Assessing the impact of a steppe fire on the abundance and distribution of the skylark Alauda arvensis in Burtinskaya steppe site of Orenburg nature reserve

The report shows some statistically significant differences in the abundance of the Skylark Alauda arvensis on the burnt and non-burnt areas in Burtinskaya Steppe Site of Orenburg Nature Reserve after a fire occurred at the end of summer 2014. In particular, it recorded the differences in the average number of birds on overall burnt and non-burnt areas by U-Mann-Whitney test and the average number of birds per a 1-km route on the total burnt and non-burnt areas by the Student T-test. It is assumed that the reduced number of birds during the breeding season of 2015 on the burnt areas of Burtinskaya Steppe Site sectors was related to their reduced attractiveness compared to the non-burnt areas. During the reproductive season of 2016, no significant differences in the number of birds on the burnt and non-burnt areas were found.