Species-Specific Responses of Medium and Large Mammals to Fire Regime Attributes in a Fire-Prone Neotropical Savanna
Fire occurrence affects the distribution of key resources for fauna in natural ecosystems worldwide. For fire management strategies adequate for biodiversity conservation, the understanding of how species respond to fire-induced changes is essential. In this study, we investigated the role of fire r...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2023-03-01
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| Series: | Fire |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2571-6255/6/3/110 |
| _version_ | 1797611814886834176 |
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| author | Clarice Vieira Souza Águeda Lourenço Emerson Monteiro Vieira |
| author_facet | Clarice Vieira Souza Águeda Lourenço Emerson Monteiro Vieira |
| author_sort | Clarice Vieira Souza |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Fire occurrence affects the distribution of key resources for fauna in natural ecosystems worldwide. For fire management strategies adequate for biodiversity conservation, the understanding of how species respond to fire-induced changes is essential. In this study, we investigated the role of fire regimes on spaces used by medium and large mammals at multiple spatial scales (0.8 ha to 78.5 ha) in a fire-prone savanna ecosystem (Brazilian Cerrado). We sampled mammals using 60 camera traps distributed in 30 sampling units located in grassland and typical savanna formations. We applied single-species occupancy models and AIC-based model selection to assess how mammals use the space in response to pyrodiversity (both diversity of fire frequencies and diversity of fire ages), the proportion of recently burned area, and the proportion of long-unburned area while accounting for detectability. Our results showed that fire regime variables affected the study species differently. Deer species used the space regardless of mosaic pyrodiversity and the proportion of specific fire ages. Fire-related variables, however, affected space use by tapirs and maned wolves. Tapirs preferred to use fire mosaics with lower diversity of fire frequencies, whereas maned wolves more intensively used mosaics with high fire age diversity and a high proportion of recently burned areas. Based on our findings, we recommend that fire management targeting specific mammal species should not necessarily focus on maximum pyrodiversity. Instead, we suggest a management strategy combining “patch mosaic burning” with the maintenance of specific fire-age patches suitable for different species’ requirements. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T06:33:02Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-7a0df391ec3c448ba7dcda47a98e95aa |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2571-6255 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T06:33:02Z |
| publishDate | 2023-03-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Fire |
| spelling | doaj.art-7a0df391ec3c448ba7dcda47a98e95aa2023-11-17T11:03:38ZengMDPI AGFire2571-62552023-03-016311010.3390/fire6030110Species-Specific Responses of Medium and Large Mammals to Fire Regime Attributes in a Fire-Prone Neotropical SavannaClarice Vieira Souza0Águeda Lourenço1Emerson Monteiro Vieira2Laboratory of Vertebrate Ecology, Department of Ecology, Graduate Program in Ecology, University of Brasília, Campus Darcy Ribeiro, Brasília 04457, CP, BrazilLaboratory of Vertebrate Ecology, Department of Ecology, Graduate Program in Ecology, University of Brasília, Campus Darcy Ribeiro, Brasília 04457, CP, BrazilLaboratory of Vertebrate Ecology, Department of Ecology, Graduate Program in Ecology, University of Brasília, Campus Darcy Ribeiro, Brasília 04457, CP, BrazilFire occurrence affects the distribution of key resources for fauna in natural ecosystems worldwide. For fire management strategies adequate for biodiversity conservation, the understanding of how species respond to fire-induced changes is essential. In this study, we investigated the role of fire regimes on spaces used by medium and large mammals at multiple spatial scales (0.8 ha to 78.5 ha) in a fire-prone savanna ecosystem (Brazilian Cerrado). We sampled mammals using 60 camera traps distributed in 30 sampling units located in grassland and typical savanna formations. We applied single-species occupancy models and AIC-based model selection to assess how mammals use the space in response to pyrodiversity (both diversity of fire frequencies and diversity of fire ages), the proportion of recently burned area, and the proportion of long-unburned area while accounting for detectability. Our results showed that fire regime variables affected the study species differently. Deer species used the space regardless of mosaic pyrodiversity and the proportion of specific fire ages. Fire-related variables, however, affected space use by tapirs and maned wolves. Tapirs preferred to use fire mosaics with lower diversity of fire frequencies, whereas maned wolves more intensively used mosaics with high fire age diversity and a high proportion of recently burned areas. Based on our findings, we recommend that fire management targeting specific mammal species should not necessarily focus on maximum pyrodiversity. Instead, we suggest a management strategy combining “patch mosaic burning” with the maintenance of specific fire-age patches suitable for different species’ requirements.https://www.mdpi.com/2571-6255/6/3/110fire mosaichabitat usepyrodiversityherbivorescarnivorestropical savanna |
| spellingShingle | Clarice Vieira Souza Águeda Lourenço Emerson Monteiro Vieira Species-Specific Responses of Medium and Large Mammals to Fire Regime Attributes in a Fire-Prone Neotropical Savanna Fire fire mosaic habitat use pyrodiversity herbivores carnivores tropical savanna |
| title | Species-Specific Responses of Medium and Large Mammals to Fire Regime Attributes in a Fire-Prone Neotropical Savanna |
| title_full | Species-Specific Responses of Medium and Large Mammals to Fire Regime Attributes in a Fire-Prone Neotropical Savanna |
| title_fullStr | Species-Specific Responses of Medium and Large Mammals to Fire Regime Attributes in a Fire-Prone Neotropical Savanna |
| title_full_unstemmed | Species-Specific Responses of Medium and Large Mammals to Fire Regime Attributes in a Fire-Prone Neotropical Savanna |
| title_short | Species-Specific Responses of Medium and Large Mammals to Fire Regime Attributes in a Fire-Prone Neotropical Savanna |
| title_sort | species specific responses of medium and large mammals to fire regime attributes in a fire prone neotropical savanna |
| topic | fire mosaic habitat use pyrodiversity herbivores carnivores tropical savanna |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2571-6255/6/3/110 |
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