This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies. Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: Over the past 100,000 years, hooved mammals that migrate have experienced a higher rate of extinction compared to nonmigratory species, according to a study being published Nov. 5 in the journal PLOS Biology by Joel Abraham at Princeton University, U.S., and colleagues. Animal migrations are among the most dramatic spectacles in nature.
However, human activities have disrupted many migrations by physically blocking them with roads and fences or through changes in the availability of resources, driven by climate change. As a result, many migratory species have experienced population declines or even extinction in recent decades. Yet the vulnerability of migratory species to extinction may not be a new phenomenon.
The success of migration as a strategy depends on animals' ability to accurately predict the timing and location of resources like food and water, making them vulnerable to past and present environmental change. Hooved mammals, known as ungulates, are well known for their large populations and long-distance migrations. To investigate the vulnerability of migratory ungulates to extinction, researchers used fossil evidence and data from modern-day species to infer the migratory behavior of 51 ungulates that went extinct in the last 100,000 years.
They found that 80% of ungulates that went extinct during this period were migratory. In contrast, only 46% of modern ungulates migrate. This suggests that migratory ungulates have been at greater risk of extinction during recent geological epochs.
However, statistical modeling indicated that new migratory species have also evolved more frequently. The researchers estimated that in lineages of migratory ungulates, a new species has evolved 2.8 times per million years, compared to 1.7 new species per million years for nonmigratory lineages. Finally, the researchers evaluated whether migratory ungulates that went extinct during this period had unique combinations of traits that were lost from the ecosystem as a result of their extinction.
In Africa, extinctions of migratory ungulates caused a 2.7% decline in functional diversity, but at a global level, the effect was minimal. The results indicate that migratory ungulates have experienced greater extinction rates over the last 100,000 years compared to nonmigratory species, supporting the idea that migration is a risky evolutionary strategy. With mounting pressures on migratory species due to urbanization, hunting and climate change, conservationists should prioritize migratory species, the authors say.
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