title: Is response to fire influenced by dietary specialization and mobility? A comparative study with multiple animal assemblages.
abstract: Fire is a major agent involved in landscape transformation and an indirect cause of changes in species composition. Responses to fire may vary greatly depending on life histories and functional traits of species. We have examined the taxonomic and functional responses to fire of eight taxonomic animal groups displaying a gradient of dietary and mobility patterns: Gastropoda, Heteroptera, Formicidae, Coleoptera, Araneae, Orthoptera, Reptilia and Aves. The fieldwork was conducted in a Mediterranean protected area on 3 sites (one unburnt and two burnt with different postfire management practices) with five replicates per site. We collected information from 4606 specimens from 274 animal species. Similarity in species composition and abundance between areas was measured by the Bray-Curtis index and ANOSIM, and comparisons between animal and plant responses by Mantel tests. We analyze whether groups with the highest percentage of omnivorous species, these species being more generalist in their dietary habits, show weak responses to fire (i.e. more similarity between burnt and unburnt areas), and independent responses to changes in vegetation. We also explore how mobility, i.e. dispersal ability, influences responses to fire. Our results demonstrate that differences in species composition and abundance between burnt and unburnt areas differed among groups. We found a tendency towards presenting lower differences between areas for groups with higher percentages of omnivorous species. Moreover, taxa with a higher percentage of omnivorous species had significantly more independent responses of changes in vegetation. High- (e.g. Aves) and low-mobility (e.g. Gastropoda) groups had the strongest responses to fire (higher R scores of the ANOSIM); however, we failed to find a significant general pattern with all the groups according to their mobility. Our results partially support the idea that functional traits underlie the response of organisms to environmental changes caused by fire.
authors: CIBIO/InBIO (Centro de Investigação em Biodiversidade e Recursos Genéticos), Universidade do Porto, Vairão, Portugal.
authors: Xavier
authors: X
authors: Santos
authors: Departament de Biologia Animal, Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain.
authors: Eduardo
authors: E
authors: Mateos
authors: Parc Natural de Sant Llorenç del Munt i l'Obac, Oficina Tècnica de Parcs Naturals, Diputació de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain.
authors: Vicenç
authors: V
authors: Bros
authors: Grup d'Ecologia del Paisatge, Àrea de Biodiversitat, CEMFOR-CTFC (Centre Tecnològic Forestal de Catalunya), Solsona, Spain ; CREAF(Centre de Recerca Ecològica i Aplicacions Forestals), Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Bellaterra, Spain.
authors: Lluís
authors: L
authors: Brotons
authors: Departamento de Ecología Evolutiva, de la Conducta y Conservación, Estación Experimental de Zonas Áridas, CSIC (Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas), Almería, Spain.
authors: Eva
authors: E
authors: De Mas
authors: AIM (Asociación Ibérica de Mirmecologia), Facultat de Ciències, Universitat de Girona, Girona, Spain.
authors: Joan A
authors: JA
authors: Herraiz
authors: Grup d'Ecologia del Paisatge, Àrea de Biodiversitat, CEMFOR-CTFC (Centre Tecnològic Forestal de Catalunya), Solsona, Spain ; ICO (Institut Català d'Ornitologia), Museu de Ciències Naturals de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain.
authors: Sergi
authors: S
authors: Herrando
authors: Parc Natural de Sant Llorenç del Munt i l'Obac, Oficina Tècnica de Parcs Naturals, Diputació de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain.
authors: Àngel
authors: À
authors: Miño
authors: Servei de Biodiversitat i Protecció dels Animals, Direcció General del Medi Natural i Biodiversitat, Barcelona, Spain.
authors: Josep M
authors: JM
authors: Olmo-Vidal
authors: ICO (Institut Català d'Ornitologia), Museu de Ciències Naturals de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain ; Museu de Ciències Naturals de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain.
authors: Javier
authors: J
authors: Quesada
authors: Museu de Ciències Naturals de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain.
authors: Jordi
authors: J
authors: Ribes
authors: CREAF(Centre de Recerca Ecològica i Aplicacions Forestals), Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Bellaterra, Spain ; Departament d'Ecologia, Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain.
authors: Santiago
authors: S
authors: Sabaté
authors: Departament de Biologia Vegetal, Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain.
authors: Teresa
authors: T
authors: Sauras-Yera
authors: Departament de Biologia Animal, Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain.
authors: Antoni
authors: A
authors: Serra
authors: Departament de Biologia Vegetal, Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain ; Fundación CEAM. Parque Tecnológico, Paterna, Spain.
authors: V Ramón
authors: VR
authors: Vallejo
authors: Museu de Ciències Naturals de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain.
authors: Amador
authors: A
authors: Viñolas
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001522:Behavior, Animal / Q000502:physiology*; D004032:Diet; D004190:Disasters; D005390:Fires; D009068:Movement / Q000502:physiology*; D013045:Species Specificity