All of the species under study have portions of their range that are at risk, but small carnivores should raise the most alarm, according to a new analysis led by Yale School of the Environment that identifies gaps in maps that help forecast range contractions for African species.
The study, which was led by YSE Knobloch Family Associate Professor of Wildlife and Land Conservation Nyeema C. Harris and published in PNAS, looked at 91 African carnivores to find out where their conservation needs to be improved.
Contrary to popular belief, Harris’ team discovered that a significant portion of the ranges of many species that are currently listed as “least concern” on the Red List of Threatened Species of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature were in danger of contracting. For instance, servals (Leptailurus serval) and common slender mongooses (Herpestes sanguineus) both have 16% of their ranges at risk of contraction, compared to 70% for Egyptian weasels (Mustela subpalmata). Harris says that the most important finding of the study is that some of the ranges of all the species it looked at are at risk of shrinking because of new threats. On average, 15% of the ranges of African carnivores are at risk.
According to Harris, “there is a growing interest in using geospatial data to inform conservation decisions, but the range maps are inaccurate.” “Traditional gap analyses do not take into account both the threats and the assets that affect population persistence across the range. By evaluating these various variables, we are introducing a novel approach.
The team’s ability to use their model to identify the number of species range contractions and variations is what she finds most surprising. The IUCN Red List says that the Ethiopian wolf (Canis simensis) and the African wild dog (Lycaon pictus) are both endangered. It was found that 33% and 3% of their ranges are at risk of shrinking.
Because these species have very small ranges with more threats than assets, Harris says there are some conservation concerns. “We were able to get new insights about species that are largely unknown or understudied,” he adds. “The model is providing us with a broader understanding and a different approach to anticipating biodiversity losses, especially for species with limited information classified as “data deficient” by the IUCN Redlist, such as the Ethiopian Genet (Genetta abyssinica, a cat-like mammal) and Pousargues’s mongoose (Dologale dybowskii), also known as the African tropical savannah mongoose.”
A third of the world’s carnivore species are found in Africa, where they survive despite anthropogenic pressures, environmental issues, and a diversity of biocultural practices. The study looks at potential conservation assets like Indigenous land distribution and cultural diversity as well as potential threats to carnivores like drought risks and exposure to urbanization or agriculture.
It draws attention to some anthropological elements that support conservation efforts. For example, protecting biodiversity is part of the customary laws and rituals of the Nharira people in central Zimbabwe.
The authors point out that “the broad inclusion of human density as inherently and exclusively an environmental stressor is not accurate.” Under various scenarios of global change, conservation can advance to a more inclusive practice and promote species ranges by seeking out, incorporating, and respecting the traditional ecological knowledge of people in places.
According to Harris, more research is required to fully develop the concept of “textured range maps,” which she refers to as variables distributed across species ranges. She points out that these initiatives can enhance current frameworks like the IUCN Red List.
She says that their model will be used to make a global assessment of carnivores, and she hopes that other researchers will use similar methods to study primates and amphibians and other groups that have a stake in conservation all over the world.
According to her, it will enable us to establish a very clear agenda regarding conservation strategy.
Siria Gámez, a doctoral student at YSE; Asia Murphy, a postdoctoral fellow at the University of California, Santa Cruz Department of Environmental Studies; Aalayna R. Green, a doctoral student in natural resources at Cornell University; Daniel M. Mwamidi, a doctoral student at the Autonomous University of Barcelona Institution of Environmental Science and Technology; and Gabriela C. Nunez-Mir, an assistant professor of biological sciences at the Uni.
Harris mentions the team of all-Black and Latina scientists and declares, “I’m very proud of the collaborators and the partners involved in this work who bring different expertise and experiences.” We are advancing conservation science by changing the narrative about who gets to ask the questions.
