DOI: 10.5061/dryad.8931zcs37
title: Data from: The effects of climate change on mesocarnivores: A global review and meta-analysis

description: Climate change is a major threat to biodiversity, affecting a wide range
 of species in different ecological networks. Higher trophic level species,
 such as mesocarnivores, are particularly affected due to bottom-up and
 top-down cascading effects. The magnitude of climate change impacts on
 mesocarnivores may vary between regions and taxonomic groups, but this
 variation is poorly understood. We reviewed 119 articles on the effects of
 climate change on mesocarnivores (Order Carnivora). We found an increase
 in studies of climate change effects over time, with canids and mustelids
 being the most studied carnivores, and herpestids, procyonids, viverrids,
 and ailurids being the least studied. Most of the identified studies were
 from Europe, followed by North and South America. Africa and Oceania had
 fewer published studies. The most common approach to assessing the impact
 of climate change on carnivores was based on the study of species spatial
 ecology and habitat use, but also on population and community ecology. We
 used 21 of those articles that used ecological niche modeling to assess
 future distribution changes as the basis for our meta-analysis. Our
 results show that although some habitat generalists, mainly canids and
 procyonids, with a wide range of habitats may benefit from climate change,
 most mesocarnivores are likely to experience range contractions. However,
 this general pattern varies among carnivore families. Species from arid
 environments, as well as those that are specialists in montane and
 tropical forests, are likely to experience the largest declines in range.
 This is especially true for species from Africa, Asia, and South America,
 as these regions are particularly vulnerable to climate change. Our study
 highlights that climate change affects carnivores in different ways and
 that there is also regional variation in impacts; therefore, conservation
 efforts to mitigate the effects of climate change should be tailored to
 each continent and species.
description: # Dryad dataset Dataset DOI:
 [10.5061/dryad.8931zcs37](10.5061/dryad.8931zcs37) ## Description of the
 data and file structure Articles used in the review and meta-analysis. ###
 Files and variables This file provides the list of reviewed articles, the
 articles used in the meta-analysis, as well as the information gathered
 from them. #### SupplementaryMaterial.xlsx Table S1 - Reviewed
 Articles: This spreadsheet compiles studies across continents on how
 carnivores respond to climate change, covering families such as
 Herpestids, Canids, Felids, and Mustelids. Research topics include
 morphometry, population dynamics, spatial ecology, and behavior. Most
 studies are from Europe, particularly on Mustelids, with several reporting
 positive or adaptive responses. In contrast, African and Asian species,
 like meerkats and mongooses, often show negative impacts. Both tested and
 inferred methods are used, reflecting a range of species-specific and
 regional responses to environmental change. Table S2 - Meta-analysis
 Data: This study evaluates the projected impacts of climate change on
 Asian carnivores with varying habitat preferences. Under both low and high
 emissions scenarios, significant range contractions are expected by 2050
 and 2070, with greater losses under high emissions and in the longer term.
 Species with narrow habitat requirements are predicted to face more severe
 declines compared to those with broader ecological flexibility. The
 consistent patterns across models and scenarios underscore the heightened
 vulnerability of habitat specialists to climate-driven habitat shifts in
 Asia. ##### Variables * Year of the prediction * Habitat Requirements *
 Continent * Carnivore Family * Climate Change Scenario ## Code/software
 The R code demonstrates how the meta-analysis was performed, both
 collectively for all the data and independently for each carnivore family.
 #### File: meta\_analysis.R R code to perform the meta analysis using the
 variables from SupplementaryMaterial.xlsx #### File:
 meta\_analysis\_families.R R code to perform the meta analysis for each
 mesocarnivore family independently, using the variables from
 SupplementaryMaterial.xlsx