The 2019–2020 megafires in southeastern Australia extensively burnt forests including fire-sensitive rainforests. Assessments of species' responses typically consider differences in occupancy or density between burnt and unburnt forest, but here we focus on how these fires influenced roost selection by a rainforest-dependent bat. We radio-tracked golden-tipped bats Phoniscus papuensis in fire grounds to investigate whether roost location or type was influenced by fire severity one-year post-fire. Overall, we tracked 19 bats for a total of 117 roost-days. Bats roosted (including maternity colonies) in the suspended nests of yellow-throated scrub-wrens and brown gerygone, typically in gully rainforest. No bats were captured, or roosts located, where fire severity was high. In the burnt portion of the northern study area, P. papuensis displayed a significant preference for roosting in unburnt rainforest compared to its availability along adjacent gullies. Patches of rainforest burnt by low–moderate severity fire were ranked as second preference. In the burnt portion of the southern study area, most roosts were in rainforest mapped as burnt by low–moderate fire severity, however, no selection was evident relative to availability of rainforest and mapped fire severity. Actual roost locations in the southern study area revealed that 62% were in small pockets of unburnt rainforest, with burnt areas nearby. We recorded early breeding and signs of a second litter in late summer, suggesting a post-fire resource pulse in their prey (spiders). A higher than usual reproductive output may assist in recovery, along with the bat's mobility to aid finding remaining pockets of unburnt or low severity burnt rainforest with suitable bird nests for roosting. However, recolonization of rainforest burnt by high severity fire will first require recovery of structural complexity, microclimate and the recolonization of host bird-built nests. We recommend ongoing monitoring to assess the recovery of this specialist bat.

中文翻译：

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2019 年至 2020 年特大火灾的火灾严重程度对依赖雨林的蝙蝠 (Phoniscus papuensis) 栖息生态的影响

澳大利亚东南部 2019-2020 年的大火广泛烧毁了森林，包括对火敏感的热带雨林。对物种反应的评估通常会考虑烧毁和未烧毁森林之间占用或密度的差异，但在这里我们关注这些火灾如何影响依赖雨林的蝙蝠选择栖息地。我们用无线电跟踪了金尖蝙蝠Poniscus papuensis在火灾场地中调查栖息地或类型是否受到火灾一年后火灾严重程度的影响。总的来说，我们追踪了 19 只蝙蝠，共 117 天。蝙蝠栖息在黄喉灌木鹪鹩和棕色鹪鹩的悬浮巢穴中（包括产卵栖息地），通常在沟壑雨林中。在火灾严重程度高的地方，没有捕获任何蝙蝠，也没有找到栖息地。在北部研究区的烧毁部分，P. papuensis与邻近的沟壑相比，它更喜欢栖息在未烧毁的热带雨林中。被中低强度火灾烧毁的热带雨林被列为第二优先。在南部研究区的烧毁部分，大多数栖息地都在雨林中，被映射为被中低火灾严重程度烧毁，但是，相对于雨林的可用性和映射的火灾严重程度，没有明显的选择。南部研究区的实际栖息地显示，62% 的栖息地位于未烧毁的热带雨林中，附近有烧毁的区域。我们在夏末记录了早期繁殖和第二窝的迹象，表明它们的猎物（蜘蛛）发生火灾后资源脉冲。比平常更高的生殖产量可能有助于恢复，与蝙蝠一起' s 流动性以帮助寻找未烧毁或轻度烧毁热带雨林的剩余口袋，并有合适的鸟巢栖息。然而，被高强度火灾烧毁的雨林的重新定居首先需要恢复结构复杂性、小气候和宿主鸟巢的重新定居。我们建议持续监测以评估这种专业蝙蝠的恢复情况。