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Calhoun KL, Connor T, Gaynor KM, Van Scoyoc A, McInturff A, Kreling SES, Brashares JS. Movement behavior in a dominant ungulate underlies successful adjustment to a rapidly changing landscape following megafire. MOVEMENT ECOLOGY 2024; 12:53. [PMID: 39085926 PMCID: PMC11293098 DOI: 10.1186/s40462-024-00488-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/09/2023] [Accepted: 06/23/2024] [Indexed: 08/02/2024]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Movement plays a key role in allowing animal species to adapt to sudden environmental shifts. Anthropogenic climate and land use change have accelerated the frequency of some of these extreme disturbances, including megafire. These megafires dramatically alter ecosystems and challenge the capacity of several species to adjust to a rapidly changing landscape. Ungulates and their movement behaviors play a central role in the ecosystem functions of fire-prone ecosystems around the world. Previous work has shown behavioral plasticity is an important mechanism underlying whether large ungulates are able to adjust to recent changes in their environments effectively. Ungulates may respond to the immediate effects of megafire by adjusting their movement and behavior, but how these responses persist or change over time following disturbance is poorly understood. METHODS We examined how an ecologically dominant ungulate with strong site fidelity, Columbian black-tailed deer (Odocoileus hemionus columbianus), adjusted its movement and behavior in response to an altered landscape following a megafire. To do so, we collected GPS data from 21 individual female deer over the course of a year to compare changes in home range size over time and used resource selection functions (RSFs) and hidden Markov movement models (HMMs) to assess changes in behavior and habitat selection. RESULTS We found compelling evidence of adaptive capacity across individual deer in response to megafire. Deer avoided exposed and severely burned areas that lack forage and could be riskier for predation immediately following megafire, but they later altered these behaviors to select areas that burned at higher severities, potentially to take advantage of enhanced forage. CONCLUSIONS These results suggest that despite their high site fidelity, deer can navigate altered landscapes to track rapid shifts in encounter risk with predators and resource availability. This successful adjustment of movement and behavior following extreme disturbance could help facilitate resilience at broader ecological scales.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kendall L Calhoun
- Department of Environmental, Science, Policy, and Management, University of California Berkeley, 137 Mulford #3114, Berkeley, CA, 94720, USA.
- , 210 Wellman Hall, Berkeley, CA, 94720, USA.
| | - Thomas Connor
- Department of Environmental, Science, Policy, and Management, University of California Berkeley, 137 Mulford #3114, Berkeley, CA, 94720, USA
| | - Kaitlyn M Gaynor
- Departments of Zoology & Botany, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, V6T 1Z4, Canada
| | - Amy Van Scoyoc
- Department of Environmental, Science, Policy, and Management, University of California Berkeley, 137 Mulford #3114, Berkeley, CA, 94720, USA
| | - Alex McInturff
- Washington Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, School of Environmental and Forest Sciences, U.S. Geological Survey, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
| | - Samantha E S Kreling
- School of Environmental and Forest Sciences, University of Washington, University of Washington, Anderson Hall, Box 352100, Seattle, WA, 98195, USA
| | - Justin S Brashares
- Department of Environmental, Science, Policy, and Management, University of California Berkeley, 137 Mulford #3114, Berkeley, CA, 94720, USA
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Wooster EIF, Nimmo DG. Functional trait databases for macrobehaviour. Trends Ecol Evol 2024; 39:605-606. [PMID: 38714478 DOI: 10.1016/j.tree.2024.04.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/08/2024] [Revised: 04/19/2024] [Accepted: 04/22/2024] [Indexed: 05/10/2024]
Affiliation(s)
- Eamonn I F Wooster
- Gulbali Institute, School of Agricultural, Environmental and Veterinary Sciences, Charles Sturt University, Albury, NSW, Australia.
| | - Dale G Nimmo
- Gulbali Institute, School of Agricultural, Environmental and Veterinary Sciences, Charles Sturt University, Albury, NSW, Australia
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Magioli M, Lima LHA, Villela PMS, Sampaio R, Bonjorne L, Ribeiro RLA, Kantek DLZ, Miyazaki SS, Semedo TBF, Libardi GS, Saranholi BH, Eriksson CE, Morato RG, Berlinck CN. Forest type modulates mammalian responses to megafires. Sci Rep 2024; 14:13538. [PMID: 38866909 PMCID: PMC11169498 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-64460-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/15/2024] [Accepted: 06/10/2024] [Indexed: 06/14/2024] Open
Abstract
Although considered an evolutionary force responsible for shaping ecosystems and biodiversity, fires' natural cycle is being altered by human activities, increasing the odds of destructive megafire events. Here, we show that forest type modulates the responses of terrestrial mammals, from species to assemblage level, to a catastrophic megafire in the Brazilian Pantanal. We unraveled that mammalian richness was higher 1 year after fire passage compared to a pre-fire condition, which can be attributed to habitat modification caused by wildfires, attracting herbivores and open-area tolerant species. We observed changes in assemblage composition between burned/unburned sites, but no difference in mammalian richness or relative abundance. However, by partitioning the effects of burned area proportion per forest type (monospecific vs. polyspecific), we detected differential responses of mammals at several levels of organization, with pronounced declines in species richness and relative abundance in monospecific forests. Eighty-six percent of the species presented moderate to strong negative effects on their relative abundance, with an overall strong negative effect for the entire assemblage. Wildfires are predicted to be more frequent with climate and land use change, and if events analogous to Pantanal-2020 become recurrent, they might trigger regional beta diversity change, benefitting open-area tolerant species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marcelo Magioli
- Instituto Pró-Carnívoros, Atibaia, São Paulo, Brazil.
- Centro Nacional de Pesquisa e Conservação de Mamíferos Carnívoros, Instituto Chico Mendes de Conservação da Biodiversidade, Atibaia, São Paulo, Brazil.
- Laboratório de Ecologia e Conservação (LAEC), Departamento de Biologia, Faculdade de Filosofia, Ciências e Letras de Ribeirão Preto (FFCLRP), Universidade de São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, Brazil.
| | - Luanne Helena Augusto Lima
- Centro Nacional de Pesquisa e Conservação de Mamíferos Carnívoros, Instituto Chico Mendes de Conservação da Biodiversidade, Atibaia, São Paulo, Brazil
| | | | - Ricardo Sampaio
- Centro Nacional de Pesquisa e Conservação de Mamíferos Carnívoros, Instituto Chico Mendes de Conservação da Biodiversidade, Atibaia, São Paulo, Brazil
- Laboratório de Ecologia e Conservação (LAEC), Departamento de Biologia, Faculdade de Filosofia, Ciências e Letras de Ribeirão Preto (FFCLRP), Universidade de São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, Brazil
| | - Lilian Bonjorne
- Centro Nacional de Pesquisa e Conservação de Mamíferos Carnívoros, Instituto Chico Mendes de Conservação da Biodiversidade, Atibaia, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Renan Lieto Alves Ribeiro
- Centro Nacional de Pesquisa e Conservação de Mamíferos Carnívoros, Instituto Chico Mendes de Conservação da Biodiversidade, Atibaia, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Daniel Luis Zanella Kantek
- Estação Ecológica de Taiamã, Instituto Chico Mendes de Conservação da Biodiversidade, Cáceres, Mato Grosso, Brazil
- Centro Nacional de Pesquisa e Conservação de Mamíferos Aquáticos, Instituto Chico Mendes de Conservação da Biodiversidade, Santos, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Selma Samiko Miyazaki
- Estação Ecológica de Taiamã, Instituto Chico Mendes de Conservação da Biodiversidade, Cáceres, Mato Grosso, Brazil
- Centro Nacional de Pesquisa e Conservação de Mamíferos Aquáticos, Instituto Chico Mendes de Conservação da Biodiversidade, Santos, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Thiago B F Semedo
- InBIO Laboratório Associado, CIBIO, Centro de Investigação em Biodiversidade e Recursos Genéticos, Universidade do Porto, Campus de Vairão, 4485-661, Vairão, Portugal
- BIOPOLIS Program in Genomics, Biodiversity and Land Planning, CIBIO, Campus de Vairão, 4485-661, Vairão, Portugal
- Departamento de Biologia, Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade do Porto, 4099-002, Porto, Portugal
| | - Gustavo S Libardi
- Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Físicas y Naturales, Universidad Nacional de Córdoba, Córdoba, Argentina
| | - Bruno H Saranholi
- Departamento de Genética e Evolução, Universidade Federal de São Carlos, São Carlos, Brazil
| | - Charlotte E Eriksson
- Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR, 97331, USA
| | - Ronaldo Gonçalves Morato
- Centro Nacional de Pesquisa e Conservação de Mamíferos Carnívoros, Instituto Chico Mendes de Conservação da Biodiversidade, Atibaia, São Paulo, Brazil
- Departamento de Conservação e Uso Sustentável da Biodiversidade, Secretaria Nacional de Biodiversidade, Floresta e Direito dos Animais, Ministério do Meio Ambiente e Mudança Clima, Brasília, Brazil
| | - Christian Niel Berlinck
- Centro Nacional de Pesquisa e Conservação de Mamíferos Carnívoros, Instituto Chico Mendes de Conservação da Biodiversidade, Atibaia, São Paulo, Brazil
