Human-Driven Extinctions Rapidly Alter the Island Biodiversity Patterns of Large and Medium-Sized Mammals in the Largest Archipelago of China

IF 4.6 2区环境科学与生态学 Q1 BIODIVERSITY CONSERVATION

Diversity and Distributions Pub Date : 2025-07-25 DOI:10.1111/ddi.70060

Chengxiu Zhan, Xingmin Chen, Bicheng Li, Chuanwu Chen, Yanping Wang

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Aim

Islands are regarded as ideal ecosystems for exploring biodiversity patterns. However, numerous islands have also suffered large numbers of species extinctions due to human activities. The extent to which such species extinctions have influenced our ability to understand biodiversity patterns, particularly the factors regulating island biodiversity, is still unclear. The purpose of our study was to disentangle the effects of recent human-driven extinctions on island biodiversity patterns.

Location

Zhoushan Archipelago, China.

Taxon

Large and medium-sized mammals.

Methods

We conducted field surveys on 30 islands with available recent data on large and medium-sized mammals. We then calculated the alpha diversity and beta diversity from taxonomic, phylogenetic, and functional facets for natural (including both extinct and extant populations) and current assemblages (excluding extinct populations) on 24 islands that supported at least one extant mammal species. Finally, we assessed the changes in these diversity metrics and their key drivers between natural and current assemblages.

Results

Both alpha and beta diversity of taxonomic, phylogenetic, and functional facets have decreased in current assemblages compared to natural assemblages. Additionally, distance to the nearest mainland had significant effects on all alpha diversity metrics for natural assemblages, and island area significantly influenced all beta diversity metrics for natural assemblages, but these effects were not observed in current assemblages.

Main Conclusions

Our findings showed that fundamental diversity patterns at both alpha and beta levels have been rapidly altered by human-driven extinctions, highlighting humans as a major force in island ecosystems. We thus emphasise that assessing biodiversity patterns based on natural assemblages is important to improve our understanding of the evolutionary and ecological determinants of island biodiversity as well as to provide a benchmark for biodiversity conservation.

Abstract Image

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人类活动导致的物种灭绝迅速改变了中国最大群岛大中型哺乳动物的岛屿生物多样性格局

Aim群岛被认为是探索生物多样性模式的理想生态系统。然而，由于人类活动，许多岛屿也遭受了大量物种灭绝。这些物种的灭绝在多大程度上影响了我们理解生物多样性模式的能力，特别是调节岛屿生物多样性的因素，目前仍不清楚。我们研究的目的是解开最近人类驱动的物种灭绝对岛屿生物多样性模式的影响。位置：舟山群岛，中国。分类群大中型哺乳动物。方法利用现有大中型哺乳动物的最新资料，对30个岛屿进行实地调查。然后，我们从分类、系统发育和功能方面计算了24个岛屿上至少有一种现存哺乳动物物种的自然（包括灭绝和现存种群）和当前组合（不包括灭绝种群）的α多样性和β多样性。最后，我们评估了这些多样性指标的变化及其在自然和当前组合之间的关键驱动因素。结果与自然组合相比，现有组合在分类、系统发育和功能方面的α和β多样性均有所下降。此外，与最近大陆的距离对自然组合的所有α多样性指标都有显著影响，岛屿面积对自然组合的所有β多样性指标都有显著影响，但这些影响在当前组合中没有观察到。研究结果表明，人类活动导致的物种灭绝迅速改变了α和β水平的基本多样性格局，凸显了人类活动是岛屿生态系统的主要力量。因此，我们强调，基于自然组合评估生物多样性模式对于提高我们对岛屿生物多样性的进化和生态决定因素的理解以及为生物多样性保护提供基准非常重要。

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来源期刊

Diversity and Distributions 环境科学-生态学

CiteScore

8.90

自引率

4.30%

发文量

195

审稿时长

8-16 weeks

期刊介绍： Diversity and Distributions is a journal of conservation biogeography. We publish papers that deal with the application of biogeographical principles, theories, and analyses (being those concerned with the distributional dynamics of taxa and assemblages) to problems concerning the conservation of biodiversity. We no longer consider papers the sole aim of which is to describe or analyze patterns of biodiversity or to elucidate processes that generate biodiversity.