scholarly journals Discovery of the world’s highest-dwelling mammal

2020 ◽  
Vol 117 (31) ◽  
pp. 18169-18171 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jay F. Storz ◽  
Marcial Quiroga-Carmona ◽  
Juan C. Opazo ◽  
Thomas Bowen ◽  
Matthew Farson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
High Altitude ◽  
Small Mammals ◽  
Range Limits ◽  
Northern Chile ◽  
World Record ◽  
Natural Habitats ◽  
Mountain Ranges ◽  
Physiological Tolerances ◽  
Video Documentation ◽  
Environmental Limits

Environmental limits of animal life are invariably revised when the animals themselves are investigated in their natural habitats. Here we report results of a scientific mountaineering expedition to survey the high-altitude rodent fauna of Volcán Llullaillaco in the Puna de Atacama of northern Chile, an effort motivated by video documentation of mice (genusPhyllotis) at a record altitude of 6,205 m. Among numerous trapping records at altitudes of >5,000 m, we captured a specimen of the yellow-rumped leaf-eared mouse (Phyllotis xanthopygus rupestris) on the very summit of Llullaillaco at 6,739 m. This summit specimen represents an altitudinal world record for mammals, far surpassing all specimen-based records from the Himalayas and other mountain ranges. This discovery suggests that we may have generally underestimated the altitudinal range limits and physiological tolerances of small mammals simply because the world’s high summits remain relatively unexplored by biologists.

scholarly journals Discovery of the world’s highest-dwelling mammal

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jay F. Storz ◽  
Marcial Quiroga-Carmona ◽  
Juan C. Opazo ◽  
Thomas Bowen ◽  
Matthew Farson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
High Altitude ◽  
Small Mammals ◽  
Range Limits ◽  
Northern Chile ◽  
World Record ◽  
Natural Habitats ◽  
The Andes ◽  
Physiological Tolerances ◽  
Video Documentation ◽  
Environmental Limits

AbstractEnvironmental limits of animal life are invariably revised upwards when the animals themselves are investigated in their natural habitats. Here we report results of a scientific mountaineering expedition to survey the high-altitude rodent fauna of Volcán Llullaillaco in the Puna de Atacama of northern Chile, an effort motivated by video documentation of mice (genus Phyllotis) at a record altitude of 6205 m. Among numerous trapping records at altitudes >5000 m, we captured a specimen of the yellow-rumped leaf-eared mouse (Phyllotis xanthopygus rupestris) on the very summit of Llullaillaco at 6739 m. This summit specimen represents an altitudinal world record for mammals, far surpassing all specimen-based records from the Himalayas and elsewhere in the Andes. This discovery suggests that we may have generally underestimated the altitudinal range limits and physiological tolerances of small mammals simply because the world’s highest summits remain relatively unexplored by biologists.

Life on high: the diversity of small mammals at high altitude in South Africa

2012 ◽  
Vol 21 (11) ◽  
pp. 2823-2843 ◽  
Author(s):  
Armand D. Kok ◽  
Daniel M. Parker ◽  
Nigel P. Barker
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
High Altitude ◽  
Small Mammals

Amycolatopsis vastitatis sp. nov., an isolate from a high altitude subsurface soil on Cerro Chajnantor, northern Chile

2018 ◽  
Vol 111 (9) ◽  
pp. 1523-1533 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hamidah Idris ◽  
Imen Nouioui ◽  
Wasu Pathom-aree ◽  
Jean Franco Castro ◽  
Alan T. Bull ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
High Altitude ◽  
Northern Chile ◽  
Subsurface Soil

A Rare Case of Grass Flow Induced by the M8.4 Arequipa Earthquake, June 2001, in the Altiplano of Northern Chile

2005 ◽  
Vol 64 (2) ◽  
pp. 242-248 ◽  
Author(s):  
José A. Naranjo ◽  
Jorge E. Clavero
Keyword(s):  
High Altitude ◽  
Rare Case ◽  
Seismic Waves ◽  
Peak Velocity ◽  
Northern Chile ◽  
Geological Hazard ◽  
Clastic Material ◽  
Southern Peru ◽  
Flow Deposit ◽  
Slurry Flows

