Wildfire response of GPS-tracked Bonelli’s eagles in eastern Spain

Abstract

Background: Little is known about the interaction between predators and wildfires, in part because the large home range and scarcity of predators make their study difficult, and their response is strongly species-specific. Aims: In this paper, we study, for the first time, the effect of wildfire on the behaviour of Bonelli’s eagles (Aquila fasciata) simultaneously tracked by GPS/GSM dataloggers in four neighbouring territories. Methods: One territory was burnt in a wildfire and the other three were used for comparison. We computed the home-range area by comparing individual spatial and temporal behaviour before, during and after the fire event using kernel density estimators and movement parameters. Key results: Our results show an immediate negative effect during the first days of the wildfire for an individual inhabiting the burnt territory – the individual flew directly away from the burning area. However, after a few days, the individual recovered their usual behaviour. The three neighbouring pairs did not show significant differences in behavioural parameters before, during and after the wildfire. Conclusions and implications: Our results suggest that occasional wildfires do not affect the distribution and density of Bonelli’s eagles in the short or medium-term (two years after fire). This could be the result of adaptation by this species to the frequent and recurrent wildfires in the Mediterranean area.