Trait‐based climate vulnerability of native rodents in southwestern Mexico

Abstract

AimIncorporate species’ trait information together with climate projections for associated habitat to assess the potential vulnerability of rodent taxa to climate change.LocationOaxaca State, Mexico.MethodsWe used a trait‐based approach together with climate exposure models to evaluate the vulnerability of rodent species to projected climate conditions in the study region. Vulnerability was estimated based on three factors: (a) Level of climatic exposure that species are projected to experience across their current statewide range; (b) inherent species‐specific sensitivity to stochastic events; and (c) species’ capacity to cope with climate change effects. We defined species as inherently sensitive if they had any of the following: restricted geographic distribution in Mexico; narrow altitudinal range; low dispersal ability; or long generation length.ResultsVulnerability varied depending on the climate change scenario applied. Under the MPI general circulation model and current emissions trends, by 2099, all species evaluated were projected to have some level of threat (vulnerable for at least one factor), with 4 out of 55 species vulnerable for all three factors, 29 for two factors, and 22 for one factor. Six out of ten rodent species endemic to Oaxaca were vulnerable for two or more factors. We found that species with narrow and restricted‐range distributions combined with low adaptive capacity were projected to be particularly vulnerable.Main conclusionsBy including species‐specific trait information in climate exposure assessments, researchers can contextualize and enhance their understanding about how climate change is likely to affect individual taxa in an area of interest. As such, studies like this one provide more relevant threat assessment information than exposure analyses alone and serve as a starting point for considering how climatic changes interact with an array of other variables to affect native species across their range.

Species, taxonomic, and functional group diversities of terrestrial mammals at risk under climate change and land‐use/cover change scenarios in Mexico

“…Insectivorous mammals play a fundamental role in controlling insect populations that can cause high socioeconomic costs due to crop loss. For example, some studies have estimated the high socioeconomic costs of population extirpations of insectivorous bats (Ramírez‐Bautista et al, 2020 ; Zamora Gutierrez et al, 2018 ). It has also been suggested that insectivorous terrestrial mammals help mitigate insect‐borne diseases by reducing oviposition (Lacher et al, 2019 ).…”

“…We included the terrestrial mammals given that it is a well‐studied group playing fundamental ecological roles (Lacher et al, 2019 ) and because Mexico is exceptionally diverse in this group, hosting 463 species (12% of total worldwide), of which 30% of species are endemic (CONABIO, 2020 ). Furthermore, the taxonomic status (order of mammals) of most species has been thoroughly studied (Ramírez‐Bautista et al, 2020 ; Sánchez‐Cordero et al, 2014 ), and species assignment to functional groups of terrestrial mammals has been previously proposed (Arita & Rodríguez, 2004 ; Arnold, 1983 ; Eisenberg & Redford, 1989 ; Gómez‐Ortiz & Moreno, 2017 ; González‐Salazar et al, 2014 ; González‐Suárez et al, 2013 ; Lacher et al, 2019 ; Medellín, 1993 ; Nowak & Walker, 1999 ; Robinson & Redford, 1986 ; Violle et al, 2007 ). We used functional groups to describe their role in ecosystems (Arnold, 1983 ; Lacher et al, 2019 ; Violle et al, 2007 ).…”

Global gaps in trait data for terrestrial vertebrates

“…Species traits have been found to mediate species responses to environmental changes across diverse taxonomic groups, and thus can inform on the sensitivity of species to anthropogenic pressures (Flynn et al, 2009; Newbold et al, 2013; Nowakowski et al, 2017). Traits are now commonly used to estimate species vulnerability or extinction risks (Pacifici et al, 2015; Ramírez‐Bautista et al, 2020). As opposed to trend‐based approaches, which rely on historical population trends (changes in abundance or shifts in distributions) to predict species’ vulnerability and extinction risks, trait‐based approaches rely on species’ intrinsic sensitivity to particular threats.…”

Ecological niche modeling, niche overlap, and good old Rabinowitz’s rarities applied to the conservation of gymnosperms in a global biodiversity hotspot

“…Niche volume hypothesis posits that species that have evolved broad environmental tolerances can achieve larger geographic ranges than species with narrow environmental tolerances (Slatyer 2013). This assumption has been used in multiple studies of conservation and distribution of dissimilar lineages (Yu and Dobson 2000;Choe et al 2019;Ramírez-Bautista et al 2020), giving a conceptual framework to make multiple comparisons.…”