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Harrison ME, Deere NJ, Imron MA, Nasir D, Adul, Asti HA, Aragay Soler J, Boyd NC, Cheyne SM, Collins SA, D’Arcy LJ, Erb WM, Green H, Healy W, Hendri, Holly B, Houlihan PR, Husson SJ, Iwan, Jeffers KA, Kulu IP, Kusin K, Marchant NC, Morrogh-Bernard HC, Page SE, Purwanto A, Ripoll Capilla B, de Rivera Ortega OR, Santiano, Spencer KL, Sugardjito J, Supriatna J, Thornton SA, Frank van Veen FJ, Yulintine, Struebig MJ. Impacts of fire and prospects for recovery in a tropical peat forest ecosystem. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2024; 121:e2307216121. [PMID: 38621126 PMCID: PMC11047076 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2307216121] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/01/2023] [Accepted: 12/02/2023] [Indexed: 04/17/2024] Open
Abstract
Uncontrolled fires place considerable burdens on forest ecosystems, compromising our ability to meet conservation and restoration goals. A poor understanding of the impacts of fire on ecosystems and their biodiversity exacerbates this challenge, particularly in tropical regions where few studies have applied consistent analytical techniques to examine a broad range of ecological impacts over multiyear time frames. We compiled 16 y of data on ecosystem properties (17 variables) and biodiversity (21 variables) from a tropical peatland in Indonesia to assess fire impacts and infer the potential for recovery. Burned forest experienced altered structural and microclimatic conditions, resulting in a proliferation of nonforest vegetation and erosion of forest ecosystem properties and biodiversity. Compared to unburned forest, habitat structure, tree density, and canopy cover deteriorated by 58 to 98%, while declines in species diversity and abundance were most pronounced for trees, damselflies, and butterflies, particularly for forest specialist species. Tracking ecosystem property and biodiversity datasets over time revealed most to be sensitive to recurrent high-intensity fires within the wider landscape. These megafires immediately compromised water quality and tree reproductive phenology, crashing commercially valuable fish populations within 3 mo and driving a gradual decline in threatened vertebrates over 9 mo. Burned forest remained structurally compromised long after a burn event, but vegetation showed some signs of recovery over a 12-y period. Our findings demonstrate that, if left uncontrolled, fire may be a pervasive threat to the ecological functioning of tropical forests, underscoring the importance of fire prevention and long-term restoration efforts, as exemplified in Indonesia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mark E. Harrison
- Centre for Ecology and Conservation, Faculty of Environment, Science and Economy, University of Exeter, PenrynTR10 9FE, United Kingdom
- School of Geography, Geology and the Environment, University of Leicester, LeicesterLE1 7RH, United Kingdom
| | - Nicolas J. Deere
- Durrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology, School of Anthropology and Conservation, University of Kent, CanterburyCT2 7NR, United Kingdom
| | - Muhammad Ali Imron
- Faculty of Forestry, Universitas Gadjah Mada, Yogyakarta55281, Indonesia
| | - Darmae Nasir
- Centre for the International Cooperation in Sustainable Management of Tropical Peatlands, University of Palangka Raya, Palangka Raya73112, Central Kalimantan, Indonesia
| | - Adul
- Yayasan Borneo Nature Indonesia, Palangka Raya73112, Central Kalimantan, Indonesia
| | - Hastin Ambar Asti
- Faculty of Forestry, Universitas Gadjah Mada, Yogyakarta55281, Indonesia
| | - Joana Aragay Soler
- Wildlife Conservation Research Unit, Department of Biology, University of Oxford, OxfordOX13 5QL, United Kingdom
| | - Nicholas C. Boyd
- Department of Modern Languages, University of Wales Aberystwyth, AberystwthSY23 1DE, United Kingdom
| | - Susan M. Cheyne
- School of Humanities and Social Sciences, Oxford Brookes University, OxfordOX3 0BP, United Kingdom
| | - Sarah A. Collins
- School of Biological and Marine Sciences, Faculty of Science and Engineering, University of Plymouth, PlymouthPL4 8AA, United Kingdom
| | - Laura J. D’Arcy
- Borneo Nature Foundation International, Tremough Innovation Centre, PenrynTR10 9TA, United Kingdom
| | - Wendy M. Erb
- K. Lisa Yang Center for Conservation Bioacoustics, Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY14850
| | - Hannah Green
- School of Biological and Marine Sciences, Faculty of Science and Engineering, University of Plymouth, PlymouthPL4 8AA, United Kingdom
| | - William Healy
- Centre for Ecology and Conservation, Faculty of Environment, Science and Economy, University of Exeter, PenrynTR10 9FE, United Kingdom
| | - Hendri
- Yayasan Borneo Nature Indonesia, Palangka Raya73112, Central Kalimantan, Indonesia
| | - Brendan Holly
- Environmental Studies, Centre College, Danville, KY40422
| | - Peter R. Houlihan
- Center for Tropical Research, Institute of the Environment and Sustainability, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA90095-1496
| | - Simon J. Husson
- Borneo Nature Foundation International, Tremough Innovation Centre, PenrynTR10 9TA, United Kingdom
| | - Iwan
- Yayasan Borneo Nature Indonesia, Palangka Raya73112, Central Kalimantan, Indonesia
| | - Karen A. Jeffers
- School of Humanities and Social Sciences, Oxford Brookes University, OxfordOX3 0BP, United Kingdom
| | - Ici P. Kulu
- Centre for the International Cooperation in Sustainable Management of Tropical Peatlands, University of Palangka Raya, Palangka Raya73112, Central Kalimantan, Indonesia
| | - Kitso Kusin
- Centre for the International Cooperation in Sustainable Management of Tropical Peatlands, University of Palangka Raya, Palangka Raya73112, Central Kalimantan, Indonesia
| | - Nicholas C. Marchant
- Wildlife Conservation Research Unit, Department of Biology, University of Oxford, OxfordOX13 5QL, United Kingdom
| | - Helen C. Morrogh-Bernard
- Centre for Ecology and Conservation, Faculty of Environment, Science and Economy, University of Exeter, PenrynTR10 9FE, United Kingdom
| | - Susan E. Page
- School of Geography, Geology and the Environment, University of Leicester, LeicesterLE1 7RH, United Kingdom
| | - Ari Purwanto
- Yayasan Borneo Nature Indonesia, Palangka Raya73112, Central Kalimantan, Indonesia
| | - Bernat Ripoll Capilla
- Borneo Nature Foundation International, Tremough Innovation Centre, PenrynTR10 9TA, United Kingdom
| | - Oscar Rodriguez de Rivera Ortega
- Department of Mathematics and Statistics, Faculty of Environment, Science and Economy, University of Exeter, ExeterEX4 4QF, United Kingdom
| | - Santiano
- Yayasan Borneo Nature Indonesia, Palangka Raya73112, Central Kalimantan, Indonesia
| | - Katie L. Spencer
- Durrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology, School of Anthropology and Conservation, University of Kent, CanterburyCT2 7NR, United Kingdom
| | - Jito Sugardjito
- Centre for Sustainable Energy and Resources Management, Universitas Nasional, Jakarta12520, Indonesia
- Faculty of Biology, Universitas Nasional, Jakarta12520, Indonesia
| | - Jatna Supriatna
- Department of Biology, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, Universitas Indonesia, Depok16424, Indonesia
| | - Sara A. Thornton
- School of Geography, Geology and the Environment, University of Leicester, LeicesterLE1 7RH, United Kingdom
| | - F. J. Frank van Veen
- Centre for Ecology and Conservation, Faculty of Environment, Science and Economy, University of Exeter, PenrynTR10 9FE, United Kingdom
| | - Yulintine
- Centre for the International Cooperation in Sustainable Management of Tropical Peatlands, University of Palangka Raya, Palangka Raya73112, Central Kalimantan, Indonesia
| | - Matthew J. Struebig
- Durrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology, School of Anthropology and Conservation, University of Kent, CanterburyCT2 7NR, United Kingdom
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Bardales R, Boron V, Passos Viana DF, Sousa LL, Dröge E, Porfirio G, Jaramillo M, Payán E, Sillero-Zubiri C, Hyde M. Neotropical mammal responses to megafires in the Brazilian Pantanal. GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY 2024; 30:e17278. [PMID: 38655695 DOI: 10.1111/gcb.17278] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/04/2023] [Revised: 03/19/2024] [Accepted: 03/21/2024] [Indexed: 04/26/2024]
Abstract
The increasing frequency and severity of human-caused fires likely have deleterious effects on species distribution and persistence. In 2020, megafires in the Brazilian Pantanal burned 43% of the biome's unburned area and resulted in mass mortality of wildlife. We investigated changes in habitat use or occupancy for an assemblage of eight mammal species in Serra do Amolar, Brazil, following the 2020 fires using a pre- and post-fire camera trap dataset. Additionally, we estimated the density for two naturally marked species, jaguars Panthera onca and ocelots Leopardus pardalis. Of the eight species, six (ocelots, collared peccaries Dicotyles tajacu, giant armadillos Priodontes maximus, Azara's agouti Dasyprocta azarae, red brocket deer Mazama americana, and tapirs Tapirus terrestris) had declining occupancy following fires, and one had stable habitat use (pumas Puma concolor). Giant armadillo experienced the most precipitous decline in occupancy from 0.431 ± 0.171 to 0.077 ± 0.044 after the fires. Jaguars were the only species with increasing habitat use, from 0.393 ± 0.127 to 0.753 ± 0.085. Jaguar density remained stable across years (2.8 ± 1.3, 3.7 ± 1.3, 2.6 ± 0.85/100 km2), while ocelot density increased from 13.9 ± 3.2 to 16.1 ± 5.2/100 km2. However, the low number of both jaguars and ocelots recaptured after the fire period suggests that immigration may have sustained the population. Our results indicate that the megafires will have significant consequences for species occupancy and fitness in fire-affected areas. The scale of megafires may inhibit successful recolonization, thus wider studies are needed to investigate population trends.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rocío Bardales
- Wildlife Conservation Research Unit, Department of Biology, The Recanati-Kaplan Centre, University of Oxford, Abingdon, UK
- Panthera Cooperation, New York, New York, USA
