IUCN / SSC Cat Specialist Group - Digital Cat Library |
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| Pacifici, M.; Santini, L.; Di Marco, M.; Baisero, D.; Francucci, L.; Marasini, G.G.; Visconti, P.; Rondinini, C. | |
| Generation length for mammals | |
| 2013 Nature Conservation (5): 87-94 | |
Generation length (GL) is defined as the average age of parents of the current cohort, reflecting the turnover rate of breeding individuals in a population. GL is a fundamental piece of information for population ecology as well as for measuring species threat status (e.g. in the IUCN Red List). Here we present a dataset including GL records for all extant mammal species (n=5427). We first reviewed all data on GL published in the IUCN Red List database. We then calculated a value for species with available reproductive parameters (reproductive life span and age at first reproduction). We assigned to missing-data species a mean GL value from congeneric or confamilial species (depending on data availability). Finally, for a few remaining species, we assigned mean GL values from species with similar body mass and belonging to the same order. Our work provides the first attempt to complete a database of GL for mammals; it will be an essential reference point for all conservation-related studies that need pragmatic information on species GL, such as population dynamics and applications of the IUCN Red List assessment. |
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