Forest Fires' Effects on Dry‐Season Nocturnal Arthropod Abundance in Madagascar's Tropical Dry Forest

ABSTRACT Tropical forest fires increasingly threaten global biodiversity, yet we have few data describing how fires impact arthropods in tropical forests. We present preliminary data on the effects of forest fires on nocturnal arthropod abundance in the dry season of Ankarafantsika National Park, the largest remaining area of Madagascar's tropical dry forests. Arthropods were sampled using light, sticky and pitfall traps over 2 years post‐fire in unburned, once‐burned and multi‐burned (multiple fires in 5 years) forest. We assessed (1) if arthropod abundance, inferred from capture rates, was affected by forest fires, and if responses differ among taxonomic orders, and (2) if abundance was more greatly reduced after multiple or higher‐severity fires. We captured 16,406 arthropods across 18 orders. Fire responses varied substantially by trap type and taxonomic group. Orthoptera showed consistently higher abundance in burned forest, whereas ants exhibited consistent declines. Total sticky and pitfall trap captures were significantly higher in burned forest when ants were excluded. Multiple fires reduced vegetation metrics more than single fires. However, arthropod abundance was not notably reduced after multiple or higher‐severity fires. Some arthropods appear to return rapidly even to severely‐burned forest, but it remains unclear which species or functional groups are driving these changes.