| | - Valeria Boron
- Panthera Cooperation, New York, New York, USA
- The Living Planet Centre, World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) UK, Woking, Surrey, UK
| | | | - Lara L Sousa
- Wildlife Conservation Research Unit, Department of Biology, The Recanati-Kaplan Centre, University of Oxford, Abingdon, UK
| | - Egil Dröge
- Wildlife Conservation Research Unit, Department of Biology, The Recanati-Kaplan Centre, University of Oxford, Abingdon, UK
- Zambian Carnivore Programme, Mfuwe, Zambia
| | | | | | - Esteban Payán
- Panthera Cooperation, New York, New York, USA
- Wildlife Conservation Society, New York, New York, USA
| | - Claudio Sillero-Zubiri
- Wildlife Conservation Research Unit, Department of Biology, The Recanati-Kaplan Centre, University of Oxford, Abingdon, UK
| | - Matthew Hyde
- Panthera Cooperation, New York, New York, USA
- Graduate Degree Program in Ecology, Center for Human-Carnivore Coexistence, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA
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Cope HR, McArthur C, Gray R, Newsome TM, Dickman CR, Sriram A, Haering R, Herbert CA. Trends in Rescue and Rehabilitation of Marsupials Surviving the Australian 2019-2020 Bushfires. Animals (Basel) 2024; 14:1019. [PMID: 38612258 PMCID: PMC11011103 DOI: 10.3390/ani14071019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/31/2024] [Revised: 03/11/2024] [Accepted: 03/19/2024] [Indexed: 04/14/2024] Open
Abstract
The 2019-2020 Australian bushfire season had a devastating impact on native wildlife. It was estimated that 3 billion native animals were impacted by the fires, yet there are few estimates of the number of animals that were rescued and rehabilitated post-fire. Focusing on the state of New South Wales (NSW) and Kangaroo Island, South Australia, we used a case study approach to determine the number of marsupials that were reported rescued due to the 2019-2020 bushfires in these areas and analysed species-specific trends in rescue and release success. In NSW, we found 889 reports of fire-affected marsupials in 2019-2020, mostly comprising kangaroos and wallabies (macropods; n = 458), koalas (n = 204), and possums (n = 162), with a smaller number of wombats (n = 43) and other marsupial species. Most reports of fire-affected marsupials occurred 6-8 weeks after fire ignition, and there was no difference in temporal frequency of rescues between marsupial groups. For the three main groups, the probability of survival and subsequent release differed, with macropods having the lowest probability of release after rescue (0.15 ± 0.04) compared to koalas (0.47 ± 0.04) and possums (0.55 ± 0.10). The type of injury was the main predictor of survival during rehabilitation for all three marsupial groups, with those malnourished/moribund or with traumatic injuries less likely to survive rehabilitation. Death or euthanasia occurred on the day of rescue for 77% of macropods, 48% of possums and 15% of koalas. Koalas most often died during rehabilitation rather than on the day of rescue, with 73% either dying or being euthanised between day 1 and 30 post-rescue, representing a potential welfare concern. On Kangaroo Island, koalas were the most frequently rescued marsupial species; most euthanasia cases and deaths occurred in a hospital, whereas other marsupials were mostly euthanised at triage. In both jurisdictions, koalas were over-represented while possums were under-represented relative to baseline population densities and wildlife rescue trends in the years before the 2019-2020 bushfires. These species differences in presentation post-fire warrant further investigation, as do the differences in triage, survival and release outcomes. It is hypothesised that the high intensity and large scale of the 2019-2020 fires impeded marsupial fire evasion tactics, as evidenced by the small number of animals found for rescue, and the differing rates of presentation relative to underlying population densities for the main marsupial groups. Based on our findings, there is a need for detailed record keeping and data sharing, development of consistent and evidence-based triage, treatment and euthanasia guidelines and deployment of trained wildlife emergency rescue teams with advanced search techniques to minimise animal suffering where safe to do so.
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Affiliation(s)
- Holly R. Cope
- Sydney School of Veterinary Science, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia; (H.R.C.); (R.G.)
| | - Clare McArthur
- School of Life and Environmental Sciences, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia; (C.M.); (T.M.N.); (C.R.D.)
| | - Rachael Gray
- Sydney School of Veterinary Science, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia; (H.R.C.); (R.G.)
| | - Thomas M. Newsome
- School of Life and Environmental Sciences, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia; (C.M.); (T.M.N.); (C.R.D.)
| | - Christopher R. Dickman
- School of Life and Environmental Sciences, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia; (C.M.); (T.M.N.); (C.R.D.)
| | - Aditi Sriram
- New South Wales Department of Climate Change, Energy the Environment and Water, National Parks and Wildlife Service, Parramatta, NSW 2150, Australia
| | - Ron Haering
- New South Wales Department of Climate Change, Energy the Environment and Water, National Parks and Wildlife Service, Parramatta, NSW 2150, Australia
| | - Catherine A. Herbert
- School of Life and Environmental Sciences, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia; (C.M.); (T.M.N.); (C.R.D.)
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7
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Iwińska K, Wirowska M, Borowski Z, Boratyński Z, Solecki P, Ciesielski M, Boratyński JS. Energy allocation is revealed while behavioural performance persists after fire disturbance. J Exp Biol 2024; 227:jeb247114. [PMID: 38323432 DOI: 10.1242/jeb.247114] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/12/2023] [Accepted: 01/31/2024] [Indexed: 02/08/2024]
Abstract
Metabolic physiology and animal behaviour are often considered to be linked, positively or negatively, according to either the performance or allocation models. Performance seems to predominate over allocation in natural systems, but the constraining environmental context may reveal allocation limitations to energetically expensive behaviours. Habitat disturbance, such as the large-scale fire that burnt wetlands of Biebrza National Park (NE Poland), degrades natural ecosystems. It arguably reduces food and shelter availability, modifies predator-prey interactions, and poses a direct threat for animal survival, such as that of the wetland specialist root vole Microtus oeconomus. We hypothesized that fire disturbance induces physiology-behaviour co-expression, as a consequence of changed environmental context. We repeatedly measured maintenance and exercise metabolism, and behavioural responses to the open field, in a root voles from post-fire and unburnt locations. Highly repeatable maintenance metabolism and distance moved during behavioural tests correlated positively, but relatively labile exercise metabolism did not covary with behaviour. At the same time, voles from a post-fire habitat had higher maintenance metabolism and moved shorter distances than voles from unburnt areas. We conclude there is a prevalence of the performance mechanism, but simultaneous manifestation of context-dependent allocation constraints of the physiology-behaviour covariation after disturbance. The last occurs at the within-individual level, indicating the significance of behavioural plasticity in the context of environmental disturbance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Karolina Iwińska
- University of Białystok Doctoral School in Exact and Natural Sciences, 15-245 Białystok, Poland
| | - Martyna Wirowska
- Adam Mickiewicz University, Department of Systematic Zoology, 61-614 Poznań, Poland
| | | | - Zbyszek Boratyński
- BIOPOLIS, CIBIO/InBio, Research Center in Biodiversity & Genetic Resources, University of Porto, 4485-661 Vairão, Portugal
| | - Paweł Solecki
- Faculty of Electronics and Information Technology, Warsaw University of Technology, 00-665 Warsaw, Poland
| | | | - Jan S Boratyński
- Mammal Research Institute, Polish Academy of Sciences, 17-230 Białowieża, Poland
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Schuck LK, Neely WJ, Buttimer SM, Moser CF, Barth PC, Liskoski PE, Caberlon CDA, Valiati VH, Tozetti AM, Becker CG. Effects of grassland controlled burning on symbiotic skin microbes in Neotropical amphibians. Sci Rep 2024; 14:959. [PMID: 38200064 PMCID: PMC10781984 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-50394-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/11/2023] [Accepted: 12/19/2023] [Indexed: 01/12/2024] Open
Abstract
Climate change has led to an alarming increase in the frequency and severity of wildfires worldwide. While it is known that amphibians have physiological characteristics that make them highly susceptible to fire, the specific impacts of wildfires on their symbiotic skin bacterial communities (i.e., bacteriomes) and infection by the deadly chytrid fungus, Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis, remain poorly understood. Here, we address this research gap by evaluating the effects of fire on the amphibian skin bacteriome and the subsequent risk of chytridiomycosis. We sampled the skin bacteriome of the Neotropical species Scinax squalirostris and Boana leptolineata in fire and control plots before and after experimental burnings. Fire was linked with a marked increase in bacteriome beta dispersion, a proxy for skin microbial dysbiosis, alongside a trend of increased pathogen loads. By shedding light on the effects of fire on amphibian skin bacteriomes, this study contributes to our broader understanding of the impacts of wildfires on vulnerable vertebrate species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laura K Schuck
- Programa de Pós-Graduacão em Biologia, Universidade do Vale do Rio dos Sinos, São Leopoldo, RS, 93022-750, Brazil.
