Abstract
BackgroundEven though fire has been used extensively as part of conservation management in South Africa, its impact on the life history and mortality of fossorial reptiles is poorly documented. We conducted post-fire transects after three controlled burns during different seasons in Tembe Elephant Park, recorded 14 reptile species, and found fewer mortalities in winter compared to spring.ResultsHistopathological examinations of species were conducted from different microhabitats to elucidate the possible cause of death. The unburned condition of most mortality specimens prompted suspicion of particulate smoke inhalation as a possible cause of death. However, the relative absence of carbon-rich particulate matter and the occasional presence of pulmonary oedema suggested asphyxiation, heat-induced cardiac arrest, or gas intoxication as the most likely cause of death. The association of most specimens with microhabitats rich in leaf litter may indicate higher reptile densities in this habitat or increased mortalities due to smoldering detrital material, or both. Detrital combustion and smoldering may result in advective transportation of heated gasses into underlying soil layers, with subsequent increased mortalities.ConclusionEven though burrowing could potentially offer protection from fire to fossorial vertebrates through vertical movements into deeper substrate, our results indicated that they are not necessarily protected from fire effects. We speculate that seasonal reproductive behavior may contribute to fire mortality. These observations may contribute to improved understanding and management of fire in areas where fossorial reptiles occur.
Highlights
Tropical savannas have the potential to harbor high levels of vertebrate diversity, which are considered well adapted to frequent fire events, despite occasional high fire casualty rates (Bigalke and Willan 1982)
A través de transectas post-fuego ubicadas en tres quemas prescriptas hechas en diferentes estaciones en el Parque Nacional de Tempbe, registramos 14 especies de reptiles y encontramos menos mortalidad en quemas realizadas en invierno comparadas con quemas de primavera
Few studies have been conducted on the effect of fire on southern African reptile fauna (Parr and Chown 2003; Masterson et al 2008; Branch 2014), with published observations regarding direct fire impact on reptiles within the region generally being unquantified
Summary
Tropical savannas have the potential to harbor high levels of vertebrate diversity, which are considered well adapted to frequent fire events, despite occasional high fire casualty rates (Bigalke and Willan 1982). The direct impact of vegetation combustion regarding faunal mortality or injury is considered of little consequence when compared to indirect longterm fire effects on faunal populations (Neary et al 1999; Russell et al 1999; Engstrom 2010), observations documenting the direct effect of burning management on animal diversity may improve decision-making capabilities for conservation management (Smith et al 2012) This field note reports on the density of observed reptile mortalities following fires in savanna vegetation, while describing mechanisms potentially responsible for the death of collected individuals based on post mortem histopathological analyses. We conducted post-fire transects after three controlled burns during different seasons in Tembe Elephant Park, recorded 14 reptile species, and found fewer mortalities in winter compared to spring
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