Adapting to novel fire regimes: Using movement to inform conservation of a threatened arboreal mammal

Megafires are becoming increasingly common in regions across the globe due to climate change and human activities. This rapid departure from historical fire regimes is creating novel challenges for animal populations, and their ability to persist may depend on fire-driven adaptations. Understanding how species respond and adapt to altered fire regimes is key to their conservation management, but for many species such mechanisms are poorly understood. We focused on the behavioural strategies of a threatened arboreal mammal in response to megafire. Specifically, using GPS collars, we studied the effect of the 2019–20 Australian megafires on the space use and movement behaviour of southern greater gliders ( Petauroides volans ). We deployed GPS collars on eight animals in burnt forest and seven animals in unburnt forest ∼31 months after the fires to compare home range size and movement patterns. Our analysis revealed that despite severe habitat disturbance, greater gliders exhibited home range fidelity and their home range size, which averaged 2.06 ha, did not differ between unburnt and burnt sites. However, individuals in burnt forests travelled further within their home ranges compared to those in unburnt forests, and their movements were more direct, rather than convoluted. These changes in movement behaviour demonstrate that greater gliders can exhibit fine-scale behavioural plasticity in response to large-scale habitat disturbance. Our study provides empirical evidence of how a species that is not typically associated with recently burnt vegetation is persisting in severely burnt habitat and may be able to do so by adjusting its movement patterns to meet its resource needs. We show that plasticity can provide some opportunity for adaptation to disturbance, but species that exhibit otherwise fixed behavioural strategies such as home range fidelity, will continue to be challenged by severe and frequent environmental changes. We therefore recommend that conservation efforts for such species prioritise safeguarding unburnt habitat and, where necessary, consider provisioning critical supplementary resources to minimise wildfire impacts.