Mongabay: Pangolin Burrows are Biodiversity Magnets in Burnt Forests, Study Shows

 



Pangolin burrows are biodiversity magnets in burnt forests, study shows


Pangolins, the world’s most trafficked mammals, hit the headlines more often for the illegal trade in their scales and meat than for their cherished role in their environment. As insectivores, these scaly anteaters feast on termites and ants and keep their numbers in check. By digging burrows with their powerful claws, they turn soil and cycle nutrients. Their abandoned burrows become home for many reptiles, birds and other small mammals.

A recent study adds new evidence to the pangolin’s role in the environment as ecosystem engineers. The study, published in the journal Global Ecology and Conservation, finds that burrows dug up by Chinese pangolins (Manis pentadactyla) encourage the growth of plants and provide shelter to surviving animals in forests devastated by fires. It presents the first qualitative evidence for pangolins’ role in accelerating the recovery of degraded ecosystems, such as burned forests.

“For a very long time, people have speculated that pangolins play a critical role in the ecosystem,” says conservation ecologist Matthew Shirley from Florida International University and co-chair of the Pangolin Specialist Group at the IUCN, the global wildlife conservation authority, who wasn’t involved in the study. But qualitative evidence for their role as ecosystem engineers has been missing because collecting such data “is a really challenging thing,” he says.

Note:  The above comes directly from their website.  Click here to read more.








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