Modeling mammal response to fire based on species' traits

Area of Science:

• Ecology
• Conservation Biology
• Wildlife Management

Background:

• Ecological communities worldwide are shaped by fire, yet species-specific impacts on mammals remain poorly understood.
• Predicting how mammal populations respond to fire is crucial for effective conservation and management strategies.

Approach:

• A meta-analysis was conducted to identify traits, habitat variables, and fire characteristics influencing mammal responses to fire.
• Phylogenetic least squares regression modeled effect sizes of population abundance or occupancy.
• 115 mammal species were analyzed to assess fire impacts.

Key Points:

• Most (92.17%) of the 115 modeled mammal species showed resilience to fire.
• Species with lower reproductive rates were negatively impacted by fire, irrespective of fire type.
• Burrowing mammals benefited from prescribed fires but not wildfires.
• Longer fire return intervals positively impacted species during wildfires.
• Species listed as threatened by fire on the IUCN Red List responded more negatively to wildfires than to prescribed fires.

Conclusions:

• Expert predictions can identify fire-threatened mammal species and inform management strategies using prescribed fire.
• The study provides a predictive framework for mammal responses to fire, guiding conservation actions where empirical data are scarce.