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Dryad

Data from: Distribution and protection of ecological specialists in Chinese terrestrial mammals

Data files

Jan 20, 2025 version files 403.01 KB

Abstract

Aim: Specialist species are characterized 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 specialization in Chinese terrestrial mammals: diet specialist, habitat specialist, and extreme specialist (i.e., species that are both diet and habitat specialist). We adopted generalized linear models to test whether some landscape-level factors explain the variation of each type of specialization 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 categorized as diet specialists, habitat specialists, and extreme specialists, respectively. The mountains in southwest China have the highest diversity of specialized terrestrial mammals in China, regardless of the type of specialization. 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 specialization in terrestrial mammals in China. The role of landscape factors in shaping specialist richness was inconsistent among different types of specialization. We also found a serious spatial mismatch between specialization and current conservation efforts.