- Department of Biology, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, 16802, USA.
| | - Wesley J Neely
- Department of Biological Sciences, The University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL, 35487, USA
- Department of Biology, Texas State University, San Marcos, TX, 78666, USA
| | - Shannon M Buttimer
- Department of Biology, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, 16802, USA
- Center for Infectious Disease Dynamics and One Health Microbiome Center, Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, 16802, USA
| | - Camila F Moser
- Programa de Pos-Graduacão em Zoologia, Universidade Federal do Pará, Belém, PA, 66075-110, Brazil
| | - Priscila C Barth
- Programa de Pós-Graduacão em Biologia, Universidade do Vale do Rio dos Sinos, São Leopoldo, RS, 93022-750, Brazil
| | - Paulo E Liskoski
- Programa de Pós-Graduacão em Biologia, Universidade do Vale do Rio dos Sinos, São Leopoldo, RS, 93022-750, Brazil
| | - Carolina de A Caberlon
- Programa de Pós-Graduacão em Biologia, Universidade do Vale do Rio dos Sinos, São Leopoldo, RS, 93022-750, Brazil
| | - Victor Hugo Valiati
- Programa de Pós-Graduacão em Biologia, Universidade do Vale do Rio dos Sinos, São Leopoldo, RS, 93022-750, Brazil
| | - Alexandro M Tozetti
- Programa de Pós-Graduacão em Biologia, Universidade do Vale do Rio dos Sinos, São Leopoldo, RS, 93022-750, Brazil.
| | - C Guilherme Becker
- Department of Biology, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, 16802, USA.
- Center for Infectious Disease Dynamics and One Health Microbiome Center, Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, 16802, USA.
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9
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Pausas JG, Álvarez-Ruiz L, Baz A, Belliure J, Benítez G, Ferrer-Gallego PP, Herrando-Pérez S, Jiménez JN, Laguna E, Mínguez E, Montagud S, Outerelo R, Roca V, Santos X, Velázquez de Castro AJ, Viñolas A, Cifuentes J, Gilgado JD. Postfire biodiversity database for eastern Iberia. Sci Data 2023; 10:872. [PMID: 38057322 PMCID: PMC10700513 DOI: 10.1038/s41597-023-02794-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/23/2023] [Accepted: 11/27/2023] [Indexed: 12/08/2023] Open
Abstract
In the summer of 2012, two fires affected Mediterranean ecosystems in the eastern Iberian Peninsula. The size of these fires was at the extreme of the historical variability (megafires). Animals are traditionally assumed to recolonize from source populations outside of the burned area (exogenous regeneration) while plants recover from endogenous regeneration (resprouting and seeding). However, there is increasing evidence of in situ fire survival in animals. To evaluate the effect of large-scale fires on biodiversity and the mechanism of recovery, in 2013, we set up 12 plots per fire, covering burned vegetation at different distances from the fire perimeter and unburned vegetation. In each plot, we followed the postfire recovery of arthropods, reptiles (including some of their parasites), and plants for 2 to 5 years. Here we present the resulting database (POSTDIV) of taxon abundance. POSTDIV totals 19,906 records for 457 arthropod taxa (113,681 individuals), 12 reptile taxa (503 individuals), 4 reptile parasites (234 individuals), and 518 plant taxa (cover-abundance). We provide examples in the R language to query the database.
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Affiliation(s)
- Juli G Pausas
- Centro de Investigaciones sobre Desertificación (CIDE-CSIC), 46113, Valencia, Moncada, Spain.
| | - Lola Álvarez-Ruiz
- Centro de Investigaciones sobre Desertificación (CIDE-CSIC), 46113, Valencia, Moncada, Spain
| | - Arturo Baz
- Department of Life Sciences, University of Alcalá, Madrid, Spain
| | - Josabel Belliure
- Department of Life Sciences, University of Alcalá, Madrid, Spain
| | - Guille Benítez
- Centro de Investigaciones sobre Desertificación (CIDE-CSIC), 46113, Valencia, Moncada, Spain
| | - P Pablo Ferrer-Gallego
- Direcció General del Medi Natural i Avaluació Ambiental, Generalitat Valenciana, 46018, Valencia, Spain
| | - Salvador Herrando-Pérez
- Centro de Investigaciones sobre Desertificación (CIDE-CSIC), 46113, Valencia, Moncada, Spain
- BioCore S. Coop., Calle de Manzanares 4, 28005, Madrid, Spain
| | - Joan Nicolau Jiménez
- Centro de Investigaciones sobre Desertificación (CIDE-CSIC), 46113, Valencia, Moncada, Spain
| | - Emilio Laguna
- Direcció General del Medi Natural i Avaluació Ambiental, Generalitat Valenciana, 46018, Valencia, Spain
| | - Eduardo Mínguez
- Direcció General del Medi Natural i Avaluació Ambiental, Generalitat Valenciana, 46018, Valencia, Spain
| | - Sergio Montagud
- Museu [UV] Història Natural, Universitat de València, Avinguda Dr. Moliner, 50, 46100, Valencia, Burjassot, Spain
| | - Raimundo Outerelo
- Departamento de Biodiversidad, Ecología y Evolución, Facultad de CC. Biológicas, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, 28040, Madrid, Spain
| | - Vicente Roca
- Departament de Zoologia, Facultat de Ciències Biològiques, Universitat de València, 46100, València, Burjassot, Spain
| | - Xavier Santos
- CIBIO/InBIO, Universidade do Porto, 4485-661, Vairão, Portugal
| | | | - Amador Viñolas
- Museu de Ciències Naturals de Barcelona. Laboratori de Natura. Coŀlecció d'Artròpodes. Passeig Picasso, s/n, E-08003, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Julio Cifuentes
- Departamento de Biología, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, 28049, Madrid, Cantoblanco, Spain
| | - José D Gilgado
- Department of Life Sciences, University of Alcalá, Madrid, Spain
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10
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Gorta SBZ, Callaghan CT, Samonte F, Ooi MKJ, Mesaglio T, Laffan SW, Cornwell WK. Multi-taxon biodiversity responses to the 2019-2020 Australian megafires. GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY 2023; 29:6727-6740. [PMID: 37823682 DOI: 10.1111/gcb.16955] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/05/2022] [Revised: 08/29/2023] [Accepted: 09/05/2023] [Indexed: 10/13/2023]
Abstract
Conditions conducive to fires are becoming increasingly common and widespread under climate change. Recent fire events across the globe have occurred over unprecedented scales, affecting a diverse array of species and habitats. Understanding biodiversity responses to such fires is critical for conservation. Quantifying post-fire recovery is problematic across taxa, from insects to plants to vertebrates, especially at large geographic scales. Novel datasets can address this challenge. We use presence-only citizen science data from iNaturalist, collected before and after the 2019-2020 megafires in burnt and unburnt regions of eastern Australia, to quantify the effect of post-fire diversity responses, up to 18 months post-fire. The geographic, temporal, and taxonomic sampling of this dataset was large, but sampling effort and species discoverability were unevenly spread. We used rarefaction and prediction (iNEXT) with which we controlled sampling completeness among treatments, to estimate diversity indices (Hill numbers: q = 0-2) among nine broad taxon groupings and seven habitats, including 3885 species. We estimated an increase in species diversity up to 18 months after the 2019-2020 Australian megafires in regions which were burnt, compared to before the fires in burnt and unburnt regions. Diversity estimates in dry sclerophyll forest matched and likely drove this overall increase post-fire, while no taxon groupings showed clear increases inconsistent with both control treatments post-fire. Compared to unburnt regions, overall diversity across all taxon groupings and habitats greatly decreased in areas exposed to extreme fire severity. Post-fire life histories are complex and species detectability is an important consideration in all post-fire sampling. We demonstrate how fire characteristics, distinct taxa, and habitat influence biodiversity, as seen in local-scale datasets. Further integration of large-scale datasets with small-scale studies will lead to a more robust understanding of fire recovery.
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Affiliation(s)
- Simon B Z Gorta
- Centre for Ecosystem Science, School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, UNSW Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Corey T Callaghan
- Department of Wildlife Ecology and Conservation, Fort Lauderdale Research and Education Center, University of Florida, Davie, Florida, USA
| | - Fabrice Samonte
- Centre for Ecosystem Science, School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, UNSW Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
- Evolution and Ecology Research Centre, School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, UNSW Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Mark K J Ooi
- Centre for Ecosystem Science, School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, UNSW Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Thomas Mesaglio
- Centre for Ecosystem Science, School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, UNSW Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
- Evolution and Ecology Research Centre, School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, UNSW Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Shawn W Laffan
- Earth and Sustainability Science Research Centre, School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, UNSW Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Will K Cornwell
- Centre for Ecosystem Science, School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, UNSW Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
- Evolution and Ecology Research Centre, School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, UNSW Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
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11
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Dole HE, Villamarin-Cortez S, Richards LA. Facing the flames: insect responses to megafires and changing fire regimes. CURRENT OPINION IN INSECT SCIENCE 2023; 60:101129. [PMID: 37802150 DOI: 10.1016/j.cois.2023.101129] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/02/2023] [Revised: 09/02/2023] [Accepted: 10/02/2023] [Indexed: 10/08/2023]
Abstract
The rise of megafires and extreme fire behaviors poses a significant threat to insect populations, affecting their survival and postfire recolonization. Megafires threaten the entire insect communities by changing fire regimes and habitats. These fires are now burning non-fire-prone ecosystems, endangering non-fire-adapted insects and habitats. While implementing prescribed burn programs can reduce the chances of megafires from developing, some megafires will be unpreventable. Land managers can mitigate the fire impacts by creating refugia and promoting heterogeneity in burn severity through fire control measures. Last, these post-megafire landscapes can provide an opportunity to restore historical fire regimes through subsequent prescribed burn management. This will revitalize ecosystems, benefit insects, and reduce the likelihood of future megafires and subsequent insect loss.
