Fire management and aspects of the nesting biology of the Red-legged Seriema (Cariama cristata) in woodlands at Parque Nacional das Emas, central Cerrado

Abstract

In the Brazilian Cerrado Biome, fire management within conservation units is usually restricted to burning grassland and woodland strips during the dry season to stop fires from spreading. Although it is a common practice, the impact of fire management on birds remains poorly investigated. This study aimed to examine the effects of fire management on nest-site selection by the Red-legged Seriema, Cariama cristata, and to describe nest-building characteristics at Parque Nacional das Emas (PNE). Nests were searched and monitored throughout 34 study sites between October and November 2006. These sites were 2.5-km strips of Campo Cerrado woodlands with (firebreaks) and without fire management, located at the interior and boundaries of the park. A total of 13 nests were found, all within firebreaks at the edge of the park. Nine (69%) of them were in fruiting Pouteria torta (Mart.) (Sapotaceae). Two or three white eggs were found in the nests. Nests had eggs and nestlings in October and no nestlings were found in November. Nests were usually in tree canopies and some of them were built nearly over the park’s fence. At PNE, breeding pairs of C. cristata are attracted to firebreaks located at the park’s boundaries. This is probably due to mobility through often burnt vegetation and ease in obtaining food from adjacent unsealed roads, exotic plantations and cleared areas. This study suggests that fire managers should: 1) avoid extinguishing natural fires initiated during the rainy season and 2) rotate controlled burning of patchy areas of Campo Cerrado woodlands. These two procedures should ensure the presence of suitable woodlands with short grasses in interior portions of PNE.

Seriemas: A Literature Assessment and Recommendations for Future Research

“…Although seriemas appear able to adapt, and can even take advantage of human-dominated ecosystems, the resulting interactions in these contexts are accompanied by various threats to these birds (Alexandrino et al 2019), including collisions with vehicles (Costa and Dias 2013, de Carvalho et al 2014, Carvalho et al 2015, secondary poisoning from rodent control (Silva Reis et al 2018), and the inadvertent domestication of seriemas (Alexandrino et al 2019). Also related to human activities, but mostly occurring in rural or natural ecosystems, hunting (Altrichter 2006, Alvarsson 2012, Barbara ´n 2017, Badini et al 2017, dos Santos Soares et al 2018, egg collecting (Boyle 1917, Alvarsson 2012, fires (Tubelis 2019), and habitat transformation for agriculture or development (de Souza et al 2018, Tubelis 2019) are threats to seriemas. We stress that these threats have not been thoroughly assessed, so that their extent and impact on seriema populations could hardly be estimated.…”

“…To fill existing knowledge gaps, we recommend: (1) reviewing and testing the hypotheses formulated by Redford and Peters (1986) regarding seriema feeding, vocalization, social, and territorial behaviors; (2) following up on or replicating the experimental and hypothesis-driven studies that have been conducted (e.g., de Souza et al 2018, Alexandrino et al 2019, Tubelis 2019); (3) continuing the documentation of seriema natural history, both opportunistically and intentionally; (4) assessing the effects of human activities on seriema behavior, adaptation, and survival, as well as the interactions between seriemas and people, considering the close cultural and ecological links between the two (e.g., Alvarsson 2012, Badini et al 2017; and (5) establishing programs to monitor the conservation status of seriemas across their ranges.…”