Malpeli Katherine C, Endyke Sarah C, Weiskopf Sarah R, Thompson Laura M, Johnson Ciara G, Kurth Katherine A, Carlin Maxfield A
U.S. Geological Survey, National Climate Adaptation Science Center, Reston, USA.
Appalachian Laboratory, University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science, College Park, USA.
Environ Evid. 2024 Apr 4;13(1):8. doi: 10.1186/s13750-024-00331-8.
Climate is an important driver of ungulate life-histories, population dynamics, and migratory behaviors. Climate conditions can directly impact ungulates via changes in the costs of thermoregulation and locomotion, or indirectly, via changes in habitat and forage availability, predation, and species interactions. Many studies have documented the effects of climate variability and climate change on North America's ungulates, recording impacts to population demographics, physiology, foraging behavior, migratory patterns, and more. However, ungulate responses are not uniform and vary by species and geography. Here, we present a systematic map describing the abundance and distribution of evidence on the effects of climate variability and climate change on native ungulates in North America.
We searched for all evidence documenting or projecting how climate variability and climate change affect the 15 ungulate species native to the U.S., Canada, Mexico, and Greenland. We searched Web of Science, Scopus, and the websites of 62 wildlife management agencies to identify relevant academic and grey literature. We screened English-language documents for inclusion at both the title and abstract and full-text levels. Data from all articles that passed full-text review were extracted and coded in a database. We identified knowledge clusters and gaps related to the species, locations, climate variables, and outcome variables measured in the literature.
We identified a total of 674 relevant articles published from 1947 until September 2020. Caribou (Rangifer tarandus), elk (Cervus canadensis), and white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) were the most frequently studied species. Geographically, more research has been conducted in the western U.S. and western Canada, though a notable concentration of research is also located in the Great Lakes region. Nearly 75% more articles examined the effects of precipitation on ungulates compared to temperature, with variables related to snow being the most commonly measured climate variables. Most studies examined the effects of climate on ungulate population demographics, habitat and forage, and physiology and condition, with far fewer examining the effects on disturbances, migratory behavior, and seasonal range and corridor habitat.
The effects of climate change, and its interactions with stressors such as land-use change, predation, and disease, is of increasing concern to wildlife managers. With its broad scope, this systematic map can help ungulate managers identify relevant climate impacts and prepare for future changes to the populations they manage. Decisions regarding population control measures, supplemental feeding, translocation, and the application of habitat treatments are just some of the management decisions that can be informed by an improved understanding of climate impacts. This systematic map also identified several gaps in the literature that would benefit from additional research, including climate effects on ungulate migratory patterns, on species that are relatively understudied yet known to be sensitive to changes in climate, such as pronghorn (Antilocapra americana) and mountain goats (Oreamnos americanus), and on ungulates in the eastern U.S. and Mexico.
气候是有蹄类动物生活史、种群动态和迁徙行为的重要驱动因素。气候条件可通过体温调节和运动成本的变化直接影响有蹄类动物，或通过栖息地、食物可获得性、捕食及物种间相互作用的变化间接影响。许多研究记录了气候变异性和气候变化对北美洲有蹄类动物的影响，记录了对种群统计学、生理学、觅食行为、迁徙模式等方面的影响。然而，有蹄类动物的反应并不一致，因物种和地理区域而异。在此，我们展示了一幅系统地图，描述了气候变异性和气候变化对北美洲本土有蹄类动物影响的证据的丰富程度和分布情况。
我们搜索了所有记录或预测气候变异性和气候变化如何影响原产于美国、加拿大、墨西哥和格陵兰的15种有蹄类动物的证据。我们在科学网、Scopus以及62个野生动物管理机构的网站上进行搜索，以识别相关的学术文献和灰色文献。我们筛选了英文文献，在标题、摘要和全文层面进行纳入评估。对所有通过全文审查的文章的数据进行提取，并编码到一个数据库中。我们确定了与文献中测量的物种、地点、气候变量和结果变量相关的知识集群和空白。
我们共识别出1947年至2020年9月发表的674篇相关文章。北美驯鹿（Rangifer tarandus）、麋鹿（Cervus canadensis）和白尾鹿（Odocoileus virginianus）是研究最频繁的物种。在地理上，美国西部和加拿大西部开展的研究更多，不过五大湖地区也有显著的研究集中地。与温度相比，研究降水对有蹄类动物影响的文章多近75%，与雪相关的变量是最常测量的气候变量。大多数研究考察了气候对有蹄类动物种群统计学、栖息地和食物以及生理学和身体状况的影响，而考察对干扰、迁徙行为以及季节性范围和走廊栖息地影响的研究要少得多。
气候变化及其与土地利用变化、捕食和疾病等压力源的相互作用，日益受到野生动物管理者的关注。凭借其广泛的范围，这幅系统地图可帮助有蹄类动物管理者识别相关的气候影响，并为他们所管理的种群未来的变化做好准备。关于种群控制措施、补充喂养、易地放归和栖息地处理应用等方面的决策，只是一些可因对气候影响有更好理解而得到信息支持的管理决策。这幅系统地图还识别出了文献中的几个空白，这些空白将受益于更多研究，包括气候对有蹄类动物迁徙模式的影响、对相对研究较少但已知对气候变化敏感的物种（如叉角羚（Antilocapra americana）和北美山羊（Oreamnos americanus））的影响，以及对美国东部和墨西哥有蹄类动物的影响。
