Lizards that survived wildfires are more alert to the sound of flames

Western fence lizards that experience wildfire learn that fire is a major threat, becoming more alert to the sounds of a blaze than to those of avian predators

Life



11 January 2023

By Corryn Wetzel

Lizards living in habitats recently scorched by wildfire are more attentive to the sound of flames than lizards from nearby unburned regions, suggesting their fire avoidance is learned rather than innate.

After noticing that many western fence lizards (Sceloporus occidentalis) managed to live through wildfires in the western US that wiped out other animals, Lola Álvarez-Ruiz at the Spanish National Research Council and her team began investigating how fire may be shaping the behaviour of these reptiles. …