Chapitre D'ouvrage Année : 2024

Human-faunal interactions as drivers of phenotypic change in Southeast Asia

Résumé

Biodiversity is not just the number of species but one of its major aspects is the observable (or phenotypic) diversity of forms, present within and between species. This relates to biological evolution, natural selection, ecosystem functions and services, and conservation. However important it may be, phenotypic diversity is still underlooked in conservation policies, or in models of biodiversity response to anthropogenic changes. Simply put, we still have no comprehensive idea of how phenotypic diversity interacts with human impacts. In the biodiversity hotspot of Southeast Asia, where drastic changes are ongoing, as in other tropical and economically growing areas, this gap is particularly visible and damageable. Indeed, booming cities and crops can be expected to cause major disruptions in diversity, both taxonomic (number of species) and phenotypic. The latter relates directly to the collapse of ecosystemic functions and services in anthropized areas, and should therefore be a priority at all levels: political, educational and scientific. On the other hand, it also relates to the rapid capacity of some organisms to adapt to human driven change, and these adaptions themselves can become a problem for the well-being of human societies, as well adapted organisms in that commensal context might generate new risks (e.g., pathogens) to human health and economy. Here, we synthetize the standing knowledge of the influence of anthropogenic changes on phenotypic (morphological) diversity in vertebrates. With that in mind, we present a case study of five rodent species of different ecologies in Southeast Asia, with populations living in areas more or less affected by anthropization. We show some examples in which the morphology of these animals is correlated with human land use. We also show that, within populations, species adapted to living with humans have less morphological diversity than other species, probably because they tend to disperse less. These examples show that anthropo-ecosystems can modify the morphological traits and ecology of wildlife, and that middle or long-term monitoring of population traits is necessary to identify evolutionary responses to anthropic changes. The examples show that one can also take advantage of spatial herterogeneity in terms of environmental degradation to produce forecast models. We believe this should be generalized, as it is a great opportunity not only to solve fundamental questions related to evolution, but also to learn how the biosphere will change and adapte with the rapid environmental modifications of the Anthropocene. This is especially urgent in Southeast Asia due to its high biodiversity and fast anthropic changes.
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hal-04879085 , version 1 (20-01-2025)

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  • HAL Id : hal-04879085 , version 1

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Samuel Ginot, Sirikorn Sripho, Thongchai Ngarmprasertwong, Julien Claude. Human-faunal interactions as drivers of phenotypic change in Southeast Asia. On the Edge of the Sixth Mass Extinction in Biodiversity Hotspots: Facts, needs, solutions and opportunities in Thailand and adjacent countries, 2024. ⟨hal-04879085⟩
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