Impacts of Land Use and Cover Change on Land Mammal Distribution Ranges Across Mexican Ecosystems

Abstract

Habitat loss due to land use change is recognized as one of the major drivers of contemporary defaunation. In this chapter, we examine tropical land mammal defaunation in Mexico from the perspective of changes in the natural land cover that represents the distribution range of a large sample (N = 252) of mammalian species. Based on a co-inertia analysis, we identified eight clusters of species based on the correlation between the configuration of the vegetation cover and the distribution ranges of mammals before and after the anthropogenic transformation of the major ecosystems of the country. We present detailed accounts of the identified clusters. Our analysis shows that species with distribution predominantly in tropical forests are considerably more challenged because tropical habitat transformation is very high (approaching 40% on average). In contrast, species that inhabit other ecosystems, mainly arid and semiarid vegetation, occur in areas where habitat transformation is lower (~20%) and their threats are consequently lower. Also, large-bodied species (with extensive habitat requirements) of restricted distribution seem to be the most impacted. However, other species that although of smaller body size, but are habitat specialists, are also at risk. We advocate for a deeper understanding of the differential resilience and susceptibility of mammals in the face of habitat transformation (and the synergies thereof with other anthropogenic impacts). Advances on this front may guide the implementation of effective conservation efforts to prevent a furthering of the country’s mammalian defaunation we document in this analysis.