Neotropical mammal responses to megafires in the Brazilian Pantanal
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 habita...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Journal article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Wiley
2024
|
| _version_ | 1811139349711945728 |
|---|---|
| author | Bardales, R Viana, DFP Sousa, LL Droge, E Porfirio, G Jaramillo, M Payan, E Sillero-Zubiri, C Hyde, M |
| author_facet | Bardales, R Viana, DFP Sousa, LL Droge, E Porfirio, G Jaramillo, M Payan, E Sillero-Zubiri, C Hyde, M |
| author_sort | Bardales, R |
| collection | OXFORD |
| description | 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. |
| first_indexed | 2024-09-25T04:04:41Z |
| format | Journal article |
| id | oxford-uuid:1d5b6a33-968f-419e-b50d-39d4bb4c885b |
| institution | University of Oxford |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-09-25T04:04:41Z |
| publishDate | 2024 |
| publisher | Wiley |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | oxford-uuid:1d5b6a33-968f-419e-b50d-39d4bb4c885b2024-05-29T16:13:05ZNeotropical mammal responses to megafires in the Brazilian PantanalJournal articlehttp://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_dcae04bcuuid:1d5b6a33-968f-419e-b50d-39d4bb4c885bEnglishSymplectic ElementsWiley2024Bardales, RViana, DFPSousa, LLDroge, EPorfirio, GJaramillo, MPayan, ESillero-Zubiri, CHyde, MThe 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. |
| spellingShingle | Bardales, R Viana, DFP Sousa, LL Droge, E Porfirio, G Jaramillo, M Payan, E Sillero-Zubiri, C Hyde, M Neotropical mammal responses to megafires in the Brazilian Pantanal |
| title | Neotropical mammal responses to megafires in the Brazilian Pantanal |
| title_full | Neotropical mammal responses to megafires in the Brazilian Pantanal |
| title_fullStr | Neotropical mammal responses to megafires in the Brazilian Pantanal |
| title_full_unstemmed | Neotropical mammal responses to megafires in the Brazilian Pantanal |
| title_short | Neotropical mammal responses to megafires in the Brazilian Pantanal |
| title_sort | neotropical mammal responses to megafires in the brazilian pantanal |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT bardalesr neotropicalmammalresponsestomegafiresinthebrazilianpantanal AT vianadfp neotropicalmammalresponsestomegafiresinthebrazilianpantanal AT sousall neotropicalmammalresponsestomegafiresinthebrazilianpantanal AT drogee neotropicalmammalresponsestomegafiresinthebrazilianpantanal AT porfiriog neotropicalmammalresponsestomegafiresinthebrazilianpantanal AT jaramillom neotropicalmammalresponsestomegafiresinthebrazilianpantanal AT payane neotropicalmammalresponsestomegafiresinthebrazilianpantanal AT sillerozubiric neotropicalmammalresponsestomegafiresinthebrazilianpantanal AT hydem neotropicalmammalresponsestomegafiresinthebrazilianpantanal |