Agradecimentos: We thank the Pantanal Research Network, which was funded by the Ministry of Science and Technology (grant number: FINEP 01.20.0201.00) and whose team shared knowledge gained from the 2020 fires in the Pantanal with the intention of contributing to the debate on traits. Finally, we thank all reviewers for reading and providing valuable suggestions on earlier drafts of this paper. This research was funded by the Brazilian Institute of Environment and Renewable Natural Resources (IBAMA) and the National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq) through the Ignite Project (441974/2018-0) and the EKLB postdoctoral fellowship (380006/2019-7). The workshop was partially funded by the General Office of University Extension (PROEX) of the Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG). The APC was funded by the University of São Paulo Ver menos

Abstract: Recent studies have argued that changes in fire regimes in the 21st century are posing a major threat to global biodiversity. In this scenario, incorporating species’ physiological, ecological, and evolutionary traits with their local fire exposure might facilitate accurate identification of species most at risk from fire. Here, we developed a framework for identifying the animal species most vulnerable to extinction from fire-induced stress in the Brazilian savanna. The proposed framework addresses vulnerability from two components: (1) exposure, which refers to the frequency, extent, and magnitude to which a system or species experiences fire, and (2) sensitivity, which reflects how much species are affected by fire. Sensitivity is based on biological, physiological, and behavioral traits that can influence animals’ mortality "during" and "after" fire. We generated a Fire Vulnerability Index (FVI) that can be used to group species into four categories, ranging from extremely vulnerable (highly sensible species in highly exposed areas), to least vulnerable (low-sensitivity species in less exposed areas). We highlight the urgent need to broaden fire vulnerability assessment methods and introduce a new approach considering biological traits that contribute significantly to a species’ sensitivity alongside regional/local fire exposure Ver menos