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Pyrodiversity interacts with rainfall to increase bird and mammal richness in African savannas

Author(s): Beale, Colin M.; Courtney Mustaphi, Colin J.; Morrison, Thomas A.; Archibald, Sally; Anderson, T. Michael; et al

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dc.contributor.authorBeale, Colin M.-
dc.contributor.authorCourtney Mustaphi, Colin J.-
dc.contributor.authorMorrison, Thomas A.-
dc.contributor.authorArchibald, Sally-
dc.contributor.authorAnderson, T. Michael-
dc.contributor.authorDobson, Andrew P.-
dc.contributor.authorDonaldson, Jason E.-
dc.contributor.authorHempson, Gareth P.-
dc.contributor.authorProbert, James-
dc.contributor.authorParr, Catherine L.-
dc.date.accessioned2019-04-19T18:34:29Z-
dc.date.available2019-04-19T18:34:29Z-
dc.date.issued2018-04en_US
dc.identifier.citationBeale, Colin M., Courtney Mustaphi, Colin J., Morrison, Thomas A., Archibald, Sally, Anderson, T. Michael, Dobson, Andrew P., Donaldson, Jason E., Hempson, Gareth P., Probert, James, Parr, Catherine L. (2018). Pyrodiversity interacts with rainfall to increase bird and mammal richness in African savannas. Ecology Letters, 21 (4), 557 - 567. doi:10.1111/ele.12921en_US
dc.identifier.issn1461-023X-
dc.identifier.urihttp://arks.princeton.edu/ark:/88435/pr1r99f-
dc.description.abstractFire is a fundamental process in savannas and is widely used for management. Pyrodiversity, variation in local fire characteristics, has been proposed as a driver of biodiversity although empirical evidence is equivocal. Using a new measure of pyrodiversity (Hempson et al.), we undertook the first continent-wide assessment of how pyrodiversity affects biodiversity in protected areas across African savannas. The influence of pyrodiversity on bird and mammal species richness varied with rainfall: strongest support for a positive effect occurred in wet savannas (> 650 mm/year), where species richness increased by 27% for mammals and 40% for birds in the most pyrodiverse regions. Range-restricted birds were most increased by pyrodiversity, suggesting the diversity of fire regimes increases the availability of rare niches. Our findings are significant because they explain the conflicting results found in previous studies of savannas. We argue that managing savanna landscapes to increase pyrodiversity is especially important in wet savannas.en_US
dc.format.extent557 - 567en_US
dc.language.isoen_USen_US
dc.relation.ispartofEcology Lettersen_US
dc.rightsFinal published version. This is an open access article.en_US
dc.titlePyrodiversity interacts with rainfall to increase bird and mammal richness in African savannasen_US
dc.typeJournal Articleen_US
dc.identifier.doidoi:10.1111/ele.12921-
dc.date.eissued2018-02-14en_US
pu.type.symplectichttp://www.symplectic.co.uk/publications/atom-terms/1.0/journal-articleen_US

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