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Institute
Moving in the Anthropocene
(2018)
Animal movement is fundamental for ecosystem functioning and species survival, yet the effects of the anthropogenic footprint on animal movements have not been estimated across species. Using a unique GPS-tracking database of 803 individuals across 57 species, we found that movements of mammals in areas with a comparatively high human footprint were on average one-half to one-third the extent of their movements in areas with a low human footprint. We attribute this reduction to behavioral changes of individual animals and to the exclusion of species with long-range movements from areas with higher human impact. Global loss of vagility alters a key ecological trait of animals that affects not only population persistence but also ecosystem processes such as predator-prey interactions, nutrient cycling, and disease transmission.
Intraspecific genetic diversity and distribution of North African hedgehogs (Mammalia: Erinaceidae)
(2019)
Despite growing efforts to halt biodiversity loss, knowledge of species diversity and distribution is highly geographically biased, leaving some areas unexplored. Taxa distributed in remote, desert areas, such as hedgehogs (Mammalia; Eulipotyphla) in North Africa, are good examples of current knowledge gaps in systematics and biogeography. Here we studied the geographical distribution and intraspecific genetic diversity of hedgehogs in North Africa. Specimens belonging to North African and Eurasian species were analysed with mitochondrial (control region, CR) and nuclear (recombination activating gene 1, RAG1) gene fragments. This revealed a broader geographical distribution of Atelerix algirus in south-western Libya and of Paraechinus aethiopicus along the Atlantic Sahara. High intraspecific genetic differentiation was found in A. algirus and A. albiventris at the mitochondrial level, with nuclear haplotype sharing across their ranges. These findings suggest that biogeographical patterns of hedgehogs in North Africa are more complex than previously suggested, highlighting a need for further investigation in this remote and poorly known area.