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Affiliation(s)
- Haley E Dole
- University of Nevada-Reno, 1664 North Virginia Street, Reno, NV 89557, USA.
| | - Santiago Villamarin-Cortez
- University of Nevada-Reno, 1664 North Virginia Street, Reno, NV 89557, USA; Universidad Central del Ecuador, Facultad de Ciencias Biológicas, Dirección de Posgrado, Numa Pompilio Llona y Yaguachi, Quito, Ecuador
| | - Lora A Richards
- University of Nevada-Reno, 1664 North Virginia Street, Reno, NV 89557, USA
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12
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Jones GM, Goldberg JF, Wilcox TM, Buckley LB, Parr CL, Linck EB, Fountain ED, Schwartz MK. Fire-driven animal evolution in the Pyrocene. Trends Ecol Evol 2023; 38:1072-1084. [PMID: 37479555 DOI: 10.1016/j.tree.2023.06.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/17/2023] [Revised: 06/02/2023] [Accepted: 06/06/2023] [Indexed: 07/23/2023]
Abstract
Fire regimes are a major agent of evolution in terrestrial animals. Changing fire regimes and the capacity for rapid evolution in wild animal populations suggests the potential for rapid, fire-driven adaptive animal evolution in the Pyrocene. Fire drives multiple modes of evolutionary change, including stabilizing, directional, disruptive, and fluctuating selection, and can strongly influence gene flow and genetic drift. Ongoing and future research in fire-driven animal evolution will benefit from further development of generalizable hypotheses, studies conducted in highly responsive taxa, and linking fire-adapted phenotypes to their underlying genetic basis. A better understanding of evolutionary responses to fire has the potential to positively influence conservation strategies that embrace evolutionary resilience to fire in the Pyrocene.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gavin M Jones
- USDA Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Albuquerque, NM 87102, USA.
| | - Joshua F Goldberg
- USDA Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Albuquerque, NM 87102, USA
| | - Taylor M Wilcox
- National Genomics Center for Fish and Wildlife Conservation, USDA Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Missoula, MT 59801, USA
| | - Lauren B Buckley
- Department of Biology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
| | - Catherine L Parr
- Department of Earth, Ocean and Ecological Sciences, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, L3 5TR, UK; Department of Zoology and Entomology, University of Pretoria, Pretoria 0028, South Africa; School of Animal, Plant and Environmental Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Wits 2050, South Africa
| | - Ethan B Linck
- Department of Zoology and Physiology, University of Wyoming, Laramie, WY 82071, USA
| | - Emily D Fountain
- Department of Forest and Wildlife Ecology, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI 53706, USA
| | - Michael K Schwartz
- National Genomics Center for Fish and Wildlife Conservation, USDA Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Missoula, MT 59801, USA
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13
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Russo NJ, Davies AB, Blakey RV, Ordway EM, Smith TB. Feedback loops between 3D vegetation structure and ecological functions of animals. Ecol Lett 2023; 26:1597-1613. [PMID: 37419868 DOI: 10.1111/ele.14272] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/14/2022] [Revised: 05/09/2023] [Accepted: 05/16/2023] [Indexed: 07/09/2023]
Abstract
Ecosystems function in a series of feedback loops that can change or maintain vegetation structure. Vegetation structure influences the ecological niche space available to animals, shaping many aspects of behaviour and reproduction. In turn, animals perform ecological functions that shape vegetation structure. However, most studies concerning three-dimensional vegetation structure and animal ecology consider only a single direction of this relationship. Here, we review these separate lines of research and integrate them into a unified concept that describes a feedback mechanism. We also show how remote sensing and animal tracking technologies are now available at the global scale to describe feedback loops and their consequences for ecosystem functioning. An improved understanding of how animals interact with vegetation structure in feedback loops is needed to conserve ecosystems that face major disruptions in response to climate and land-use change.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicholas J Russo
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, USA
| | - Andrew B Davies
- Department of Organismic & Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Rachel V Blakey
- La Kretz Center for California Conservation Science, Institute of the Environment and Sustainability, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, USA
- Biological Sciences Department, California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, California, USA
| | - Elsa M Ordway
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, USA
- La Kretz Center for California Conservation Science, Institute of the Environment and Sustainability, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, USA
| | - Thomas B Smith
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, USA
- La Kretz Center for California Conservation Science, Institute of the Environment and Sustainability, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, USA
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14
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Pausas JG, Keeley JE. Evolutionary fire ecology: An historical account and future directions. Bioscience 2023; 73:602-608. [PMID: 37680689 PMCID: PMC10481411 DOI: 10.1093/biosci/biad059] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/10/2023] [Revised: 06/08/2023] [Accepted: 06/14/2023] [Indexed: 09/09/2023] Open
Abstract
The idea that fire acts as an evolutionary force contributing to shaping species traits started a century ago, but had not been widely recognized until very recently. Among the first to realize this force were Edward B. Poulton, R. Dale Guthrie, and Edwin V. Komarek in animals and Willis L. Jepson, Walter W. Hough, Tom M. Harris, Philip V. Wells, and Robert W. Mutch in plants. They were all ahead of their time in their evolutionary thinking. Since then, evolutionary fire ecology has percolated very slowly into the mainstream ecology and evolutionary biology; in fact, this topic is still seldom mentioned in textbooks of ecology or evolution. Currently, there is plenty of evidence suggesting that we cannot understand the biodiversity of our planet without considering the key evolutionary role of fire. But there is still research to be done in order to fully understand fire's contribution to species evolution and to predicting species responses to rapid global changes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Juli G Pausas
- Centro de Investigaciones sobre Desertificación, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientificas, Montcada, Spain
| | - Jon E Keeley
- Sequoia-Kings Canyon Field Station, at theWestern Ecological Research Center, US Geological Survey, Three Rivers, California, United States
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of California-Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, United States
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15
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Michel A, Johnson JR, Szeligowski R, Ritchie EG, Sih A. Integrating sensory ecology and predator-prey theory to understand animal responses to fire. Ecol Lett 2023; 26:1050-1070. [PMID: 37349260 DOI: 10.1111/ele.14231] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/26/2022] [Revised: 01/11/2023] [Accepted: 02/10/2023] [Indexed: 06/24/2023]
Abstract
Fire regimes are changing dramatically worldwide due to climate change, habitat conversion, and the suppression of Indigenous landscape management. Although there has been extensive work on plant responses to fire, including their adaptations to withstand fire and long-term effects of fire on plant communities, less is known about animal responses to fire. Ecologists lack a conceptual framework for understanding behavioural responses to fire, which can hinder wildlife conservation and management. Here, we integrate cue-response sensory ecology and predator-prey theory to predict and explain variation in if, when and how animals react to approaching fire. Inspired by the literature on prey responses to predation risk, this framework considers both fire-naïve and fire-adapted animals and follows three key steps: vigilance, cue detection and response. We draw from theory on vigilance tradeoffs, signal detection, speed-accuracy tradeoffs, fear generalization, neophobia and adaptive dispersal. We discuss how evolutionary history with fire, but also other selective pressures, such as predation risk, should influence animal behavioural responses to fire. We conclude by providing guidance for empiricists and outlining potential conservation applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alice Michel
- Animal Behavior Graduate Group, University of California, Davis, California, USA
| | - Jacob R Johnson
- Animal Behavior Graduate Group, University of California, Davis, California, USA
| | - Richard Szeligowski
- Department of Environmental Science & Policy, University of California, Davis, California, USA
| | - Euan G Ritchie
- School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Centre for Integrative Ecology, Deakin University, Burwood, Victoria, Australia
| | - Andrew Sih
- Department of Environmental Science & Policy, University of California, Davis, California, USA
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16
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McLean CA, Melville J, Schubert J, Rose R, Medina I. Assessing the impact of fire on spiders through a global comparative analysis. Proc Biol Sci 2023; 290:20230089. [PMID: 37122254 PMCID: PMC10130718 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2023.0089] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/12/2023] [Accepted: 03/20/2023] [Indexed: 05/02/2023] Open
Abstract
In many regions fire regimes are changing due to anthropogenic factors. Understanding the responses of species to fire can help to develop predictive models and inform fire management decisions. Spiders are a diverse and ubiquitous group and can offer important insights into the impacts of fire on invertebrates and whether these depend on environmental factors, phylogenetic history or functional traits. We conducted phylogenetic comparative analyses of data from studies investigating the impacts of fire on spiders. We investigated whether fire affects spider abundance or presence and whether ecologically relevant traits or site-specific factors influence species' responses to fire. Although difficult to make broad generalizations about the impacts of fire due to variation in site- and fire-specific factors, we find evidence that short fire intervals may be a threat to some spiders, and that fire affects abundance and species compositions in forests relative to other vegetation types. Orb and sheet web weavers were also more likely to be absent after fire than ambush hunters, ground hunters and other hunters suggesting functional traits may affect responses. Finally, we show that analyses of published data can be used to detect broad-scale patterns and provide an alternative to traditional meta-analytical approaches.
