Evaluating macroecological fire impacts on bird populations

Andrew N. Stillman; Gavin M. Jones; Matthew Strimas-Mackey; Guillermo Duran; Caitlin Andrews; Shawn Ligocki; Tom Auer; Viviana Ruiz-Gutierrez; Sarah C. Sawyer; Daniel Fink

doi:10.1002/fee.70003

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Evaluating macroecological fire impacts on bird populations

Journal article

Peer reviewed

Evaluating macroecological fire impacts on bird populations

Andrew N. Stillman, Gavin M. Jones, Matthew Strimas-Mackey, Guillermo Duran, Caitlin Andrews, Shawn Ligocki, Tom Auer, Viviana Ruiz-Gutierrez, Sarah C. Sawyer and Daniel Fink

Frontiers in ecology and the environment, Vol.23(9), pp.1-n/a

11/01/2025

DOI: 10.1002/fee.70003

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Abstract

Fire regimes are context-dependent, as are the ways that animals respond. However, most information on animal responses to fire comes from short-term local field studies, which are hard to extrapolate across large areas for fire management while also capturing spatial variation. To address this challenge, we modeled data from eBird to map the direction, magnitude, and importance of fire regime associations at 27-km resolution across the ranges of six bird species used to guide management decisions in the US: red-cockaded woodpecker (Leuconotopicus borealis), Bachman's sparrow (Peucaea aestivalis), greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus), pinyon jay (Gymnorhinus cyanocephalus), American goshawk (Astur atricapillus), and olive-sided flycatcher (Contopus cooperi). Our findings revealed previously undocumented landscape-scale variation in fire impacts on birds. Critically, the strength of fire regime associations varied widely in magnitude even when the direction of those associations (positive, neutral, or negative) remained constant. This analytical workflow provides not only a flexible approach for assessing macroecological fire impacts but also finer-scale information sufficient for resource prioritization and decision-making.

Ecology

Environmental Sciences

Environmental Sciences & Ecology

Life Sciences & Biomedicine

Science & Technology

Details

Title: Subtitle: Evaluating macroecological fire impacts on bird populations
Creators: Andrew N. Stillman - Cornell University
Gavin M. Jones - Rocky Mountain Research Station
Matthew Strimas-Mackey - Cornell University
Guillermo Duran - Cornell University
Caitlin Andrews - Rocky Mountain Research (United States)
Shawn Ligocki - Cornell University
Tom Auer - Cornell University
Viviana Ruiz-Gutierrez - Cornell University
Sarah C. Sawyer - US Forest Service
Daniel Fink - Cornell University
Resource Type: Journal article
Publication Details: Frontiers in ecology and the environment, Vol.23(9), pp.1-n/a
DOI: 10.1002/fee.70003
ISSN: 1540-9295
eISSN: 1540-9309
Publisher: Wiley
Number of pages: 7
Grant note: Cornell Atkinson Center for Sustainability and Allan and Shirley Casey - Wolf Creek Foundation Likewise DBI-1939187 / US National Science Foundation; National Science Foundation (NSF) Advanced Cyberinfrastructure Coordination Ecosystem: Services & Support (ACCESS) program Cornell Lab of Ornithology's members, donors 2138259; 2138286; 2138307; 2137603; 2138296; DEB200010 / NSF; National Science Foundation (NSF)
Language: English
Date published: 11/01/2025
Academic Unit: School of Earth, Environment, and Sustainability
Record Identifier: 9985219856502771

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