Abstract
Fires strongly influence the ecology of reptiles and have both direct and indirect effects on population dynamics as they affect life history traits. Here, we examine the effects of fire on individual growth patterns and on the survival rates of a tortoise Testudo graeca population in south-eastern Spain. We compare the biometric data from recaptures 4 years before and after a fire which burned 31 % of our study area. The von Bertalanffy and Gompertz growth models best describe the individual growth patterns for males and females. In males, but not females, fire significantly decreased the time required to reach their asymptotic size (k parameter). However, adult survival analyses reveal that the local survival rates lowered for both sexes after fire. Our work evidences that the effects of fire can be complex and maintained over time, affecting different life history traits.
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Acknowledgments
We thank Dr. F. Botella and S. Quiñones. Besides, we also thank all the people who participated in the fieldwork. The Spanish Ministry of Science funded this work through the project CGL2009-08251 and CGL2012-33536. We also wish to thank the “Delegación General de Medio Natural de la Comunidad Autónoma de la Región de Murcia” and ACUDE for allowing us to work in its reserve. R. Rodriguez and E. Graciá were supported by a postgraduate grant from the Generalitat Valenciana (ACIF/2010/133 and BFPI/2007-294, respectively). We are also grateful to reviewers who kindly improve this work.
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Communicated by C. Gortázar
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Rodríguez-Caro, R.C., Graciá, E., Anadón, J.D. et al. Maintained effects of fire on individual growth and survival rates in a spur-thighed tortoise population. Eur J Wildl Res 59, 911–913 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10344-013-0764-1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10344-013-0764-1