Seventy-five million years ago, the Earth was a very different place. It was the time of the dinosaurs, though it would still be several million years before some fan favorites like the T-Rex entered the scene. But already there existed an equally weird and wonderful creature called the solenodon. And unlike the dinosaurs, this creature still survives today.
The Hispaniolan solenodon roughly resembles a bunny-sized version of the Rodents of Unusual Size from the Princess Bride. And they’re thoroughly strange mammals. They produce their own venom, which they use to paralyze the scorpions, giant millipedes, tarantulas, and other scary insects that they eat. However, despite their venom and their long history as survivors, solenodons are now on the brink of extinction. And though scientists generally blame their decline on the usual suspects like habitat loss, invasive species, and climate change, nobody really knew what the main factors shaping their decline and distribution were.
Until now!
For the past five years, I have worked to figure out what determines where solenodons lived in the past, what limits where they can live now, and what that means for the future. I did this through creating species distribution models. These models link species occurrence points with environmental data to create a map of where else the species might be able to occur. So, after a summer of scouring the forests of the Dominican Republic for evidence of solenodons and many more weeks scouring the literature, I mapped out all locations where I knew solenodons lived. I then added data layers on top of these maps--things like temperature and rainfall as well as human factors like population density and land use.
The resulting models revealed some interesting trends. In the past, before humans really took over the landscape, climate was the main driver of solenodon distribution. They were distributed pretty evenly across the island, with wide swatches of suitable habitat and gentle transitions between good and less-good areas. Contrast that to their modern distribution. Today, human population density overshadows all other environmental factors in determining the solenodon's distribution. This is particularly because humans tend to bring dogs along with them, and dogs are much better at hunting than solenodons are at running away. Because humans and their dogs aren't gently and evenly distributed across the island, we see significant habitat fragmentation and more extreme differences in habitat suitability than we saw in the past.
But because humans are the reason for solenodon endangerment, we can also be the solution. My research work has been published in Conservation Biology, and I worked with conservation groups in the Dominican Republic to see how its findings can inform future conservation policies. I'm also hoping to increase local awareness about the species and its plight through creating a bilingual solenodon children's book in collaboration with illustrator Mattias Lanas. (Stay tuned for the children's book; illustration previews available below.)
So, while the solenodon is in trouble, there is still hope because of the amazing organizations and work dedicated to protecting it. And with that work, maybe the solenodon can go on to survive another 75 million years.
The Hispaniolan solenodon roughly resembles a bunny-sized version of the Rodents of Unusual Size from the Princess Bride. And they’re thoroughly strange mammals. They produce their own venom, which they use to paralyze the scorpions, giant millipedes, tarantulas, and other scary insects that they eat. However, despite their venom and their long history as survivors, solenodons are now on the brink of extinction. And though scientists generally blame their decline on the usual suspects like habitat loss, invasive species, and climate change, nobody really knew what the main factors shaping their decline and distribution were.
Until now!
For the past five years, I have worked to figure out what determines where solenodons lived in the past, what limits where they can live now, and what that means for the future. I did this through creating species distribution models. These models link species occurrence points with environmental data to create a map of where else the species might be able to occur. So, after a summer of scouring the forests of the Dominican Republic for evidence of solenodons and many more weeks scouring the literature, I mapped out all locations where I knew solenodons lived. I then added data layers on top of these maps--things like temperature and rainfall as well as human factors like population density and land use.
The resulting models revealed some interesting trends. In the past, before humans really took over the landscape, climate was the main driver of solenodon distribution. They were distributed pretty evenly across the island, with wide swatches of suitable habitat and gentle transitions between good and less-good areas. Contrast that to their modern distribution. Today, human population density overshadows all other environmental factors in determining the solenodon's distribution. This is particularly because humans tend to bring dogs along with them, and dogs are much better at hunting than solenodons are at running away. Because humans and their dogs aren't gently and evenly distributed across the island, we see significant habitat fragmentation and more extreme differences in habitat suitability than we saw in the past.
But because humans are the reason for solenodon endangerment, we can also be the solution. My research work has been published in Conservation Biology, and I worked with conservation groups in the Dominican Republic to see how its findings can inform future conservation policies. I'm also hoping to increase local awareness about the species and its plight through creating a bilingual solenodon children's book in collaboration with illustrator Mattias Lanas. (Stay tuned for the children's book; illustration previews available below.)
So, while the solenodon is in trouble, there is still hope because of the amazing organizations and work dedicated to protecting it. And with that work, maybe the solenodon can go on to survive another 75 million years.