The DOI matches its Crossref record; 108 of the 112 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
Global decline in aggregated migrations of large terrestrial mammals
Open accessAbstract
Knowledge of mammal migrations is low, and human impacts on migrations high.This jeopardizes efforts to conserve terrestrial migrations.To aid the conservation of these migrations, we synthesized information worldwide, describing 24 large-bodied ungulates that migrate in aggregations.This synthesis includes maps of extinct and extant migrations, numbers of migrants, summaries of ecological drivers and threats migrants confront.As data are often lacking, we outlined steps for science to address and inform conservation actions.We evaluated migrants against this framework, and reported their status.Mass migrations for 6 species are extinct or unknown.Most remaining migrants (n = 9) occur from 6 locations in Africa, with Eurasia and North America containing 6 and 4 remaining mass migrants, respectively (with caribou/reindeer Rangifer tarandus occurring in both regions).All migrants declined in abundance, except wildebeest and other migrants in the Serengeti-Mara Ecosystem (SME), white-eared kob and tiang in Sudan, and some caribou populations.Protected areas only contain migrations for 5 species in the SME, chiru on the Tibetan Plateau, and some caribou populations in North America.Most mass migrants track the seasonal and shifting patterns of greening vegetation over expanses of savannahs, steppes, and grasslands.Principal threats include overhunting and habitat loss from livestock, agriculture, and fencing that excludes animals from forage or water.Conservation science overlooks numerous migrations, so many have already disappeared and continue to do so.Key principles for conserving migrants, exemplified by the SME and Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem (GYE), include securing seasonal ranges, resource protection, government support and minimizing fences.This review forms a baseline for initiating conservation action for many ungulate migrations needing attention.
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“Most of this attention has focused on habitat degradation and conspicuous physical barriers to migration (e.g., fences and roads), which have reduced prominent migratory populations (Harris et al. 2009).”
From Animal migration amid shifting patterns of phenology and predation: lessons from a Yellowstone elk herd (2013) · cites this paper as Harris et al. 2009
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“This landscape fragmentation has caused the strong decline or extinction of most large-scale migrations worldwide ( 45 ).”
From Cross-boundary human impacts compromise the Serengeti-Mara ecosystem (2019) · cites this paper as [45]
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Citations
Cites
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Future threats to biodiversity and pathways to their prevention
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A Global Deal For Nature: Guiding principles, milestones, and targets
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Linking Movement Ecology with Wildlife Management and Conservation
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A model-driven approach to quantify migration patterns: individual, regional and yearly differences
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Metadata
- Authors
- Harris, G., Thirgood, S., Hopcraft, J., Cromsight, J., & Berger, J.
- Affiliations
- American Museum of Natural History (US)
- University of Aberdeen (GB)
- University of Groningen (NL)
- University of Montana (US)
- Corresponding author
- Harris, G
- Venue
- Endangered Species Research
- Publisher
- Inter-Research Science Center
- Published
- 2009-04-21
- Volume
- 7
- Pages
- 55-76
- ISSN
- 1613-4796 (ISSN-L)
- 1863-5407
- OpenAlex
- W2100345819
- Cited by
- 419
- References
- 112
- Citations by year
- 2026: 18 · 2025: 19 · 2024: 37 · 2023: 25 · 2022: 39 · 2021: 32 · 2020: 32 · 2019: 38 · 2018: 33 · 2017: 20 · 2016: 27 · 2015: 19 · 2014: 20 · 2013: 20 · 2012: 16
- FWCI
- 11.65
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- bronze
- doi.org
- Locations
- Endangered Species Research (publishedVersion)
- ENLIGHTEN (Jurnal Bimbingan dan Konseling Islam) (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation
- Wildlife Conservation Society
- European Commission
- Zoologische Gesellschaft Frankfurt
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Ecology › Wildlife Ecology and Conservation
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Ecology › Wildlife-Road Interactions and Conservation
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Ecology › Rangeland and Wildlife Management
- Keywords
- ungulate migration, large mammals, mass migration, migration decline, seasonal range use, vegetation greening, overhunting, livestock grazing, habitat loss, fencing, protected areas, Serengeti-Mara ecosystem, Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, reindeer, wildebeest, Tibetan Plateau
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