Fire-induced reptile mortality following a management burn on Lapalala Wilderness (Limpopo Province, South Africa) with notes on the mechanisms of mortality

Abstract

Despite a well-practiced fire management paradigm within southern African conservation areas, little research has been conducted on the effect of fire on native reptile diversity (Parr and Chown, 2003; Branch, 2014) however fire-associated reptile mortality has regionally been recorded for Cherisina angulata (Schweigger 1812) (in Wright, 1988), Chamaesaura anguina (Linnaeus 1758) (in De Villiers and De Villiers, 2004; Boycott, 2015; Coombs, 2015), and Bitis atropos (Linnaeus 1758) (in Turner, 2014). Documenting such mortality is essential if the causal link between life history sensitivities to variations in fire regimes across habitat types is to be understood (Smith et al., 2012). Information regarding the physical mechanisms resulting in fire associated mortality is lacking for most fauna (Dickinson et al., 2010). Such information may prove useful in protecting species of conservation concern affected by modified burning practices e.g. Acontias richardi (Jacobbsen 1987) (in Bauer, 2014) and Tetradactylus breyeri (Roux 1907) (in Bates, 2014).