Long‐term datasets are required to understand the response of long‐lived organisms (e.g., gopher tortoises [Gopherus polyphemus]) to management actions, such as prescribed burns. Our objective was to estimate the effects of prescribed burning on gopher tortoise population dynamics over decadal time frames at Fort Stewart Army Reserve, southeastern Georgia, USA. We captured and marked adult tortoises from 1994–2020. In addition, since the early 1990s, managers at Fort Stewart collected spatial records of prescribed burns; thus, we could compare demography of the population to prescribed burning. We used a Bayesian hierarchical model (open population Jolly‐Seber model) to estimate population parameters (emigration and survival, immigration and recruitment, and adult abundance) and their relationships with years since burn. We observed opposing responses to years since burn at 2 sites: abundance and the probability of staying (survival plus not emigrating) increased within 1 site when it had been more recently burned (F zones), but abundance and probability of staying in a second site increased when it had been longer since the site was burned (E zones). Some of these effects were weak but indicative of different responses to burning between the sites. Although the sites experienced similar burning regimes, they differed substantially in other habitat features: the F zones had almost twice the tree cover and lower soil sand composition, indicating that tortoise population responses to burning depend on habitat context. We inferred that the primary mechanism for demographic responses to years since burn was likely emigrating adults, which indicates the need for more detailed movement data. Our results demonstrate that gopher tortoise population responses to prescribed burning are complex, context dependent, and primarily influenced by tortoise movements. Therefore, prescribed burn plans may best accommodate spatially dynamic tortoise populations when they create spatial heterogeneity in burn ages within the range of typical tortoise movements. © 2021 The Wildlife Society.

中文翻译：

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火灾管理对长期地鼠乌龟种群动态的影响

需要长期数据集来了解长寿生物（例如，地鼠龟[ Gopherus polyphemus]）采取管理措施，例如规定的烧伤。我们的目的是在美国乔治亚州东南部的斯图尔特陆军预备队的十年时间内估计处方燃烧对地鼠乌龟种群动态的影响。我们捕获并标记了1994–2020年间的成年乌龟。此外，自1990年代初以来，斯图尔特堡的管理人员收集了规定烧伤的空间记录。因此，我们可以将人口统计数据与规定的燃烧情况进行比较。我们使用贝叶斯分层模型（开放人口Jolly-Seber模型）来估计人口参数（移民和生存，移民和招募以及成年人数量）及其与烧伤以来的关系。我们观察到自从2个地点烧毁以来对数年的相反反应：在最近被烧毁的地方（F区），丰度和停留在（生存而没有移居）的可能性增加了，但是，自被烧毁以来，在第二个地点的停留时间越长，丰满度和在第二个地点停留的可能性就增加了（ E区）。这些影响有些微弱，但表明站点之间对燃烧的反应不同。尽管这些地点经历了类似的燃烧方式，但它们在其他栖息地特征上也有很大不同：F区的树木覆盖率几乎翻了一番，土壤沙粒含量较低，这表明乌龟种群对燃烧的反应取决于栖息地的情况。我们推断，自烧伤以来数年的人口统计学响应的主要机制可能是成年人迁移，这表明需要更详细的运动数据。我们的结果表明，地鼠龟种群对指定的燃烧的反应是复杂的，与环境相关的，并且主要受乌龟运动的影响。因此，规定的烧伤计划在典型的乌龟运动范围内的烧伤年龄中产生空间异质性时，可以最好地适应空间动态的乌龟种群。©2021野生动物协会。