Habitat selection by stone partridge elucidates the ecological benefits of fire management in an Afro-tropical Sudan savanna

Abstract

Fire is a key disturbance that drives community dynamics and ecosystem functions. While natural resource managers have increasingly relied on fire as a management tool to conserve biodiversity in fire-prone systems, key gaps remain in our understanding of how fire characteristics drive habitat selection and species persistence in tropical savannas. We evaluated the mechanisms through which fire-created variability mediates habitat selection in a fire-prone Sudan savanna landscape. Using data from adult stone partridges (Ptilachapus petrosus) fitted with radio transmitters and monitored between November 2020 and July 2022, we assessed the role of time since last fire, fire severity, and vegetation characteristics on resource selection by stone partridges at 2 spatial extents. At a broader spatial extent of 20-m × 20-m, partridges appeared to select recently burnt areas up to 2 years after fire, but their selection decreased as fire severity increased. Partridges tended to avoid taller woody vegetation that could serve as perches for aerial predators in favor of shrubs (<1-m tall) with thicket understories that minimized predation risk. At a smaller spatial extent of 2-m × 2-m plots, partridges were inclined to select patches that experienced recent fires with high litter cover, while avoiding patches with increasing grass height or bare ground. Our results highlight the important role of low-severity fires in fine-scale habitat selection by stone partridges in an Afro-tropical savanna. Partridge's selection of low-severity burnt patches suggests an adaptation to fine-scale alterations in savanna vegetation driven by recurrent low-severity fires. This knowledge is beneficial in developing effective management strategies that could benefit native species in Afro-tropical savannas, where fire suppression policies are still enforced.