Despite their importance to ecosystems and people, the migrations of hooved mammals (i.e., ungulates) are vanishing across the globe. In response, we are launching a Global Initiative on Ungulate Migration (GIUM; https://www.cms.int/gium) in partnership with the Secretariat of the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (UNEP/CMS). GIUM’s mission is to advance the conservation of the world’s migratory ungulates by mapping migrations, compiling a global atlas, and conducting collaborative research. GIUM is a team of scientists and conservationists working across the world's major terrestrial regions and most if not all of its longest migrations.
Ungulate migration is a fundamental ecological process. The herbivore biomass that migration supports can strongly influence terrestrial food webs, and support large carnivore and scavenger populations as well as subsistence hunters. Additionally, when ungulates forage in large aggregations, their feces, dung, and trampling facilitate nutrient transfer that enhances habitat productivity. Despite these broad ecosystem services, ungulate migrations are vanishing across the globe. A decade ago, Harris and colleagues summarized how 6 of 24 ungulate populations that make mass migrations have already disappeared. Anecdotal accounts across the globe tell a similar story.
Rapid environmental change is the new global norm. Within the next 25 years, humans are expected to build 25 million km of new roads worldwide. Unlike their avian counterparts, ungulates cannot fly over areas characterized by heavy human development. Instead, ungulates must deal with every alteration to the landscape humans make, rendering them particularly vulnerable in today’s changing landscapes.
Fortunately, recent developments in technology and analytical methods have made it possible to map migrations for conservation purposes. More affordable, reliable, and accurate tracking devices are being developed and deployed across the globe. With relatively simple Geographical Information System analyses, migrations can be visualized along with other habitat, land use and planning maps. Barriers, potential habitat loss, road crossings, or other threats can then be identified, providing the necessary information to prioritize limited conservation dollars.
While the data are streaming in, and methods to deal with them are available (and improving), most ungulate migrations across the world have still never been mapped in enough detail to guide effective conservation. The GIUM is working collaboratively to utilize the latest GPS tracking technology, combined with local and indigenous knowledge, to map ungulate migrations and build a publicly available, global atlas. In this presentation, we will review the ecology, threats, and conservation of ungulate migration across the world, outline how to map migrations, and detail the structure and progress of GIUM.