DOI: 10.5061/dryad.f7m0cfxw3
title: Ecosystem roles and conservation status of bioturbator mammals

description: The action of biological reworking of soils is referred to as
 bioturbation, and many species of mammals globally have an important role
 in soil disturbance, modifying ecosystem characteristics. We examined
 global patterns in the distribution, conservation status, and threats to
 the world’s bioturbator mammals and illustrated the relevant roles these
 species play in ecosystem engineering related to soil processes and
 services. We searched the data available on 3932 non‐flying land‐dwelling
 mammals included in the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s
 (IUCN) Red List. Using existing literature and online databases, we
 determined that 869 (22%) of the non‐flying land‐dwelling mammals accessed
 can be considered as bioturbators in three distinct groups: foragers
 (n = 123), semi‐fossorial species
 (n = 652), and strictly fossorial species
 (n = 94). Of the world’s bioturbator mammal species, 16%
 are threatened, 2% are already Extinct, and 8% are classified as Data
 Deficient. Foragers have the highest percentage of threatened (35%) and
 Extinct (5%) species, while strictly fossorial species have the highest
 percentage of Data Deficient species (12%). Although the majority of
 bioturbator mammal species are found in Asia (32%), Oceania is the
 continent with the highest percentage of threatened (27%) and Extinct
 (11%) bioturbator species, while Central and South America have the
 highest percentage of species classified as Data Deficient (24%). The
 threats experienced by the greatest number of bioturbator mammal species
 are activities related to agriculture and aquaculture (29%), and
 biological resource use (22%). Soil bioturbation can improve ecosystem
 health by reducing soil compaction, increasing nutrient cycling, soil
 moisture, microbe diversity, plant recruitment, and carbon storage. The
 loss of bioturbator mammals could trigger cascading effects throughout the
 ecosystems they inhabit. A better understanding of their conservation
 status is important so that effective conservation measures can be
 developed.
description: From the
 available data on the 5900 species of mammals present on the International
 Union for Conservation of Nature’s (IUCN) Red List, we searched for
 land-dwelling non-volant mammal species in order to identify how many of
 these species perform bioturbator activities. We based our search only on
 the species on the IUCN Red List, since this is the most comprehensive
 inventory of the global conservation status of biological species. The
 list of species is updated regularly, but we only included information
 about species that were available from October 2018 to April 2020, when
 searches were conducted. We did not include 1968 species, due to their
 flying or marine habits, but we did include freshwater-area associated
 species and species that are mostly arboreal but also spend time on the
 ground, for example, members of the Cricetidae and Sciuridae family. This
 meant that 3932 species were assessed for bioturbation activities. We used
 books (Nowak & Walker 1999, Wilson & Mittermeier 2009) and
 online databases (Google Scholar, Microsoft Academic and WorldWideScience,
 Web of Science, ScienceDirect, Scopus, JSTOR, and IUCN Red List website)
 in order to find reliable scientific publications from the last 30 years,
 in both English and Spanish, when available. When using online databases,
 we searched one species at a time, typing the species name followed by key
 terms ‘dig’ and/or ‘burrow’, to determine whether the species could be
 considered a bioturbator mammal. Although many species occasionally dig,
 here we consider a bioturbator mammal to be a species that is either an
 obligate digger or performs regular digging activities to meet foraging,
 nesting, or shelter requirements. When a species fitted in more than one
 group, we used the group with which the bioturbation activity of the
 species was most strongly associated.