Data from: Distribution and protection of ecological specialists in Chinese terrestrial mammals

Aim: Specialist species are characterized as species with a narrow niche
and, thus, vulnerable to environmental changes and disturbance.
Understanding the distribution of specialists is important for developing
proactive conservation strategies. Although China is among the countries
with the highest diversity of mammals, no previous studies have explored
the distribution and conservation status of specialists in Chinese
mammals. Location: China. Time period: Present day. Taxa studied: Chinese
terrestrial mammals. Methods: We assessed the distribution of three types
of specialization in Chinese terrestrial mammals: diet specialist, habitat
specialist, and extreme specialist (i.e., species that are both diet and
habitat specialist). We adopted generalized linear models to test whether
some landscape-level factors explain the variation of each type of
specialization richness. Gap analyses were conducted to assess the
conservation status of the specialists identified. Results: From a total
of 621 mammal species, 327 species were identified as specialists,
including 237, 137, and 48 species categorized as diet specialists,
habitat specialists, and extreme specialists, respectively. The mountains
in southwest China have the highest diversity of specialized terrestrial
mammals in China, regardless of the type of specialization. After
controlling for the effect of overall species richness, other hotspots
held more specialist species than expected from the overall species
richness (e.g., the Qinghai-Tibet plateau, the Junggar basin, Liaoning,
and Guangdong). High-altitude areas tended to possess more diet and
habitat specialist species. Elevation range and habitat diversity were
positively related to diet specialist richness but negatively related to
habitat specialist richness. Only 42 (12.84%) of the 327 specialist
species were adequately covered by the current protected areas. Main
conclusions: We have identified multiple hotspots of ecological
specialization in terrestrial mammals in China. The role of landscape
factors in shaping specialist richness was inconsistent among different
types of specialization. We also found a serious spatial mismatch between
specialization and current conservation efforts.