Global initiative launches first living atlas of the world’s ungulate migrations
Published: 4 September 2024
An international team of scientists, including researchers from the University of Glasgow, has launched a new Atlas of Ungulate Migration
An international team of scientists, including researchers from the University of Glasgow, has launched a new Atlas of Ungulate Migration. The online atlas is the first of its kind to provide detailed maps that reveal some of the world’s most iconic migrations and make these maps freely available to governmental officials, conservationists and the public.
Working under the auspices of the UN Convention on Migratory Species, more than 80 scientists around the world, including Professor Grant Hopcraft from the University of Glasgow’s School of Biodiversity, One Health & Veterinary Medicine, came together to analyze empirical tracking data and produce the new digital atlas after launching the Global Initiative for Ungulate Migration (GIUM) in 2020. Driven by the best-available science on ungulate migrations, the new online atlas serves as a repository for up-to-date migration maps that can inform conservation planning, infrastructure development and policymaking.
Each year, thousands of ungulates—hoofed mammals such as wildebeest, Plains zebra, Argentine guanacos, Alpine ibex, and Mongolian gazelles—undertake arduous journeys across mountains, deserts, and tundra to reach their seasonal habitats. These migrations are critical for survival, allowing animals to evade harsh conditions, access seasonal food sources, and raise their young. Notably, healthy migratory ungulate populations are also vital to human economies, supporting tourism, subsistence livelihoods, and ecosystem services.
The interactive map released today includes mapped migrations for 20 global populations but will grow to include many more. The maps detail high, medium and low-use migration corridors for a diversity of species, ranging from the iconic Serengeti wildebeest and African elephant, to the saiga of the Central Asian steppe. Most importantly, the maps illustrate where critical migration routes intersect with linear barriers like roads or railways. The new migration maps represent the best available science for extant migrations, are downloadable from the online atlas, and are accompanied by a factsheet describing each migration in detail, the data analysis, as well as its specific threats.
The University of Glasgow has been a key player in the development of the Global Atlas of Ungulate Migrations, drawing on its long-standing expertise from the Serengeti Biodiversity Program. Now led by Professor Grant Hopcraft, this program has built a comprehensive dataset over 60 years, monitoring the Serengeti's ecosystem and contributing critical insights into ungulate migrations. The University’s research in this area informs conservation strategies and also helps to train the next generation of conservation biologists. The iconic migration of wildebeest and zebra across the Serengeti, a focal point of this work, can be followed in real-time using the University of Glasgow-led Serengeti Tracker app.
Professor Hopcraft, a member of GIUM’s scientific advisory board, said: “We have reached an environmental tipping point where it’s more urgent than ever to have sound data to pinpoint exactly where to direct conservation efforts that can make the most impact for migratory wildlife.”
In February 2024, the United Nations released its first ever State of Migratory Species Report, which stated that 22% of the world’s migratory species are in decline, highlighting the urgency of GIUM’s work.
Central Asian countries like Kazakhstan and Mongolia are hotspots for infrastructure development, where foreign investors are funding railways and new trade routes. Yet, researchers suggest there is room to guide this development through monitoring and mapping animal movements, creating wildlife friendly solutions for development and conservation.
When a migration has been mapped in detail, local governments and NGOs can prioritize wildlife-road crossings or other conservation measures that may ease the travels of migratory herds amid rapid global change. In North America and Europe, collaborative efforts are using corridor maps to target fences for modification or removal, site road-crossing structures, adjust energy development footprints, and focus conservation efforts on working lands. In the hands of local governments and conservation practitioners, the migration maps are key to finding on-the-ground solutions to keep these vital corridors open and functional amid ongoing development.
Proactive conservation planning may come in part through CMS’s in-country focal points. CMS has dedicated national focal points in each country that is party to the treaty, which can serve as ambassadors for the atlas within their countries’ government agencies. GIUM is working with focal points to raise awareness of the atlas and identify strategic ways to use data to inform planning and policy.
In addition to the U.N. Convention on Migratory Species and its focal points, GIUM is working with Wildlife Conservation Society, the World Wildlife Fund and the World Bank, among others, to provide easy access to the maps and disseminate information on critical migration corridors.
Moving forward, GIUM will be expanding the atlas by adding more corridor maps for many migratory populations not yet represented. The collaboration, which draws on work and expertise from over 50 institutions worldwide, aims to stimulate research on threats common to migratory ungulates and work with government and NGO partners to effectively utilize the available maps to promote wildlife conservation.
Enquiries: ali.howard@glasgow.ac.uk or elizabeth.mcmeekin@glasgow.ac.uk
First published: 4 September 2024