「天空の島」に生息する哺乳類が気候変動と人間開発によって脅かされている可能性(Mammals on ‘Sky Islands’ May Be Threatened By Climate Change, Human Development)

ad

2024-04-26 ノースカロライナ州立大学(NCState)

気候変動と人間の開発が「スカイアイランド」と呼ばれる孤立した生物多様性のホットスポットに住む哺乳類種にどのような脅威をもたらしているかについての新しい研究が行われました。東アフリカのケニア山国立公園に設置されたカメラトラップを通じて、研究者たちは1909年のセオドア・ルーズベルトの探検時と同じルートを辿りながら、哺乳類コミュニティがどのように変化したかを観察しました。特定の温度や生息地に適応した種は、生息地が山を上がるにつれて失われる「絶滅へのエレベーター」という現象によって脅かされています。この研究は、スカイアイランドの生態系の健康について深刻な懸念を提起すると同時に、まれな種の発見も報告しています。

<関連情報>

ケニア山の標高勾配に沿って変化する哺乳類群集と種の豊かさの減少 Shifting mammal communities and declining species richness along an elevational gradient on Mount Kenya

Matthew H. Snider, Kristofer M. Helgen, Hillary S. Young, Bernard Agwanda, Stephanie Schuttler, Georgia C. Titcomb, Douglas Branch, René Dommain, Roland Kays
Ecology and Evolution  Published: 09 April 2024
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.11151

「天空の島」に生息する哺乳類が気候変動と人間開発によって脅かされている可能性(Mammals on ‘Sky Islands’ May Be Threatened By Climate Change, Human Development)

Abstract

Conservation areas encompassing elevation gradients are biodiversity hotspots because they contain a wide range of habitat types in a relatively small space. Studies of biodiversity patterns along elevation gradients, mostly on small mammal or bird species, have documented a peak in diversity at mid elevations. Here, we report on a field study of medium and large mammals to examine the impact of elevation, habitat type, and gross primary productivity on community structure. Species richness was observed using a camera trap transect with 219 sites situated across different habitat types from 2329 to 4657 m above the sea level on the western slope of Mt Kenya, the second highest mountain in Africa. We found that the lowest elevation natural habitats had the highest species richness and relative abundance and that both metrics decreased steadily as elevation increased, paralleling changes in gross primary productivity, and supporting the energy richness hypothesis. We found no evidence for the mid-domain effect on species diversity. The lowest elevation degraded Agro-Forestry lands adjacent to the National Park had high activity of domestic animals and reduced diversity and abundance of native species. The biggest difference in community structure was between protected and unprotected areas, followed by more subtle stepwise differences between habitats at different elevations. Large carnivore species remained relatively consistent but dominant herbivore species shifted along the elevation gradient. There was some habitat specialization and turnover in species, such that the elevation gradient predicts a high diversity of species, demonstrating the high conservation return for protecting mountain ecosystems for biodiversity conservation.

生物環境工学
ad
ad
Follow
ad
タイトルとURLをコピーしました