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Affiliation(s)
- Claire A. McLean
- Sciences Department, Museums Victoria, 11 Nicholson Street, Carlton, VIC 3053, Australia
| | - Jane Melville
- Sciences Department, Museums Victoria, 11 Nicholson Street, Carlton, VIC 3053, Australia
- School of Biological Sciences, Monash University, Clayton, VIC 3800, Australia
| | - Joseph Schubert
- Sciences Department, Museums Victoria, 11 Nicholson Street, Carlton, VIC 3053, Australia
| | - Rebecca Rose
- Sciences Department, Museums Victoria, 11 Nicholson Street, Carlton, VIC 3053, Australia
| | - Iliana Medina
- School of BioSciences, The University of Melbourne, Royal Parade, Parkville, VIC 3010, Australia
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17
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Fear generalization and behavioral responses to multiple dangers. Trends Ecol Evol 2023; 38:369-380. [PMID: 36428124 DOI: 10.1016/j.tree.2022.11.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/17/2022] [Revised: 10/23/2022] [Accepted: 11/01/2022] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
Abstract
Animals often exhibit consistent-individual differences (CIDs) in boldness/fearfulness, typically studied in the context of predation risk. We focus here on fear generalization, where fear of one danger (e.g., predators) is correlated with fear of other dangers (e.g., humans, pathogens, moving vehicles, or fire). We discuss why fear generalization should be ecologically important, and why we expect fear to correlate across disparate dangers. CIDs in fear are well studied for some dangers in some taxa (e.g., human fear of pathogens), but not well studied for most dangers. Fear of some dangers has been found to correlate with general fearfulness, but some cases where we might expect correlated fears (e.g., between fear of humans, familiar predators, and exotic predators) are surprisingly understudied.
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18
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Stevens BS, Roberts SB, Conway CJ, Englestead DK. Effects of large-scale disturbance on animal space use: Functional responses by greater sage-grouse after megafire. Ecol Evol 2023; 13:e9933. [PMID: 37038512 PMCID: PMC10082181 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.9933] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/23/2022] [Revised: 02/10/2023] [Accepted: 03/02/2023] [Indexed: 04/12/2023] Open
Abstract
Global change has altered the nature of disturbance regimes, and megafire events are increasingly common. Megafires result in immediate changes to habitat available to terrestrial wildlife over broad landscapes, yet we know surprisingly little about how such changes shape space use of sensitive species in habitat that remains. Functional responses provide a framework for understanding and predicting changes in space use following habitat alteration, but no previous studies have assessed functional responses as a consequence of megafire. We studied space use and tested for functional responses in habitat use by breeding greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) before and after landscape-level changes induced by a >40,000 ha, high-intensity megafire that burned sagebrush steppe in eastern Idaho, USA. We also incorporated functional responses into predictive resource selection functions (RSFs) to map breeding habitat before and after the fire. Megafire had strong effects on the distribution of available resources and resulted in context-dependent habitat use that was heterogeneous across different components of habitat. We observed functional responses in the use and selection of a variety of resources (shrubs and herbaceous vegetation) for both nesting and brood rearing. Functional responses in the use of nesting habitat were influenced by the overarching effect of megafire on vegetation, whereas responses during brood rearing appeared to be driven by individual variation in available resources that were conditional on nest locations. Importantly, RSFs built using data collected prior to the burn also had poor transferability for predicting space use in a post-megafire landscape. These results have strong implications for understanding and predicting how animals respond to a rapidly changing environment, given that increased severity, frequency, and extent of wildfire are consequences of global change with the capacity to reshape ecosystems. We therefore demonstrate a conceptual framework to better understand space use and aid habitat conservation for wildlife in a rapidly changing world.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bryan S. Stevens
- Idaho Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, Department of Fish and Wildlife SciencesUniversity of IdahoMoscowIdahoUSA
| | | | - Courtney J. Conway
- U.S. Geological Survey, Idaho Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research UnitUniversity of IdahoMoscowIdahoUSA
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19
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Lizards' response to the sound of fire is modified by fire history. Anim Behav 2023. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2022.12.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
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20
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Pocknee CA, Legge SM, McDonald J, Fisher DO. Modeling mammal response to fire based on species' traits. CONSERVATION BIOLOGY : THE JOURNAL OF THE SOCIETY FOR CONSERVATION BIOLOGY 2023:e14062. [PMID: 36704894 DOI: 10.1111/cobi.14062] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/01/2022] [Revised: 12/29/2022] [Accepted: 01/13/2023] [Indexed: 06/18/2023]
Abstract
Fire has shaped ecological communities worldwide for millennia, but impacts of fire on individual species are often poorly understood. We performed a meta-analysis to predict which traits, habitat, or study variables and fire characteristics affect how mammal species respond to fire. We modeled effect sizes of measures of population abundance or occupancy as a function of various combinations of these traits and variables with phylogenetic least squares regression. Nine of 115 modeled species (7.83%) returned statistically significant effect sizes, suggesting most mammals are resilient to fire. The top-ranked model predicted a negative impact of fire on species with lower reproductive rates, regardless of fire type (estimate = -0.68), a positive impact of burrowing in prescribed fires (estimate = 1.46) but not wildfires, and a positive impact of average fire return interval for wildfires (estimate = 0.93) but not prescribed fires. If a species' International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List assessment includes fire as a known or possible threat, the species was predicted to respond negatively to wildfire relative to prescribed fire (estimate = -2.84). These findings provide evidence of experts' abilities to predict whether fire is a threat to a mammal species and the ability of managers to meet the needs of fire-threatened species through prescribed fire. Where empirical data are lacking, our methods provide a basis for predicting mammal responses to fire and thus can guide conservation actions or interventions in species or communities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christopher A Pocknee
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Queensland, St Lucia, Queensland, Australia
| | - Sarah M Legge
- Centre for Biodiversity and Conservation Science, University of Queensland, St Lucia, Queensland, Australia
- Fenner School of Environment & Society, The Australian National University, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia
| | - Jane McDonald
- Institute for Future Environments, Centre for the Environment, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
| | - Diana O Fisher
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Queensland, St Lucia, Queensland, Australia
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21
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Zylstra P. Quantifying the direct fire threat to a critically endangered arboreal marsupial using biophysical, mechanistic modelling. AUSTRAL ECOL 2022. [DOI: 10.1111/aec.13264] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Philip Zylstra
- School of Molecular and Life Sciences Curtin University Bentley Western Australia Australia
- Centre for Sustainable Ecosystem Solutions, University of Wollongong Wollongong New South Wales Australia
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22
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Harvey JA, Tougeron K, Gols R, Heinen R, Abarca M, Abram PK, Basset Y, Berg M, Boggs C, Brodeur J, Cardoso P, de Boer JG, De Snoo GR, Deacon C, Dell JE, Desneux N, Dillon ME, Duffy GA, Dyer LA, Ellers J, Espíndola A, Fordyce J, Forister ML, Fukushima C, Gage MJG, García‐Robledo C, Gely C, Gobbi M, Hallmann C, Hance T, Harte J, Hochkirch A, Hof C, Hoffmann AA, Kingsolver JG, Lamarre GPA, Laurance WF, Lavandero B, Leather SR, Lehmann P, Le Lann C, López‐Uribe MM, Ma C, Ma G, Moiroux J, Monticelli L, Nice C, Ode PJ, Pincebourde S, Ripple WJ, Rowe M, Samways MJ, Sentis A, Shah AA, Stork N, Terblanche JS, Thakur MP, Thomas MB, Tylianakis JM, Van Baaren J, Van de Pol M, Van der Putten WH, Van Dyck H, Verberk WCEP, Wagner DL, Weisser WW, Wetzel WC, Woods HA, Wyckhuys KAG, Chown SL. Scientists' warning on climate change and insects. ECOL MONOGR 2022. [DOI: 10.1002/ecm.1553] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Jeffrey A. Harvey
- Department of Terrestrial Ecology Netherlands Institute of Ecology (NIOO‐KNAW) Wageningen The Netherlands
- Department of Ecological Sciences Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam Amsterdam The Netherlands
| | - Kévin Tougeron
- Earth and Life Institute, Ecology & Biodiversity Université catholique de Louvain Louvain‐la‐Neuve Belgium
- EDYSAN, UMR 7058, Université de Picardie Jules Verne, CNRS Amiens France
| | - Rieta Gols
- Laboratory of Entomology Wageningen University Wageningen The Netherlands
| | - Robin Heinen
- Department of Life Science Systems, School of Life Sciences Technical University of Munich, Terrestrial Ecology Research Group Freising Germany
| | - Mariana Abarca
- Department of Biological Sciences Smith College Northampton Massachusetts USA
| | - Paul K. Abram
- Agriculture and Agri‐Food Canada, Agassiz Research and Development Centre Agassiz British Columbia Canada
| | - Yves Basset
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute Panama City Republic of Panama
