Bird Community Traits in Recently Burned and Unburned Parts of the Northeastern Pantanal, Brazil: A Preliminary Approach

Karl-L. Schuchmann (), Kathrin Burs, Filipe de Deus, Carolline Zatta Fieker, Ana Silvia Tissiani and Marinêz I. Marques
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Karl-L. Schuchmann: Computational Bioacoustics Research Unit (CO.BRA), National Institute for Science and Technology in Wetlands (INAU), Federal University of Mato Grosso (UFMT), Cuiabá 78060-900, Mato Grosso, Brazil
Kathrin Burs: Computational Bioacoustics Research Unit (CO.BRA), National Institute for Science and Technology in Wetlands (INAU), Federal University of Mato Grosso (UFMT), Cuiabá 78060-900, Mato Grosso, Brazil
Filipe de Deus: Computational Bioacoustics Research Unit (CO.BRA), National Institute for Science and Technology in Wetlands (INAU), Federal University of Mato Grosso (UFMT), Cuiabá 78060-900, Mato Grosso, Brazil
Carolline Zatta Fieker: Computational Bioacoustics Research Unit (CO.BRA), National Institute for Science and Technology in Wetlands (INAU), Federal University of Mato Grosso (UFMT), Cuiabá 78060-900, Mato Grosso, Brazil
Ana Silvia Tissiani: Computational Bioacoustics Research Unit (CO.BRA), National Institute for Science and Technology in Wetlands (INAU), Federal University of Mato Grosso (UFMT), Cuiabá 78060-900, Mato Grosso, Brazil
Marinêz I. Marques: Computational Bioacoustics Research Unit (CO.BRA), National Institute for Science and Technology in Wetlands (INAU), Federal University of Mato Grosso (UFMT), Cuiabá 78060-900, Mato Grosso, Brazil

Sustainability, 2024, vol. 16, issue 6, 1-27

Abstract: Although fire is a natural phenomenon in the dynamics of some biomes around the world, it can threaten the biodiversity of certain ecosystems. Climate change and the expansion of anthropogenic activities have drastically increased the occurrence of large-scale burnings worldwide. The 2020 fire events in the Pantanal marked a historically unprecedented record, burning an area of approximately 40,000 km 2 . However, how fires affect the local wildlife has yet to be evaluated. The aim of this study was to investigate the recovery of the avifauna in the Pantanal of Mato Grosso by comparing data selected from a previous study conducted between 2014 and 2016 with data collected in burned areas nine to twelve months after the fire. We compared diversity and community composition, investigated the influence of species trait foraging guild, foraging strata, and body mass on their response to fire, and complemented it with species’ individual responses. Bird richness and Shannon diversity were lower in burned areas, and the composition significantly varied between burned and unburned areas. The species’ response toward burned and unburned areas was significantly mediated by their traits, with smaller, piscivorous, omnivorous, ground and water, and midstory to canopy species being the most sensitive toward the environmental changes caused by the fire. Thirty-three species showed a negative response toward burned areas, but 46 species showed the opposite response, and 24 species were similarly abundant in unburned and burned areas. The present study is the first evaluation of the response of birds to the extreme fire events in the Pantanal and provides valuable insight into the recovery and resilience of local avifauna.

Keywords: bird community; diversity; fire effects; species traits (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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