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Towards an understanding of the evolutionary role of fire in animals

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Abstract

Wildfires underpin the dynamics and diversity of many ecosystems worldwide, and plants show a plethora of adaptive traits for persisting recurrent fires. Many fire-prone ecosystems also harbor a rich fauna; however, knowledge about adaptive traits to fire in animals remains poorly explored. We review existing literature and suggest that fire is an important evolutionary driver for animal diversity because (1) many animals are present in fire-prone landscapes and may have structural and phenotypic characters that contribute to adaptation to these open landscapes; and (2) in some cases, animals from fire-prone ecosystems may show specific fire adaptations. While there is limited evidence on morphological fire adaptations in animals, there is evidence suggesting that different behaviors might provide a rich source of putative fire adaptations; this is because, in contrast to plants, most animals are mobile, unitary organisms, have reduced survival when directly burnt by fire and can move away from the fire. We call for research on fire adaptations (morphological, behavioral, and physiological) in animals, and emphasize that in the animal kingdom many fire adaptations are likely to be behavioral. While it may be difficult to discern these adaptations from other animal behaviors, making this distinction is fundamental if we want to understand the role of fire in shaping biodiversity. Developing this understanding is critical to how we view and manage our ecosystems in the face of current global and fire regime changes.

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Acknowledgements

This research was funded by the project FILAS (CGL2015-64086-P) from the Spanish Government (Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad) and the PROMETEO/2016/021 project from the Valencia government (Generalitat Valenciana, Spain). CIDE (Desertification Research Centre) is a joint institute of the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC), the University of Valencia, and Generalitat Valenciana. J.G.P. conceived the idea and wrote the manuscript; C.L.P. contributed to the writing of the final version. We declare no conflict of interest.

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  1. CIDE-CSIC, Ctra. Naquera Km. 4.5, 46113, Montcada, Valencia, Spain

    Juli G. Pausas

  2. School of Environmental Sciences, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, L69 3GP, UK

    Catherine L. Parr

  3. Department of Animal, Plant and Environmental Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Private Bag X3, Wits, 2050, South Africa

    Catherine L. Parr

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  1. Juli G. Pausas
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Correspondence to Juli G. Pausas.

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Pausas, J.G., Parr, C.L. Towards an understanding of the evolutionary role of fire in animals. Evol Ecol 32, 113–125 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10682-018-9927-6

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