- Department of Ecology Institute of Entomology, Czech Academy of Sciences Ceske Budejovice Czech Republic
| | - Matty Berg
- Department of Ecological Sciences Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam Amsterdam The Netherlands
- Groningen Institute of Evolutionary Life Sciences University of Groningen Groningen The Netherlands
| | - Carol Boggs
- School of the Earth, Ocean and Environment and Department of Biological Sciences University of South Carolina Columbia South Carolina USA
- Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory Gothic Colorado USA
| | - Jacques Brodeur
- Institut de recherche en biologie végétale, Département de sciences biologiques Université de Montréal Montréal Québec Canada
| | - Pedro Cardoso
- Laboratory for Integrative Biodiversity Research (LIBRe), Finnish Museum of Natural History Luomus University of Helsinki Helsinki Finland
| | - Jetske G. de Boer
- Department of Terrestrial Ecology Netherlands Institute of Ecology (NIOO‐KNAW) Wageningen The Netherlands
| | - Geert R. De Snoo
- Department of Terrestrial Ecology Netherlands Institute of Ecology (NIOO‐KNAW) Wageningen The Netherlands
| | - Charl Deacon
- Department of Conservation Ecology and Entomology, Faculty of AgriSciences Stellenbosch University Stellenbosch South Africa
| | - Jane E. Dell
- Geosciences and Natural Resources Department Western Carolina University Cullowhee North Carolina USA
| | | | - Michael E. Dillon
- Department of Zoology and Physiology and Program in Ecology University of Wyoming Laramie Wyoming USA
| | - Grant A. Duffy
- School of Biological Sciences Monash University Melbourne Victoria Australia
- Department of Marine Science University of Otago Dunedin New Zealand
| | - Lee A. Dyer
- University of Nevada Reno – Ecology, Evolution and Conservation Biology Reno Nevada USA
| | - Jacintha Ellers
- Department of Ecological Sciences Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam Amsterdam The Netherlands
| | - Anahí Espíndola
- Department of Entomology University of Maryland College Park Maryland USA
| | - James Fordyce
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology University of Tennessee, Knoxville Knoxville Tennessee USA
| | - Matthew L. Forister
- University of Nevada Reno – Ecology, Evolution and Conservation Biology Reno Nevada USA
| | - Caroline Fukushima
- Laboratory for Integrative Biodiversity Research (LIBRe), Finnish Museum of Natural History Luomus University of Helsinki Helsinki Finland
| | | | | | - Claire Gely
- Centre for Tropical Environmental and Sustainability Science, College of Science and Engineering James Cook University Cairns Queensland Australia
| | - Mauro Gobbi
- MUSE‐Science Museum, Research and Museum Collections Office Climate and Ecology Unit Trento Italy
| | - Caspar Hallmann
- Radboud Institute for Biological and Environmental Sciences Radboud University Nijmegen The Netherlands
| | - Thierry Hance
- Earth and Life Institute, Ecology & Biodiversity Université catholique de Louvain Louvain‐la‐Neuve Belgium
| | - John Harte
- Energy and Resources Group University of California Berkeley California USA
| | - Axel Hochkirch
- Department of Biogeography Trier University Trier Germany
- IUCN SSC Invertebrate Conservation Committee
| | - Christian Hof
- Department of Life Science Systems, School of Life Sciences Technical University of Munich, Terrestrial Ecology Research Group Freising Germany
| | - Ary A. Hoffmann
- Bio21 Institute, School of BioSciences University of Melbourne Melbourne Victoria Australia
| | - Joel G. Kingsolver
- Department of Biology University of North Carolina Chapel Hill North Carolina USA
| | - Greg P. A. Lamarre
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute Panama City Republic of Panama
- Department of Ecology Institute of Entomology, Czech Academy of Sciences Ceske Budejovice Czech Republic
| | - William F. Laurance
- Centre for Tropical Environmental and Sustainability Science, College of Science and Engineering James Cook University Cairns Queensland Australia
| | - Blas Lavandero
- Laboratorio de Control Biológico Universidad de Talca Talca Chile
| | - Simon R. Leather
- Center for Integrated Pest Management Harper Adams University Newport UK
| | - Philipp Lehmann
- Department of Zoology Stockholm University Stockholm Sweden
- Zoological Institute and Museum University of Greifswald Greifswald Germany
| | - Cécile Le Lann
- University of Rennes, CNRS, ECOBIO [(Ecosystèmes, biodiversité, évolution)] ‐ UMR 6553 Rennes France
| | | | - Chun‐Sen Ma
- Climate Change Biology Research Group, State Key Laboratory for Biology of Plant Diseases and Insect Pests Institute of Plant Protection, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences Beijing China
| | - Gang Ma
- Climate Change Biology Research Group, State Key Laboratory for Biology of Plant Diseases and Insect Pests Institute of Plant Protection, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences Beijing China
| | | | | | - Chris Nice
- Department of Biology Texas State University San Marcos Texas USA
| | - Paul J. Ode
- Department of Agricultural Biology Colorado State University Fort Collins Colorado USA
- Graduate Degree Program in Ecology Colorado State University Fort Collins Colorado USA
| | - Sylvain Pincebourde
- Institut de Recherche sur la Biologie de l'Insecte, UMR 7261, CNRS Université de Tours Tours France
| | - William J. Ripple
- Department of Forest Ecosystems and Society Oregon State University Oregon USA
| | - Melissah Rowe
- Netherlands Institute of Ecology (NIOO‐KNAW) Department of Animal Ecology Wageningen The Netherlands
| | - Michael J. Samways
- Department of Conservation Ecology and Entomology, Faculty of AgriSciences Stellenbosch University Stellenbosch South Africa
| | - Arnaud Sentis
- INRAE, Aix‐Marseille University, UMR RECOVER Aix‐en‐Provence France
| | - Alisha A. Shah
- W.K. Kellogg Biological Station, Department of Integrative Biology Michigan State University East Lansing Michigan USA
| | - Nigel Stork
- Centre for Planetary Health and Food Security, School of Environment and Science Griffith University Nathan Queensland Australia
| | - John S. Terblanche
- Department of Conservation Ecology and Entomology, Faculty of AgriSciences Stellenbosch University Stellenbosch South Africa
| | - Madhav P. Thakur
- Institute of Ecology and Evolution University of Bern Bern Switzerland
| | - Matthew B. Thomas
- York Environmental Sustainability Institute and Department of Biology University of York York UK
| | - Jason M. Tylianakis
- Bioprotection Aotearoa, School of Biological Sciences University of Canterbury Christchurch New Zealand
| | - Joan Van Baaren
- University of Rennes, CNRS, ECOBIO [(Ecosystèmes, biodiversité, évolution)] ‐ UMR 6553 Rennes France
| | - Martijn Van de Pol
- Netherlands Institute of Ecology (NIOO‐KNAW) Department of Animal Ecology Wageningen The Netherlands
- College of Science and Engineering James Cook University Townsville Queensland Australia
| | - Wim H. Van der Putten
- Department of Terrestrial Ecology Netherlands Institute of Ecology (NIOO‐KNAW) Wageningen The Netherlands
| | - Hans Van Dyck
- Earth and Life Institute, Ecology & Biodiversity Université catholique de Louvain Louvain‐la‐Neuve Belgium
| | | | - David L. Wagner
- Ecology and Evolutionary Biology University of Connecticut Storrs Connecticut USA
| | - Wolfgang W. Weisser
- Department of Life Science Systems, School of Life Sciences Technical University of Munich, Terrestrial Ecology Research Group Freising Germany
| | - William C. Wetzel
- Department of Entomology, Department of Integrative Biology, and Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior Program Michigan State University East Lansing Michigan USA
| | - H. Arthur Woods
- Division of Biological Sciences University of Montana Missoula Montana USA
| | - Kris A. G. Wyckhuys
- Chrysalis Consulting Hanoi Vietnam
- China Academy of Agricultural Sciences Beijing China
| | - Steven L. Chown
- Securing Antarctica's Environmental Future, School of Biological Sciences Monash University Melbourne Victoria Australia
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23
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Doherty TS, Geary WL, Jolly CJ, Macdonald KJ, Miritis V, Watchorn DJ, Cherry MJ, Conner LM, González TM, Legge SM, Ritchie EG, Stawski C, Dickman CR. Fire as a driver and mediator of predator-prey interactions. Biol Rev Camb Philos Soc 2022; 97:1539-1558. [PMID: 35320881 PMCID: PMC9546118 DOI: 10.1111/brv.12853] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/04/2021] [Revised: 03/15/2022] [Accepted: 03/16/2022] [Indexed: 01/08/2023]
Abstract
Both fire and predators have strong influences on the population dynamics and behaviour of animals, and the effects of predators may either be strengthened or weakened by fire. However, knowledge of how fire drives or mediates predator–prey interactions is fragmented and has not been synthesised. Here, we review and synthesise knowledge of how fire influences predator and prey behaviour and interactions. We develop a conceptual model based on predator–prey theory and empirical examples to address four key questions: (i) how and why do predators respond to fire; (ii) how and why does prey vulnerability change post‐fire; (iii) what mechanisms do prey use to reduce predation risk post‐fire; and (iv) what are the outcomes of predator–fire interactions for prey populations? We then discuss these findings in the context of wildlife conservation and ecosystem management before outlining priorities for future research. Fire‐induced changes in vegetation structure, resource availability, and animal behaviour influence predator–prey encounter rates, the amount of time prey are vulnerable during an encounter, and the conditional probability of prey death given an encounter. How a predator responds to fire depends on fire characteristics (e.g. season, severity), their hunting behaviour (ambush or pursuit predator), movement behaviour, territoriality, and intra‐guild dynamics. Prey species that rely on habitat structure for avoiding predation often experience increased predation rates and lower survival in recently burnt areas. By contrast, some prey species benefit from the opening up of habitat after fire because it makes it easier to detect predators and to modify their behaviour appropriately. Reduced prey body condition after fire can increase predation risk either through impaired ability to escape predators, or increased need to forage in risky areas due to being energetically stressed. To reduce risk of predation in the post‐fire environment, prey may change their habitat use, increase sheltering behaviour, change their movement behaviour, or use camouflage through cryptic colouring and background matching. Field experiments and population viability modelling show instances where fire either amplifies or does not amplify the impacts of predators on prey populations, and vice versa. In some instances, intense and sustained post‐fire predation may lead to local extinctions of prey populations. Human disruption of fire regimes is impacting faunal communities, with consequences for predator and prey behaviour and population dynamics. Key areas for future research include: capturing data continuously before, during and after fires; teasing out the relative importance of changes in visibility and shelter availability in different contexts; documenting changes in acoustic and olfactory cues for both predators and prey; addressing taxonomic and geographic biases in the literature; and predicting and testing how changes in fire‐regime characteristics reshape predator–prey interactions. Understanding and managing the consequences for predator–prey communities will be critical for effective ecosystem management and species conservation in this era of global change.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tim S Doherty
