Environmental change and the ecological dynamics of Great Basin small mammals over the past century: Insights from historical museum records and modern resurveys

该项目使用历史博物馆记录和现代实地调查来评估过去一个世纪大盆地小型哺乳动物群落的变化。从重新调查的历史地点获得的“过去和现在”的比较数据，从重复摄影获得的信息，以及历史和现代气候数据，将用于区分人类土地利用和气候变化对大盆地哺乳动物的相对影响。来自红宝石山脉的初步数据揭示了过去80年来主要的动物变化。在局部地点，这些变化包括物种的明显减少或增加或物种相对丰度的变化。一些局部变化与植物群落的改变有关，反映了土地利用历史，而另一些则可能是对气候变化的直接反应。随着时间的推移，当地群落的相似性逐渐降低，动物的变化在低海拔地区最为深刻。在整个海拔上，一些喜湿物种的分布已经上移，这与对气候变化的预测响应一致。相比之下，适应干旱的物种的范围并没有扩大。土地利用、入侵物种和气候变化已经改变了整个大盆地的生物群落，现在被认为是北美最受威胁的生物地区之一。了解物种和群落如何应对环境变化需要一个长期的视角。本研究将开发利用博物馆数据来调查动物对环境变化的反应。它将为研究未来的生物变化提供额外的数据，并支持未来对区域哺乳动物的生态学、种群遗传学和生物地理学的研究。结果将与区域土地管理直接相关。该项目将支持一名博士后科学家，并将吸引大学生和志愿者参与实地研究、博物馆科学和奖学金。研究结果将支持有关环境变化的博物馆项目和k -12科学课程，以及自然历史收藏与这一重要主题的相关性。

This project uses historical museum records and modern field surveys to assess changes in the small mammal communities of the Great Basin over the past century. Comparative "then and now" data from resurveyed historical localities, information from repeat photography, and historical and modern climate data will be used to distinguish the relative impact of human land use and climate change on Great Basin mammals. Preliminary data from the Ruby Mountains reveal major faunal changes over the past 80 years. At local sites, these include the apparent loss or gain of species or changes in species relative abundance. Some local changes are associated with altered plant communities and reflect land-use history, whereas others are likely direct responses to climate change. Local community similarity has decreased over time, and faunal changes have been most profound at lower elevations. Across elevation, distributions of some moisture-loving species have shifted upslope consistent with predicted response to climate change. In contrast, ranges of arid-adapted species have not expanded.Land use, invasive species, and climate change have altered biotic communities throughout the Great Basin, now considered one of the most threatened bioregions in North America. Understanding how species and communities respond to environmental change requires a longterm perspective. This research will develop the use of museum data to investigate faunal response to environmental change. It will generate additional data for investigating future biotic change, and to support future studies on the ecology, population genetics, and biogeography of regional mammals. Results will have direct relevance for regional land management. The project will support a post-doctoral scientist and will engage university students and volunteers in field research, museum science, and scholarship. Results will support museum programs and K-12science curricula on environmental change and the relevance of natural history collections to this important topic.