Effects of early and late-dry season fires on mortality, dispersal and breeding of malimbe Malimbus scutatus in the Southern Guinea savannah

Abstract

Inappropriate use of fire in the guinea savannah is one of the main processes threatening its biodiversity and despite its importance in shaping savannah, it remains poorly understood how the frequency, seasonality and intensity of the fire interact to influence the activities of bird species. While species adversely affected by fire have been documented, empirical studies that seek to identify the ecological mechanisms that underpin this decline are rare. This paper examined the effects of early- and late-dry season fires and a control on the mortality, dispersal and breeding of malimbe Malimbus scutatus in Ikwe Wildlife Park and also tested whether the early fire area became a refuge after the late fire. None of the fire treatment caused any increase in mortality. Individuals relocated short distances to unburnt habitat following both fires. Some birds use the early fire area after the late fire. Mayfield (1975) method of estimations of daily egg-survival probability showed no difference (P > 0.05) among the treatments, whereas the daily probability of nestling survival was significantly lower in the late fire area. Results suggested that the reproductive output of malimbe was low following latedry season fire, and this is the main mechanism that explains their decline. This study provides support for the idea of using early-dry season prescribed burning to limit the effect of late-dry season fire on malimbe.

Keywords: inappropriate use, threatening, biodiversity, seasonality, poorly understood, nestling survival.