Birds and Mammals of the St. Elias Mountain Parks: Checklist Evidence for a Biogeographic Convergence Zone
Dates
Year
2003
Citation
Danby, R. K., 2003, Birds and Mammals of the St. Elias Mountain Parks: Checklist Evidence for a Biogeographic Convergence Zone: Canadian Field-Naturalist, v. 117, no. 1, p. 1-18.
Summary
The St. Elias region of North America occupies portions of British Columbia, Alaska, and Yukon and consists of a contiguous network of protected areas. Available information on avian and mammalian diversity in each of the region's five major protected areas (Kluane National Park, Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve, Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve, Tatshenshini-Alsek Provincial Park, and Tetlin National Wildlife Refuge) was integrated to create a species checklist as part of an ongoing effort to create a region-wide ecological database for research and management purposes. Based on the tabulated data, the five protected areas combine to protect a total of 178 species of breeding birds and 51 species of terrestrial [...]
Summary
The St. Elias region of North America occupies portions of British Columbia, Alaska, and Yukon and consists of a contiguous network of protected areas. Available information on avian and mammalian diversity in each of the region's five major protected areas (Kluane National Park, Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve, Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve, Tatshenshini-Alsek Provincial Park, and Tetlin National Wildlife Refuge) was integrated to create a species checklist as part of an ongoing effort to create a region-wide ecological database for research and management purposes. Based on the tabulated data, the five protected areas combine to protect a total of 178 species of breeding birds and 51 species of terrestrial mammals. These numbers indicate a level of richness up to 30% beyond that predicted at a continental scale. A high proportion of species near their distributional limits and typical of several different biogeographic provinces appears to account for this value and supports consideration of the region as a biogeographic convergence zone.
