Yousefi Masoud, Nicolaï Michaël P J, Bosso Luciano, Kafash Anooshe, Nezami Bagher, Rastegar-Pouyani Eskandar
Faculty of Governance, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran.
Biology Department, Evolution and Optics of Nanostructures Group, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium.
Sci Rep. 2025 Mar 19;15(1):9489. doi: 10.1038/s41598-025-85587-x.
Avian species provide important ecosystem services such as nutrient cycling, seed dispersal, meat provision, pest control, scavenging, and pollination. Currently, the populations of avian pollinators are declining due to climate change and human impact, and it is crucial to identify species-rich areas for their conservation. Sunbirds (Nectariniidae) are important vertebrate pollinators with a wide distribution that include Africa, Asia and Australasia. Here, we assembled distribution records of sunbird species and applied a maximum entropy approach to model sunbird habitat suitability in the world. We also quantified sunbirds composition similarity among the terrestrial biomes. We found that sunbird habitat suitability reached a peak in Southeast Asia, and in western and central parts of the African continent. Sunbird richness was highest in the Tropical and Subtropical Moist Broadleaf Forests biome. Solar Radiation Index (SRI), precipitation of the warmest quarter, and human footprint index were the most important predictors of sunbirds global habitat suitability. Geographic regions identified to have the highest suitability and richness for sunbirds have high priority for conservation of this unique group of avian pollinators and the ecological services they provide.
鸟类提供重要的生态系统服务，如养分循环、种子传播、提供肉类、控制害虫、清除腐物和授粉。目前，由于气候变化和人类影响，鸟类传粉者的数量正在下降，确定物种丰富的地区进行保护至关重要。太阳鸟（太阳鸟科）是重要的脊椎动物传粉者，分布广泛，包括非洲、亚洲和澳大拉西亚。在这里，我们收集了太阳鸟物种的分布记录，并应用最大熵方法来模拟全球太阳鸟的栖息地适宜性。我们还量化了陆地生物群落中太阳鸟组成的相似性。我们发现，太阳鸟的栖息地适宜性在东南亚以及非洲大陆的西部和中部达到峰值。太阳鸟丰富度在热带和亚热带湿润阔叶林生物群落中最高。太阳辐射指数（SRI）、最暖季度降水量和人类足迹指数是太阳鸟全球栖息地适宜性的最重要预测因子。确定为太阳鸟具有最高适宜性和丰富度的地理区域对于保护这一独特的鸟类传粉者群体及其提供的生态服务具有高度优先性。