- School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Heydon-Laurence Building A08, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, 2006, Australia
| | - William L Geary
- Biodiversity Strategy and Knowledge Branch, Biodiversity Division, Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning, 8 Nicholson Street, East Melbourne, VIC, 3002, Australia.,Centre for Integrative Ecology, School of Life and Environmental Sciences (Burwood Campus), Deakin University, 75 Pigdons Road, Waurn Ponds, VIC, 3216, Australia
| | - Chris J Jolly
- School of Agricultural, Environmental and Veterinary Sciences, Charles Sturt University, Gungalman Drive, Albury, NSW, 2640, Australia.,School of Natural Sciences, G17, Macquarie University, 205B Culloden Road, Macquarie Park, NSW, 2109, Australia
| | - Kristina J Macdonald
- Centre for Integrative Ecology, School of Life and Environmental Sciences (Burwood Campus), Deakin University, 75 Pigdons Road, Waurn Ponds, VIC, 3216, Australia
| | - Vivianna Miritis
- School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Heydon-Laurence Building A08, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, 2006, Australia
| | - Darcy J Watchorn
- Centre for Integrative Ecology, School of Life and Environmental Sciences (Burwood Campus), Deakin University, 75 Pigdons Road, Waurn Ponds, VIC, 3216, Australia
| | - Michael J Cherry
- Caesar Kleberg Wildlife Research Institute, Texas A&M University-Kingsville, 700 University Boulevard, MSC 218, Kingsville, TX, 78363, U.S.A
| | - L Mike Conner
- The Jones Center at Ichauway, 3988 Jones Center Drive, Newton, GA, 39870, U.S.A
| | - Tania Marisol González
- Laboratorio de Ecología del Paisaje y Modelación de Ecosistemas ECOLMOD, Departamento de Biología, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Edificio 421, Bogotá, 111321, Colombia
| | - Sarah M Legge
- Fenner School of Environment & Society, The Australian National University, Linnaeus Way, Canberra, ACT, 2601, Australia.,Centre for Biodiversity Conservation Science, University of Queensland, Level 5 Goddard Building, St Lucia, QLD, 4072, Australia
| | - Euan G Ritchie
- Centre for Integrative Ecology, School of Life and Environmental Sciences (Burwood Campus), Deakin University, 75 Pigdons Road, Waurn Ponds, VIC, 3216, Australia
| | - Clare Stawski
- Department of Biology, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, NO-7491, Norway.,School of Science, Technology and Engineering, University of the Sunshine Coast, Maroochydore DC, QLD, 4558, Australia
| | - Chris R Dickman
- School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Heydon-Laurence Building A08, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, 2006, Australia
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24
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Jolly CJ, Dickman CR, Doherty TS, van Eeden LM, Geary WL, Legge SM, Woinarski JCZ, Nimmo DG. Animal mortality during fire. GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY 2022; 28:2053-2065. [PMID: 34989061 DOI: 10.1111/gcb.16044] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/22/2021] [Accepted: 12/04/2021] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Earth's rapidly warming climate is propelling us towards an increasingly fire-prone future. Currently, knowledge of the extent and characteristics of animal mortality rates during fire remains rudimentary, hindering our ability to predict how animal populations may be impacted in the future. To address this knowledge gap, we conducted a global systematic review of the direct effects of fire on animal mortality rates, based on studies that unequivocally determined the fate of animals during fire. From 31 studies spanning 1984-2020, we extracted data on the direct impacts of fire on the mortality of 31 species from 23 families. From these studies, there were 43 instances where direct effects were measured by reporting animal survival from pre- to post-fire. Most studies were conducted in North America (52%) and Oceania (42%), focused largely on mammals (53%) and reptiles (30%), and reported mostly on animal survival in planned (82%) and/or low severity (70%) fires. We found no studies from Asia, Europe or South America. Although there were insufficient data to conduct a formal meta-analysis, we tested the effect of fire type, fire severity, fire regime, animal body mass, ecological attributes and class on survival. Only fire severity affected animal mortality, with a higher proportion of animals being killed by high than low severity fires. Recent catastrophic fires across the globe have drawn attention to the plight of animals exposed to wildfire. Yet, our systematic review suggests that a relatively low proportion of animals (mean predicted mortality [95% CI] = 3% [1%-9%]) are killed during fire. However, our review also underscores how little we currently know about the direct effects of fire on animal mortality, and highlights the critical need to understand the effects of high severity fire on animal populations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chris J Jolly
- Institute for Land, Water and Society, School of Environmental Science, Charles Sturt University, Albury, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Chris R Dickman
- National Environmental Science Program Threatened Species Recovery Hub, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Tim S Doherty
- School of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Lily M van Eeden
- Department of Environment Land, Water and Planning, Arthur Rylah Institute for Environmental Research, Heidelberg, Victoria, Australia
| | - William L Geary
- Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning, Biodiversity Strategy and Knowledge Branch, Biodiversity Division, East Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
- Centre for Integrative Ecology, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Deakin University, Geelong, Victoria, Australia
| | - Sarah M Legge
- Research Institute for the Environment and Livelihoods, Charles Darwin University, Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia
- Centre for Biodiversity and Conservation Science, University of Queensland, St Lucia, Queensland, Australia
- Fenner School of Environment and Society, The Australian National University, Australian Capital Territory, Canberra, Australia
| | - John C Z Woinarski
- Research Institute for the Environment and Livelihoods, Charles Darwin University, Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia
- School of Ecosystem and Forest Sciences, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, Australia
| | - Dale G Nimmo
- Institute for Land, Water and Society, School of Environmental Science, Charles Sturt University, Albury, New South Wales, Australia
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25
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Nimmo DG, Andersen AN, Archibald S, Boer MM, Brotons L, Parr CL, Tingley MW. Fire ecology for the 21st century: Conserving biodiversity in the age of megafire. DIVERS DISTRIB 2022. [DOI: 10.1111/ddi.13482] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/27/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Dale G. Nimmo
- Gulbali Institute, School of Agricultural, Environmental and Veterinary Sciences Charles Sturt University Albury New South Wales Australia
| | - Alan N. Andersen
- Research Institute for the Environment and Livelihoods Charles Darwin University Ellengown Drive Brinkin Northern Territory Australia
| | - Sally Archibald
- Centre for African Ecology, School of Animal, Plant and Environmental Sciences University of the Witwatersrand Johannesburg South Africa
| | - Matthias M. Boer
- Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment Western Sydney University Richmond New South Wales Australia
| | - Lluís Brotons
- CTFC Solsona Spain
- CREAF Cerdanyola del Vallès Spain
- CSIC Cerdanyola del Vallès Spain
| | - Catherine L. Parr
- School of Environmental Sciences University of Liverpool Liverpool UK
- Department of Zoology & Entomology University of Pretoria Pretoria South Africa
- School of Animal, Plant and Environmental Sciences University of the Witwatersrand Wits South Africa
| | - Morgan W. Tingley
- Ecology and Evolutionary Biology University of California – Los Angeles Los Angeles CA USA
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26
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Keith DA. Transcending the disaster paradigm: Understanding persistence of animal populations in fire-prone environments. GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY 2022; 28:341-342. [PMID: 34644439 DOI: 10.1111/gcb.15925] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/13/2021] [Accepted: 08/17/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
An extensive high severity fire was a disaster for this swamp wallaby, but not its population, as many others detected the approaching fire and evaded its lethal heat.
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Affiliation(s)
- David A Keith
- Centre for Ecosystem Science, University of NSW, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
- NSW Department of Planning, Industry & Environment, Parramatta, New South Wales, Australia
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