As scientists predict bushfires will become more frequent and intense, a simple design could help small native mammals, birds and reptiles survive the ordeal of fire in greater numbers.

Key points: Research shows feral cats and foxes hunt wildlife in areas burnt by bushfire

Research shows feral cats and foxes hunt wildlife in areas burnt by bushfire Ecologists are testing 'low-tech' shelters made of shadecloth and chicken wire in an effort to protect animals from predators

Ecologists are testing 'low-tech' shelters made of shadecloth and chicken wire in an effort to protect animals from predators Experts are testing the shelters in different environments across Australia

Research shows that when fire scorches a landscape, feral predators such as cats and foxes can pose a greater risk to animals' survival than the fire itself.

Conservation scientists across the country are testing whether simple, cheap structures could help those small native animals stay safe in the aftermath of fire.

Feral cats and foxes go on the hunt in fire-razed landscapes

Deakin University PhD student, Darcy Watchorn, has been among ecologists focused on trying to stop the "widespread population loss" of native animals that are killed by invasive predators, including foxes and feral cats, in the wake of fires.

"The impacts of these invasive predators are really amplified by fire," he said.

"You have cats and foxes predating on the landscape generally and then when a fire comes through that landscape, a lot of the small terrestrial mammals are really exposed because the groundcover is now absent.

A fox is caught on camera near the refuges placed in the Great Otway National Park after the landscape was burnt. ( Supplied )

"Instead of having a thick forest with lots of shrubs and trees you have now essentially got bare earth. It's blackened."

Mr Watchorn's work examined the effectiveness of simple shelters made of chicken wire and shadecloth, and has been undertaken in the Great Otway National Park along the coast south-west of Melbourne, where the feral cat population is estimated to be three times the national average.

He said studies have shown that invasive predators become more active in areas that have been burnt.

"More cats and foxes will come into those areas and increase their predation rate on animals that have survived the fire," Mr Watchorn said.

Threatened species ecologist, Darcy Watchorn, in the Great Otway National Park. ( Supplied: Darcy Watchorn )

"You've got these two massive threats working in conjunction with one another, so together they represent a really formidable challenge in conserving these animals.

"It's amplified by the already highly fragmented landscapes and populations [of some species] that are remaining.

"A lot of our mammals are only existing in small populations or in really fragile habitat. There might not be much habitat remaining for that species, so the impact on that wildlife can be more damaging."

Recent bushfires in New South Wales have cast the spotlight onto the impact blazes have on larger animals such as koalas, resulting in millions of dollars being raised for the Port Macquarie Animal Hospital.

But while it is known events like Victoria's devastating Black Saturday fires a decade ago have the capacity to kill and injure hundreds of thousands — or even millions — of animals, the effect on small vertebrates such as rodents, birds and reptiles is sometimes overlooked.

Early research shows refuges that act like vegetation work

Mr Watchorn is halfway through his two-year study into how effective the wire shelters are.

He has 15 separate 50-metre-long shelters set up in the Great Otway National Park, in bushland near Anglesea, and each shelter has a wildlife camera set-up to record which animals are making use of the structures after planned burns.

Researchers building a refuge for small mammals in a fire-affected area. ( Supplied: Darcy Watchorn )

The early results have been promising, and he planned to set-up more shelters in a section of the park that was more rainforest-like near the town of Lorne early next year.

"In the burnt environment the shadecloth provides cover and ideally, acts like vegetation would," he said.

"The idea is that they're connecting patches of unburnt vegetation, to reduce the risk of predation and also give them a refuge to escape to."

The cameras have shown the refuges being used by rodents, agile antechinus, ground-dwelling birds such as fairy wrens, scrub wrens and thornbills and also reptiles.

Deakin University researcher Darcy Watchorn holding an agile antechinus. ( Supplied: Darcy Watchorn )

Shelters tried and tested in desert conditions

University of Sydney ecology professor, Chris Dickman, has spent six years testing out the same shelters in Central Australian desert conditions in western Queensland.

He said the "above-ground tunnels" are cheap and low-tech and using them in desert environments resulted in a "strong behavioural response" from small native animals.

"We know they work in the open desert environment but we need a little bit more understanding of how well they might work in more densely vegetated environments," Dr Dickman said.

Refuges for small animals being used in a Central Australian desert environment as part of Dr Chris Dickman's research. ( Supplied: Chris Dickman )

Scientists, including Mr Watchorn, have been testing the shelters in fire-affected natural environments in South Australia, Western Australia and Victoria, and hoped that if they were effective they would be used by authorities in the wake of bushfires.

"Fire behaviour models seem to be suggesting that for many parts of the country, we're going to be looking at more severe fire conditions in the future," Dr Dickman said.

"Knowing how the native fauna are likely to respond, and how we might help them to respond and adapt to it, is absolutely crucial."

He said coming up with ways to protect threatened species was crucial in the face of climate change.

"We're in the middle of an extinction crisis," Dr Dickman said.

"We should have been talking about it and doing things for a much longer period than we have.

"It's overdue and the more we talk about it and the more we act, the better it's going to be for both human communities and for the natural environment."

