First-order effects of fire and prolonged-drought effects on an undescribed semi-aquatic turtle in Atlantic rainforest in southeastern Brazil

Abstract

Fire usually impose considerable impacts on fauna, including loss of habitats and microhabitats, emigrations, injuries, or death. The general arquitecture of the local environment may play an important role in the extent that fire may act and the resulting burning effects. Understanding the exact extent of the effects of fire on vertebrate populations in natural environments is usually limited by the lack of information on the number of individuals dying during the event. Semi-aquatic turtles which usually move slowly on land, may suffer serious direct effects of fire. The mortality of turtles caused by fire and drought is well documented in the northern hemisphere, but few data are available from Brazil. Here we documented the death of individuals of a semi-aquatic still undescribed turtle species, Rhinoclemmys sp. n. on a coastal plain environment in southeastern Brazil, as result of a fire and a prolonged drought. Our results indicated that fire and drought contributed to the mortality of Rhinoclemmys sp. n. in the study area.