Community ecology of mammals: deserts, islands, and anthropogenic impacts

摘要: Mammalian community ecology asks how interacting biotic and abiotic processes at local regional scales shape assembly. Throughout the 100-year history of American Society Mammalogists (ASM), mammalogists laid foundation for studying assembly by documenting presence abundance mammals across different sites through time. During past 50 years, mammalian has matured due to long-term studies, new perspectives, advanced analytical approaches. From an initial focus on communities ecological time frames, ecologists now integrate evolutionary frames. Examination patterns expanded from taxonomic diversity derived species identity incorporate phylogenetic functional diversity. Arid-land small mammal island systems provide natural laboratories examine Worldwide, small-mammal in arid lands exhibit several general trends including low α-diversity, greater β-diversity, structures comprising core transient species. Despite broad similarities conditions, relative dominance proximate structuring varies between regions differences factors such as lineages predictability resource pulses. Island studies reveal size isolation affect composition, disassembly are often simplified, compared situation mainland communities. Recent approaches document contributions speciation on, dispersal islands, Islands also serve models humans Land use practices were altering ecosystems before founding ASM, these changes have accelerated over last 100 years. Habitat conversion degradation combined with climate change redefining globally. We discuss need apply our understanding efforts restore function, structure, composition stem potentially large losses