Forest fire reduces dawn singing effort in a passerine bird
Cedar A. Mathers-Winn, Jenélle L. Dowling, Michael S. Webster
pp. 75-82
Abstract
Fire is common in ecosystems throughout the world, and is known to have profound effects on animal populations. For species living in fire-prone ecosystems, it has the potential to impact both habitat structure and resource availability, which might influence the health of individuals and reproductive effort, directly or indirectly. Previous studies have shown reduced breeding success immediately after fire, but little is known about behavioural responses that might contribute to this, such as song in birds. In a population of Red-backed Fairy-wrens Malurus melanocephalus, we show that dawn singing effort was reduced following a fire. The observed changes might have been driven by reduced physical condition resulting from fire-induced changes in food availability, reduced motivation to perform these behaviours, or both. These results add to our understanding of species’ responses to environmental disturbances, such as fire, and might inform investigators of the mechanisms behind the resulting population-scale effects on breeding success and survivorship.
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