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Cited by 197Species Distribution and Climate ChangeWildlife Ecology and ConservationEcology and Vegetation Dynamics Studies

Global correlates of range contractions and expansions in terrestrial mammals

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Pacifici, Michela, Rondinini, Carlo, Rhodes, Jonathan R., Burbidge, Andrew A., Cristiano, Andrea, Watson, James E. M., Woinarski, John C. Z., Di Marco, Moreno·2020·Nature Communications
DOI 10.1038/s41467-020-16684-wPMC PMC7275054
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Abstract

Understanding changes in species distributions is essential to disentangle the mechanisms that drive their responses to anthropogenic habitat modification. Here we analyse the past (1970s) and current (2017) distribution of 204 species of terrestrial non-volant mammals to identify drivers of recent contraction and expansion in their range. We find 106 species lost part of their past range, and 40 of them declined by >50%. The key correlates of this contraction are large body mass, increase in air temperature, loss of natural land, and high human population density. At the same time, 44 species have some expansion in their range, which correlates with small body size, generalist diet, and high reproductive rates. Our findings clearly show that human activity and life history interact to influence range changes in mammals. While the former plays a major role in determining contraction in species’ distribution, the latter is important for both contraction and expansion.

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  • Comparison among these datasets documents how the geographic concepts of species-rank mammal taxa have changed over relatively short time periods, mostly from taxonomic changes, in contrast to actual range shifts over longer periods.

    “Comparison among these datasets documents how the geographic concepts of species-rank mammal taxa have changed over relatively short time periods, mostly from taxonomic changes, in contrast to actual range shifts over longer periods (but see Pacifici et al. 2020).”

    From How many mammal species are there now? Updates and trends in taxonomic, nomenclatural, and geographic knowledge (2025) · cites this paper as Pacifici et al. 2020

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Authors
Pacifici, M., Rondinini, C., Rhodes, J. R., Burbidge, A. A., Cristiano, A., Watson, J. E. M., Woinarski, J. C. Z., & Di Marco, M.
Affiliations
  • Sapienza University of Rome (IT)
  • The University of Queensland (AU)
  • Wildlife Conservation Society (US)
  • Charles Darwin University (AU)
Corresponding author
Pacifici, Michela
ORCID
Venue
Nature Communications
Publisher
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Published
2020-06-05
Volume
11
Issue
1
Pages
2840-2840
ISSN
2041-1723 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.1038/s41467-020-16684-w
PMC
PMC7275054
OpenAlex
W3033166656
Cited by
197
References
6
Citations by year
2026: 17 · 2025: 52 · 2024: 34 · 2023: 31 · 2022: 22 · 2021: 33 · 2020: 8
FWCI
42.06
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • Nature Communications (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Northumbria Research Link (Northumbria University) (acceptedVersion)
  • IRIS Research product catalog (Sapienza University of Rome) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
  • RePEc: Research Papers in Economics (submittedVersion)
  • DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
  • Minerva Access (University of Melbourne) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
Funders
  • Centre of Excellence for Environmental Decisions, Australian Research Council
  • University of Queensland
  • Horizon 2020 Framework Programme (H2020-MSCA, H2020-MSCA-IF-2017, MSCA-IF-2017)
Topics
  • Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Ecological Modeling › Species Distribution and Climate Change
  • Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Ecology › Wildlife Ecology and Conservation
  • Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Nature and Landscape Conservation › Ecology and Vegetation Dynamics Studies
Keywords
range contraction, range expansion, terrestrial mammals, range shifts, anthropogenic habitat modification, body mass, air temperature, land loss, human population density, life-history traits, diet generalism, reproductive rate, range loss
MeSH terms
Animals, Conservation of Natural Resources, Humans, Mammals, Models, Biological, Population Density, Population Dynamics, Temperature, Body Size, Climate Change, Animal Distribution, Ecological Parameter Monitoring

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