Journal article
A Novel Landscape Macrogenetics Approach Reveals Conservation Implications of Australia's 2019–2020 Black Summer Wildfires
Diversity & distributions, Vol.32(5), pp.1-15
05/2026
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Abstract
Aim: The use of genetic analyses has become ubiquitous in conservation planning and management. Typically, such analyses are employed at the species‐level, though as genetic data accrue, it is now possible to consider the genetic composition of multiple species across landscapes. Such macrogenetic perspectives can reveal the potential genetic ramifications of extreme disturbance events, such as the catastrophic Australian ‘Black Summer' wildfires of 2019–2020. Here, we present a framework to examine the potential genetic impacts of this event upon populations of a variety of taxa.
Location: Eastern Australia.
Methods: Using hundreds of samples spanning dozens of frog, mammal and reptile species, we demonstrate a macrogenetic approach for using reduced‐representation sequencing data from several species to describe the fine‐scale distribution of genetic diversity across a landscape in a robust, comparable manner. We do so using standard population genetics metrics (heterozygosity); though we also propose a novel complementary measure—‘weighted distinctiveness’—to identify important regions of the landscape where narrowly distributed and evolutionarily distinct populations from multiple species reside.
Results: Although variable across the study area, we show that these unprecedented fires generally burned areas where genetic diversity of sampled taxa was higher than that of areas remaining unburned. Additionally, regions harbouring high concentrations of evolutionarily distinct and narrowly distributed species were disproportionately represented in burned regions, with the potential cross‐taxonomic adverse effects being greatest in Australia's southeast and central eastern seaboard regions.
Main Conclusions: Our findings suggest that the macrogenetic impacts of the Black Summer wildfires have the potential to have been more severe than initially apparent. Importantly, they also demonstrate how conservation genetics principles often applied at a species level can be expanded to landscapes, whilst accounting for the challenges that arise when aggregating across taxonomic groups, thereby improving our understanding of the overall impacts of large‐scale disturbance events.
Details
- Title
- A Novel Landscape Macrogenetics Approach Reveals Conservation Implications of Australia's 2019–2020 Black Summer Wildfires
- Creators
- Jarrod Sopniewski - Australian National UniversityRhiannon Schembri - Macquarie UniversityCraig Moritz - The Australian National University (Australia, Canberra)Andrew M Baker - Queensland University of TechnologyStephane Batista - Queensland University of TechnologyStephen Donnellan - South Australian MuseumMark D. B Eldridge - Australian MuseumEmma L Gray - Queensland University of TechnologyIan C Gynther - Queensland MuseumGreta J Frankham - Australian MuseumHarry B Hines - Queensland MuseumConrad J Hoskin - James Cook UniversityMichael Mahony - University of NewcastleEugene D Mason - NSW Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and WaterJane Melville - Museums Victoria Research Institute (Victoria, Melbourne)Nicola J Mitchell - University of Western AustraliaMadeline E. F Mutton - Department of the Environment, Tourism, Science and Innovation (Queensland, Brisbane)David Newell - Southern Cross UniversityKate O'Hara - The Australian National University (Australia, Canberra)Paul M Oliver - Queensland MuseumSally Potter - Macquarie UniversityJodi J. L Rowley - Australian MuseumBen C Scheele - The Australian National University (Australia, Canberra)Glenn Shea - Australian MuseumJoanna Sumner - Museums Victoria Research Institute (Victoria, Melbourne)Renee A Catullo - The University of Western Australia
- Publication Details
- Diversity & distributions, Vol.32(5), pp.1-15
- Publisher
- Wiley
- Grant note
- This work was supported by Bioplatforms Australia.
- Identifiers
- 991013377951902368
- Copyright
- © 2026 The Author(s).
- Academic Unit
- Faculty of Science and Engineering; Science
- Language
- English
- Resource Type
- Journal article