Why are Australian cycads endangered: pollinators, climate or humans?

该项目旨在确定澳大利亚苏铁是否受到历史进程的威胁，如古代气候变化、巨型动物灭绝、火灾制度增加和传粉者中断，或后欧洲时代环境的变化。在全球和澳大利亚，大多数苏铁物种目前被列为易危或濒危物种。欧洲人定居后的土地清理被认为是主要的威胁，但澳大利亚苏铁可能已经被限制在澳大利亚干旱或由第一批人类到来引起的景观变化之后的避难所。项目研究结果应该为一组脆弱植物的管理提供信息，并有助于我们对生物多样性维护的总体理解。

The project aims to determine whether Australian cycads were threatened by historical processes, such as ancient climate change, megafaunal extinction, increased fire regimes and pollinator disruption, or by post-European changes to their environment. Globally, and in Australia, a majority of cycad species are currently listed as vulnerable or endangered. Land-clearing post-European settlement is thought to be the major threat, but Australian cycads might already have been restricted to refugia following the aridification of Australia or landscape changes induced by the arrival of the first humans. Project findings should inform management of a group of vulnerable plants, and contribute to our understanding of the maintenance of biodiversity in general.