Ecological correlates of extinction risk in Chinese terrestrial mammals

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AbstractAimChina is among the countries with highest mammal diversity in the world, but a considerable proportion of Chinese terrestrial mammal species is currently at risk of extinction. For effective conservation, it would be fundamental to answer the following questions: (1) Is extinction risk randomly distributed among families in Chinese terrestrial mammals? (2) If not, which families are more threatened than expected by chance? (3) What are the major ecological predictors of extinction vulnerability? (4) Does taxonomic difference exist in ecological correlates of extinction risk? (5) To what extent does anthropogenic disturbance contribute to variations in extinction risk?LocationChina.MethodsWe collected data on biological traits, environmental factors and anthropogenic disturbance for 453 Chinese terrestrial mammals. We used phylogenetically controlled regression models and model selection to identify predictors of extinction risk for the whole species set and for the three large taxonomic groups (Carnivora, Artiodactyla and Lagomorpha) separately.ResultsWe found that extinction risk was not randomly distributed among families. Seven families (old world monkeys, gibbons, cats, civets and genets, musk deer, deer and bovids) contained significantly higher proportions of threatened species than expected by chance. Geographic range size was the only factor consistently supported in all the best models for the whole species set and for three large taxonomic groups. Although considered important in the global model for the whole species set, body weight was a poor predictor of extinction risk in taxon‐specific analyses. We also detected considerable differences in ecological correlates of extinction risk among Carnivora, Artiodactyla and Lagomorpha. After controlling for phylogeny, anthropogenic disturbance was not significantly correlated with extinction risk.Main conclusionsFor effective conservation, we should pay special attention to those highly threatened families and the species with limited range size. Our results also highlight the importance of performing taxon‐specific analyses for conservation practice.