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，有效的养护工作需要更好地理解创造和维持生物多样性的机制。小型哺乳动物的分布将在两个对比鲜明的山地梯度在南落基山脉，圣胡安山脉和前山脉，测试假设有关的生物多样性的维护和检测范围的变化，由于气候变化。将对每一山脉内的三个海拔样带进行调查，以记录多样性、物种分布、种群趋势、气候、食物资源和生境特征。当前的范围和历史分布在景观尺度之间的比较将确定与记录的气候changes.Knowledge结构的相互关联的过程中的变化范围的程度小哺乳动物社区将作为理解生物多样性模式和保护的基础，它将说明人类对山地系统中的物种分布的影响。该项目的更广泛影响将包括将研究纳入代表性不足的小学女生的科学教育计划，参与圣胡安倡议，将拉丁美洲和美洲土著血统的年轻人纳入科学，并积极招募代表性不足的学生参加研究。该项目将帮助培训青年科学家，并让参加PI课程的大学生积极参与。此外，还将利用一个数据储存库和一个教育外联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.