Mapping out a future for ungulate migrations

• Published in: Science (American Association for the Advancement of Science) Vol. 372; no. 6542; pp. 566 - 569
• Main Authors: Kauffman, Matthew J, Cagnacci, Francesca, Chamaillé-Jammes, Simon, Hebblewhite, Mark, Hopcraft, J Grant C, Merkle, Jerod A, Mueller, Thomas, Mysterud, Atle, Peters, Wibke, Roettger, Christiane, Steingisser, Alethea, Meacham, James E, Abera, Kasahun, Adamczewski, Jan, Aikens, Ellen O, Bartlam-Brooks, Hattie, Bennitt, Emily, Berger, Joel, Boyd, Charlotte, Côté, Steeve D, Debeffe, Lucie, Dekrout, Andrea S, Dejid, Nandintsetseg, Donadio, Emiliano, Dziba, Luthando, Fagan, William F, Fischer, Claude, Focardi, Stefano, Fryxell, John M, Fynn, Richard W S, Geremia, Chris, González, Benito A, Gunn, Anne, Gurarie, Elie, Heurich, Marco, Hilty, Jodi, Hurley, Mark, Johnson, Aran, Joly, Kyle, Kaczensky, Petra, Kendall, Corinne J, Kochkarev, Pavel, Kolpaschikov, Leonid, Kowalczyk, Rafał, van Langevelde, Frank, Li, Binbin V, Lobora, Alex L, Loison, Anne, Madiri, Tinaapi H, Mallon, David, Marchand, Pascal, Medellin, Rodrigo A, Meisingset, Erling, Merrill, Evelyn, Middleton, Arthur D, Monteith, Kevin L, Morjan, Malik, Morrison, Thomas A, Mumme, Steffen, Naidoo, Robin, Novaro, Andres, Ogutu, Joseph O, Olson, Kirk A, Oteng-Yeboah, Alfred, Ovejero, Ramiro J A, Owen-Smith, Norman, Paasivaara, Antti, Packer, Craig, Panchenko, Danila, Pedrotti, Luca, Plumptre, Andrew J, Rolandsen, Christer M, Said, Sonia, Salemgareyev, Albert, Savchenko, Aleksandr, Savchenko, Piotr, Sawyer, Hall, Selebatso, Moses, Skroch, Matthew, Solberg, Erling, Stabach, Jared A, Strand, Olav, Suitor, Michael J, Tachiki, Yasuyuki, Trainor, Anne, Tshipa, Arnold, Virani, Munir Z, Vynne, Carly, Ward, Stephanie, Wittemyer, George, Xu, Wenjing, Zuther, Steffen
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States The American Association for the Advancement of Science 07.05.2021; American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
• Subjects: Biodiversity; Biodiversity and Ecology; Conservation; Ecological effects; Environmental policy; Environmental Sciences; Food chains; Food webs; Indigenous knowledge; Indigenous peoples; Local communities; Prey; Terrestrial environments; Ungulates; Wildlife; Wildlife conservation; Wildlife management
• ISSN: 0036-8075; 1095-9203
• DOI: 10.1126/science.abf0998

Limited mapping of migrations hampers conservation Migration of ungulates (hooved mammals) is a fundamental ecological process that promotes abundant herds, whose effects cascade up and down terrestrial food webs. Migratory ungulates provide the prey base that maintains large carnivore and scavenger populations and underpins terrestrial biodiversity (fig. S1). When ungulates move in large aggregations, their hooves, feces, and urine create conditions that facilitate distinct biotic communities. The migrations of ungulates have sustained humans for thousands of years, forming tight cultural links among Indigenous people and local communities. Yet ungulate migrations are disappearing at an alarming rate ( 1 ). Efforts by wildlife managers and conservationists are thwarted by a singular challenge: Most ungulate migrations have never been mapped in sufficient detail to guide effective conservation. Without a strategic and collaborative effort, many of the world's great migrations will continue to be truncated, severed, or lost in the coming decades. Fortunately, a combination of animal tracking datasets, historical records, and local and Indigenous knowledge can form the basis for a global atlas of migrations, designed to support conservation action and policy at local, national, and international levels.