Is Response to Fire Influenced by Dietary Specialization and Mobility? A Comparative Study with Multiple Animal Assemblages

Santos, Xavier; Mateos, Eduardo; Bros, Vicenç; Brotons, Lluı́s; Mas, Eva De; Herraiz, Joan A.; Herrando, Sergi; Miño, Àngel; Olmo-Vidal, Josep Maria; Quesada, Javier; Ribes, Jordi; Sabaté, Santiago; Sauras-Yera, Teresa; Serra, À.; Vallejo, V. Ramón; Viñolas, Amador

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0088224

Cited by 32 publications

(22 citation statements)

References 63 publications

(85 reference statements)

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“…Oxychilus courquini, Xerocrassa penchinati) can live in mixed or open habitats (Sfenthourakis and Legakis 2001;Santos et al 2012) and the distribution of endemics within the habitats of the Park suggests that the maintenance of landscape heterogeneity will favor their conservation and in general the conservation of a rich molluscs diversity. This pattern may be generalized to the closest natural parks in the coastal belt of northeastern Iberia where habitat alteration and pine homogenization are widespread (Santos et al 2012(Santos et al , 2014.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 87%

Assessing the impact of reforestation on the diversity of Mediterranean terrestrial Gastropoda

Torre

Bros

Santos³

2014

Biodivers Conserv

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In the Mediterranean basin, pine tree reforestation has been the most common management tool in restoring degraded and burnt areas, as well as for economic purposes. However, the quality of the biodiversity of these habitats has undergone little assessment. Terrestrial gastropods are suitable indicators of forest quality and long-term stability because of their strict dependence on microhabitat conditions and their slow dispersal rate. We sampled the gastropod population in a protected Mediterranean area in order to compare the species richness in seven main habitats. Holm oak wood and mixed-pine forests were the habitats with the lowest species density, and areas with a high level of heterogeneity exhibited the richest communities. In recent decades however, land abandonment and pine reforestation are leading to landscape homogeneity, which is perhaps the cause of the extinction of six open-habitat gastropod species in the Park. These results provide park authorities with insights into how to adapt management plans to enhance habitat quality for land snail and slug assemblages. More specifically, our results stress the Communicated by R. H. Cowie. Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 87%

Assessing the impact of reforestation on the diversity of Mediterranean terrestrial Gastropoda

Torre

Bros

Santos³

2014

Biodivers Conserv

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“…The lack of predator responses to fire was unexpected given the broad potential effects of fire on ecosystems (Bond & Keeley, 2005;He et al, 2019). Many predators, especially mammals and birds, use a wide variety of habitats due to their large home ranges and generalist diets (Santos et al, 2014). For example, species such as pumas and spotted-tailed quolls Dasyurus maculatus are able to change their diets through prey switching after fires (Dawson, Claridge, Triggs, & Paull, 2007;Monroy-Vilchis, Gómez, Janczur, & Urios, 2009).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Predator responses to fire: A global systematic review and meta‐analysis

Geary

Doherty

Nimmo

et al. 2020

Journal of Animal Ecology

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Knowledge of how disturbances such as fire shape habitat structure and composition, and affect animal interactions, is fundamental to ecology and ecosystem management. Predators also exert strong effects on ecological communities, through top‐down regulation of prey and competitors, which can result in trophic cascades. Despite their ubiquity, ecological importance and potential to interact with fire, our general understanding of how predators respond to fire remains poor, hampering ecosystem management. To address this important knowledge gap, we conducted a systematic review and meta‐analysis of the effects of fire on terrestrial, vertebrate predators world‐wide. We found 160 studies spanning 1978–2018. There were 36 studies with sufficient information for meta‐analysis, from which we extracted 96 effect sizes (Hedges' g) for 67 predator species relating to changes in abundance indices, occupancy or resource selection in burned and unburned areas, or before and after fire. Studies spanned geographic locations, taxonomic families and study designs, but most were located in North America and Oceania (59% and 24%, respectively), and largely focussed on felids (24%) and canids (25%). Half (50%) of the studies reported responses to wildfire, and nearly one third concerned prescribed (management) fires. There were no clear, general responses of predators to fire, nor relationships with geographic area, biome or life‐history traits (e.g. body mass, hunting strategy and diet). Responses varied considerably between species. Analysis of species for which at least three effect sizes had been reported in the literature revealed that red foxes Vulpes vulpes mostly responded positively to fire (e.g. higher abundance in burned compared to unburned areas) and eastern racers Coluber constrictor negatively, with variances overlapping zero only slightly for both species. Our systematic review and meta‐analysis revealed strong variation in predator responses to fire, and major geographic and taxonomic knowledge gaps. Varied responses of predator species to fire likely depend on ecosystem context. Consistent reporting of ongoing monitoring and management experiments is required to improve understanding of the mechanisms driving predator responses to fire, and any broader effects (e.g. trophic interactions). The divergent responses of species in our study suggest that adaptive, context‐specific management of predator–fire relationships is required.

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“…An individual animal experiences stress in response to conditions that threaten its survival or compromise its ability to maintain homeostasis. Examples include acute or chronic encounters with predators, inclement weather, significant natural disturbances including fire and flood, reduced oxygen availability and depleted food resources (Lima, 1998;King & Bradshaw, 2010;Malcolm et al, 2014;Santos et al, 2014;Crocker, Khudyakov & Champagne, 2016).…”

Section: Mammalian Physiological Responses To Fear and Stressmentioning

confidence: 99%

Fear and stressing in predator–prey ecology: considering the twin stressors of predators and people on mammals

Fardell

Pavey

Dickman

2020

PeerJ

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Predators induce stress in prey and can have beneficial effects in ecosystems, but can also have negative effects on biodiversity if they are overabundant or have been introduced. The growth of human populations is, at the same time, causing degradation of natural habitats and increasing interaction rates of humans with wildlife, such that conservation management routinely considers the effects of human disturbance as tantamount to or surpassing those of predators. The need to simultaneously manage both of these threats is particularly acute in urban areas that are, increasingly, being recognized as global hotspots of wildlife activity. Pressures from altered predator–prey interactions and human activity may each initiate fear responses in prey species above those that are triggered by natural stressors in ecosystems. If fear responses are experienced by prey at elevated levels, on top of responses to multiple environmental stressors, chronic stress impacts may occur. Despite common knowledge of the negative effects of stress, however, it is rare that stress management is considered in conservation, except in intensive ex situ situations such as in captive breeding facilities or zoos. We propose that mitigation of stress impacts on wildlife is crucial for preserving biodiversity, especially as the value of habitats within urban areas increases. As such, we highlight the need for future studies to consider fear and stress in predator–prey ecology to preserve both biodiversity and ecosystem functioning, especially in areas where human disturbance occurs. We suggest, in particular, that non-invasive in situ investigations of endocrinology and ethology be partnered in conservation planning with surveys of habitat resources to incorporate and reduce the effects of fear and stress on wildlife.

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Is Response to Fire Influenced by Dietary Specialization and Mobility? A Comparative Study with Multiple Animal Assemblages

Cited by 32 publications

References 63 publications

Assessing the impact of reforestation on the diversity of Mediterranean terrestrial Gastropoda

Assessing the impact of reforestation on the diversity of Mediterranean terrestrial Gastropoda

Predator responses to fire: A global systematic review and meta‐analysis

Fear and stressing in predator–prey ecology: considering the twin stressors of predators and people on mammals

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