Short-term effects of wildfire on Canary Islands’ endemic lizards

Abstract

The Macaronesia bioregion is experiencing an increase in the intensity and magnitude of fires. However, the impact that this new fire regime may have on the endemic fauna and flora of many islands, such as those of the Canary archipelago, is unknown. In this study, we analyzed the short‐term response of the Gallot’s lizard, Gallotia galloti, to a fire that occurred in the northwestern part of La Palma in the summer of 2023. We carried out 189 linear transects in burned and unburned pine forest and summit scrub plots in June, July, and September 2024, hence, about one year after the fire. We observed a total of 333 lizards, and a Generalized Linear Mixed Model did not detect differences in lizard abundances between burned and unburned pine plots. The presence of juvenile lizards in the burned areas evidences the survival of the eggs after the fire. However, we also found a significant reduction of hatchling lizards in burned areas in September 2024, i.e. the second generation hatched after the fire, indicating that short‐term postfire habitat can compromise the viability of the populations. These results suggest that the Gallot’s lizard can persist in the face of fire in the short term, although postfire harsh conditions could hinder its resilience in the mid‐term.