Fire threatens endangered purple-crowned fairy-wren

Earth Matters

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 UniversityNiki Teunissen Behavioual ecologogist, Post-doctoral researcher, Wageningen University in the Netherlands and Monash University https://theconversation.com/fire-in-northern-australias-tropical-savanna-is-a-threat-to-endangered-fairy-wrens-210066 https://www.australianwildlife.org/wildlife/purple-crowned-fairy-wren/ https://theconversation.com/painting-with-fire-how-northern-australia-developed-one-of-the-worlds-best-bushfire-management-programs-205113 https://theconversation.com/the-worlds-best-fire-management-system-is-in-northern-australia-and-its-led-by-indigenous-land-managers-133071 Photo credit: Niki Teunissen/AWC Earth Matters episode #1425 Produced by Judith Peppard