From fire to recovery: temporal-shift of predator–prey interactions among mammals in Mediterranean ecosystems

Fires are becoming increasingly frequent, intense, severe and prolonged worldwide, and such situation is worsening. As a result, extreme fre conditions will increase, with consequences for wildlife, including increased mass mortality and changes in trophic relationships in natural communities. This intensifcation is expected to be particularly pronounced in the Mediterranean ecosystems. In this scoping review, we summarized current knowledge and gaps in understanding the efects of fres on wildlife, focusing on predator–prey interactions. These interactions play a critical role in animal communities and their understanding is fundamental for appropriate management and conservation. Mammals were chosen as a model group because of their remarkable ecological role. We grouped and analysed the post-wildfre changes in the predator–prey relationships into three-time intervals: immediate, short- and long-term efects. This is relevant as vegetation restoration, by altering cover and habitat structure, may afect hunting strategies and anti-predatory behaviour. Our review showed that studies generally had several limitations, the most common of which were the lack of replication, the strong geographical bias, and the focus on few target species. Nevertheless, we could formally describe how fre afects predator–prey relationships in Mediterranean ecosystems through processes that exert diferent cascading efects at diferent times after the fre event. We encourage long-term studies on communities, including as many components of the food chain as possible, using an interdisciplinary approach, and prioritising investigations in high-risk ecosystems