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Wildfire smoke can change animal behavior, but the best direct field evidence is narrow: a 2026 study of breeding grassland birds in New York found that elevated smoke was associated overall with reduced vocal activity. The response varied by event, even for one species. That finding does not show that all wildlife becomes less active, leaves an area, or experiences population decline.
What researchers have observed in wildlife
Breeding grassland birds: calling changed with smoke conditions
A 2026 study tracked bird sounds with passive acoustic monitoring in New York State grasslands during the breeding season. The authors reported an overall negative association between elevated smoke and breeding grassland bird vocal activity. Their study record describes smoke from the 2023 Canadian wildfires, which burned nearly 7.8 million hectares and sent smoke into the northeastern United States; that is background on the fires, not a measurement of smoke exposure for individual birds. USGS study record.
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The pattern was not simply “smoke makes birds quiet.” Bobolink vocal activity fell sharply during an intense smoke event early in the breeding season, then increased during a milder event later in the season. Timing, smoke intensity, species, and breeding context matter when interpreting the observation. The researchers measured vocal activity; they did not establish that smoke caused a population decline or a particular reproductive outcome.
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1Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errors2Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minute3Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsTree-roosting bats: a model of exposure near prescribed fires
A 2010 study combined plume modeling and field measurements from prescribed fires in mixed-oak forests of southeastern Ohio and eastern Kentucky to examine risks to tree-roosting bats, using the Indiana bat as its focal species. It considered carbon monoxide exposure and heat, rather than measuring broad changes in wildlife behavior during landscape-scale wildfire smoke. The model estimated that blood carboxyhemoglobin levels approached critical levels only just above flames in the most intense fires; modeled ear-heating risk varied with fireline intensity, roost height, and ambient wind. US Forest Service study record.
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The authors noted that more information was needed about bat arousal from torpor and behavior during fires. The findings therefore help describe possible direct exposure hazards close to a fire, but they do not establish how bats generally behave when smoke travels far from the flames.
What smoke-related behavior could mean
Vocal activity can matter because birds use calls in communication, including during breeding. Reduced calling could plausibly affect fitness, but the New York study’s measured outcome was vocal activity; possible fitness consequences are not the same as a demonstrated decline in breeding success or population size.
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More broadly, a behavior observed during a fire can reflect several simultaneous conditions. Smoke exposure is distinct from direct heat, flames, habitat loss, and later changes in habitat. The Forest Service’s review of fire effects on fauna explains that many animal effects arise through changes to habitat, so those effects should not automatically be attributed to smoke. Forest Service review of fire effects on fauna.
What the evidence can—and cannot—tell us
| Evidence | Context and method | What it supports | What it does not establish |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 grassland-bird study | Breeding-season passive acoustic monitoring in New York; ambient smoke events associated with 2023 Canadian fires. | Elevated smoke was associated overall with lower vocal activity, with differing Bobolink responses across two events. | A universal response across species, smoke as the sole cause, measured reproductive harm, or population decline. |
| 2010 tree-roosting bat study | Prescribed-fire plume modeling and field measurements in southeastern Ohio and eastern Kentucky; Indiana bat focal species. | Modeled carbon monoxide and heat risks near fires vary with fire intensity, roost height, and wind. | A general behavioral response to distant wildfire smoke, or a settled account of bat arousal and behavior during fires. |
These studies examine different animals, settings, exposures, and endpoints, so they are not head-to-head comparisons. The broader 2022 Wildland Fire Smoke in the United States: A Scientific Assessment surveys smoke science and research priorities, but it does not supply a universal wildlife-behavior rule. US Forest Service assessment. USGS likewise lists effects of ash, smoke, and fire on wildlife and ecosystems among its research concerns. USGS overview of wildfire and climate change.
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- The available sources do not show that wildlife universally evacuates, hides, stops feeding, or experiences population collapse because of smoke.
- They do not provide a pooled estimate of how common particular behavioral changes are across wildlife or a reliable long-term recovery timeline.
- Smoke and heat risks near active flames should not be treated as equivalent to exposure during a distant smoke event.
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