Fire threat to purple-crowned fairy-wren

Wildfire threatens the survival of the endangered purple-crowned fairy-wren, a tiny bird that lives in riparian zones, along the rivers and creeks of Australia’s northern tropical savanna.

Anne Peters and Niki Teunissen have been studying the purple-crowned fairy-wren at the Mornington Marion Downs Wildlife Sanctuary for almost twenty years. During this time one low-intensity fire and one high-intensity fire burnt through their study site. They tell us why they began studying this remarkable bird, what they’ve learned and the impact the fires have had.

Guests:

Anne Peters Professor, Behavioual ecology, Monash University

Niki Teunissen Behavioual ecologogist, Post-doctoral researcher, Wageningen University in the Netherlands and Monash University

https://theconversation.com/fire-in-northern-australias-tropical-savanna...

https://www.australianwildlife.org/wildlife/purple-crowned-fairy-wren/

https://theconversation.com/painting-with-fire-how-northern-australia-de...

https://theconversation.com/the-worlds-best-fire-management-system-is-in...

Photo credit: Niki Teunissen/AWC

Earth Matters episode #1425

Produced by Judith Peppard