Distribution and Protection of Ecological Specialists in Chinese Terrestrial Mammals

Aim

Specialist species are characterised as species with a narrow niche and, thus, vulnerable to environmental changes and disturbance. Understanding the distribution of specialists is important for developing proactive conservation strategies. Although China is among the countries with the highest diversity of mammals, no previous studies have explored the distribution and conservation status of specialists in Chinese mammals.

Location

China.

Time Period

Present day.

Taxa Studied

Chinese terrestrial mammals.

Methods

We assessed the distribution of three types of specialisation in Chinese terrestrial mammals: diet specialist, habitat specialist and extreme specialist (i.e., species that are both diet and habitat specialist). We adopted generalised linear models to test whether some landscape-level factors explain the variation of each type of specialisation richness. Gap analyses were conducted to assess the conservation status of the specialists identified.

Results

From a total of 621 mammal species, 327 species were identified as specialists, including 237, 137 and 48 species categorised as diet specialists, habitat specialists and extreme specialists respectively. The mountains in southwest China have the highest diversity of specialised terrestrial mammals in China, regardless of the type of specialisation. After controlling for the effect of overall species richness, other hotspots held more specialist species than expected from the overall species richness (e.g., the Qinghai-Tibet plateau, the Junggar Basin, Liaoning and Guangdong). High-altitude areas tended to possess more diet and habitat specialist species. Elevation range and habitat diversity were positively related to diet specialist richness but negatively related to habitat specialist richness. Only 42 (12.84%) of the 327 specialist species were adequately covered by the current protected areas.

Main Conclusions

We have identified multiple hotspots of ecological specialisation in terrestrial mammals in China. The role of landscape factors in shaping specialist richness was inconsistent among different types of specialisation. We also found a serious spatial mismatch between specialisation and current conservation efforts.