AbstractOn June 23, 2001, an M8.4 earthquake that originated in southern Peru triggered the partial collapse of the Chislluma bofedal (water meadows) in the Altiplano (high-altitude plateau) of northern Chile. The seismic waves evidently produced the liquefaction of the bofedal and caused its partial collapse generating a flow. The flow deposit was mainly made of long-fiber grass and water, with minor amounts of clastic material. It traveled more than 14 km downstream at a peak velocity of 50 km/h. It destroyed the water meadows and killed more than 20 llamas. Slurry flows caused by meadow liquefaction are a previously unrecognized seismic-induced geological hazard for high-altitude plateau areas such as the Altiplano.

scholarly journals Physiological tolerances account for range limits and abundance structure in an invasive slug

2009 ◽  
Vol 276 (1661) ◽  
pp. 1459-1468 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer E Lee ◽  
Charlene Janion ◽  
Elrike Marais ◽  
Bettine Jansen van Vuuren ◽  
Steven L Chown
Keyword(s):  
Laboratory Experiments ◽  
Climatic Factors ◽  
Range Limits ◽  
Sensitive Species ◽  
Species Preference ◽  
Absolute Limit ◽  
Drainage Line ◽  
Physiological Tolerances ◽  
Linear Decline ◽  
Do So

Despite the importance of understanding the mechanisms underlying range limits and abundance structure, few studies have sought to do so. Here we use a terrestrial slug species, Deroceras panormitanum , that has invaded a remote, largely predator-free, Southern Ocean island as a model system to do so. Across Marion Island, slug density does not conform to an abundant centre distribution. Rather, abundance structure is characterized by patches and gaps. These are associated with this desiccation-sensitive species' preference for biotic and drainage line habitats that share few characteristics except for their high humidity below the vegetation surface. The coastal range margin has a threshold form, rapidly rising from zero to high density. Slugs do not occur where soil-exchangeable Na values are higher than 3000 mg kg −1 , and in laboratory experiments, survival is high below this value but negligible above it. Upper elevation range margins are a function of the inability of this species to survive temperatures below an absolute limit of −6.4°C, which is regularly exceeded at 200 m altitude, above which slug density declines to zero. However, the linear decline in density from the coastal peak is probably also a function of a decline in performance or time available for activity. This is probably associated with an altitudinal decline in mean annual soil temperature. These findings support previous predictions made regarding the form of density change when substrate or climatic factors set range limits.

scholarly journals ESA SENTINEL 2 IMAGERY AND GBGEOAPP: INTEGRATED TOOLS FOR THE DEOSAI NATIONAL PARK MANAGEMENT PLAN

2020 ◽  
Vol XLIII-B3-2020 ◽  
pp. 145-151
Author(s):  
M. T. Melis ◽  
F. Dessì ◽  
P. Loddo ◽  
A. Maccioni ◽  
M. Gallo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Land Cover ◽  
High Altitude ◽  
National Park ◽  
Brown Bear ◽  
Management Plan ◽  
Environmental Data ◽  
Mountain Ranges ◽  
Land Cover Map ◽  
Gilgit Baltistan ◽  
Sentinel 2

Abstract. Deosai plateau, in the Gilgit-Baltistan Province of Pakistan, for its average elevation of 4,114 meters, is the second highest plateau in the world after Changtang Tibetan Plateau. Two biogeographically important mountain ranges merge in Deosai: the Himalayan and Karakorum–Pamir highlands. The Deosai National Park, with its first recognition in 1993, encompasses an area of about 1620 km2, with the altitude ranging from 3500 to 5200 meters a.s.l. It is known and visited by tourists for the presence of brown bear, but a large number of species of fauna and flora leave, and can be seen during the summer season. This high-altitude ecosystem is particularly fragile and can be considered a sentinel for the effects of climate changes.Due to its geographic position and high altitude, the area of Deosai has never been studied in all its ecosystem components, producing high resolution maps. The first land cover map of Deosai with 10 meters of resolution is discussed in this study. This map has been obtained from Sentinel-2 imagery and improved through the new tool developed in this study: the GBGEOApp. This application for mobile has been done with three main ambitions: the validation of the new land cover map, its improvement with land use information, and the collection of new data in the field. On the basis of the results, the use of the GBGEOApp, as a tool for validation and increasing of environmental data collection, seems to be completely applicable involving the local technicians in a process of data sharing.

New 6.5m IR-optimized, high-altitude observatory in northern Chile

SPIE Newsroom ◽  
2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kentaro Motohara ◽  
Mamoru Doi ◽  
Takashi Miyata ◽  
Takeo Minezaki ◽  
Yuzuru Yoshii
Keyword(s):  
High Altitude ◽  
Northern Chile
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