Diversity and Climate Change: using elevational gradients to uncover processes underlying mammalian species distributions

栖息地破坏、资源开发和气候变化导致的快速灭绝速度使记录和理解生物多样性变得前所未有的紧迫。此外，有效的保护工作将需要更好地理解创建和维护生物多样性的机制。小型哺乳动物的分布将在落基山脉南部的两个不同的山地梯度上进行研究，即圣胡安山脉和前沿山脉，以检验与维持生物多样性有关的假设，并检测由于气候变化而引起的范围转移。将对每个山脉内的三个海拔横断面进行调查，以记录多样性、物种分布、人口趋势、气候、食物资源和栖息地特征。当前范围和历史分布在景观尺度上的比较将确定与记录的气候变化相关的范围变化的程度。有关小型哺乳动物群落结构的相互关联过程的知识将作为理解生物多样性格局及其保护的基础，并将说明人类对山地系统物种分布的影响。该项目的更广泛影响将包括将研究纳入代表不足的小学女孩的科学教育计划，参与圣胡安倡议，将拉丁美洲和美洲原住民后裔的年轻人纳入科学，以及积极招募代表不足的学生参与研究。该项目将帮助培训年轻的科学家，并让参加国际和平研究所课程的本科生积极参与。此外，将使用一个数据储存库和一个教育宣传网站来传播研究成果。

Rapid rates of extinction resulting from habitat destruction, resource exploitation, and climate change lend an unprecedented urgency to documenting and understanding biological diversity. Furthermore, effective conservation efforts will require a better comprehension of the mechanisms creating and maintaining biodiversity. Small mammal distributions will be examined on two contrasting montane gradients in the Southern Rocky Mountains, the San Juans and the Front Range, to test hypotheses related to the maintenance of biological diversity and to detect range shifts due to climate change. Three elevational transects within each mountain range will be surveyed to document diversity, species distributions, population trends, climate, food resources, and habitat characteristics. Comparisons between current ranges and historical distributions at a landscape scale will determine the degree of range shifts associated with documented climate changes.Knowledge of the interrelated processes structuring small mammal communities will serve as a foundation for understanding biodiversity patterns and their protection, and it will illustrate human impacts on species distributions in montane systems. Broader impacts of this project will include integration of the research into a science education program for under-represented grade school girls, participation in the San Juan Initiative to incorporate young people of Latin and Native American descent into science, and active recruitment of under-represented students into the research. The project will aid in the training of young scientists and involve active participation of undergraduates enrolled in the PI's classes. Additionally, a data repository and an education-outreach website will be used to disseminate research findings.