Data from: Post-fire recovery of torpor and activity patterns of a small mammal

To cope with the post-fire challenges of decreased availability of food and shelter, brown antechinus (Antechinus stuartii), a small marsupial mammal, increase the use of energy conserving torpor and reduce activity. However, it is not known how long it takes for animals to resume pre-fire torpor and activity patterns during the recovery of burnt habitat. Therefore, we tested the hypothesis that antechinus will adjust torpor use and activity after a fire depending on vegetation recovery. We simultaneously quantified torpor and activity patterns for female antechinus from three adjacent areas: (i) the area of a management burn one year post-fire, (ii) an area that was burned two years prior and (iii) a control area. In comparison to shortly after the management burn, antechinus in all three groups displayed less frequent and less pronounced torpor while being more active. We provide the first evidence that only one year post-fire antechinus resume pre-fire torpor and activity patterns, likely in response to the return of herbaceous ground cover and foraging opportunities.为应对火灾后食物与遮蔽物可获得性下降的挑战，小型有袋类哺乳动物棕袋鼩 (Antechinus stuartii) 会增加耗能保守型蛰伏 (torpor) 的使用频率，并降低活动量。然而目前尚不清楚，在受烧栖息地的恢复过程中，该动物需要多长时间才能恢复至火灾前的蛰伏与活动模式。因此本研究验证了如下假说：火灾后棕袋鼩的蛰伏使用与活动模式会依据植被恢复情况进行调整。本研究同时对来自三个相邻区域的雌性棕袋鼩的蛰伏与活动模式进行了量化分析：(i) 火灾后1年的计划性烧除区域，(ii) 两年前发生过火灾的区域，以及(iii) 对照区域。相较于计划性烧除刚结束时的状态，三个区域的棕袋鼩均表现出更低频率、更低强度的蛰伏，且活动量更高。本研究首次证实，仅在火灾后1年，棕袋鼩即可恢复至火灾前的蛰伏与活动模式，这一现象可能与草本地面覆被的恢复以及觅食机会的增加有关。