小型巨脚类动物的捕食增加。我们将其归因于充分的射击后避难所和极低的狐狸密度。