FIRE EFFECTS AND USE
WILDLIFE SPECIES: Zenaida macroura | Mourning Dove 



DIRECT FIRE EFFECTS ON ANIMALS : 
Literature addressing the direct effects of fire on mourning doves is
lacking; however, fire can destroy mourning dove nests.  Adult mourning
doves are probably able to escape fire.


HABITAT RELATED FIRE EFFECTS : 
Fires may affect mourning dove nesting habitat by destroying nest trees
and therefore increasing the occurrence of ground nesting.  In Texas, a
2-year study of mourning dove nesting on a grassland infested with woody
vegetation showed that a low-severity fire had little effect on either
mesquite trees or their use as nesting sites by mourning doves.
However, on a similar area earlier treated with herbicides and burned in
late March, the loss of the larger mesquite trees as nest sites was
followed by the occurrence of more ground nesting [18].

Soutiere and Bolen [18] found that current year burns provided better
ground-nesting habitat than did older burns except under drought
conditions.  The highest densities of ground nesting pairs were found in
the current year's burn and decreased each successive year thereafter.
The degree of ground cover became less attractive to ground-nesting
doves as the proportion of cover approached the unburned condition.
Also, burning reduced the amount of available litter but added to the
suitability of the area by increasing the amount of open space where
doves might collect nest materials.

The effects of fire in a drought year could be disastrous to mourning
dove nesting.  Spring fires in a drought year may delay the development
of suitable ground-nesting habitat [18].



FIRE USE : 
Mourning doves generally will not scratch in litter for seeds and will
avoid areas with dense vegetation when feeding [15].  For these reasons
mourning doves commonly forage on newly burned areas.  Mason [16] found
that mourning doves often foraged in 2-year-old burns on a (Pinus
monophylla-Juniperus osteosperma) woodland site burned in winter or
fall.  The burns provided weedy areas for foraging, snags for perching,
and open areas for loafing.


REFERENCES : 
NO-ENTRY

Related categories for Wildlife Species: Zenaida macroura | Mourning Dove