Many biological characteristics have been show to correlate with current extinction risk across a variety of mammalian orders but does the type of threatening process affect which traits predispose them to extinction? We used a multivariate model to assess which biological, anthropogenic and environmental factors influence variation in current extinction risk in even-toed hoofed mammals (pigs, deer, cows, giraffes, antelope etc.). Species that experienced unregulated hunting live in significantly less economically developed areas than those that are not hunted and hunted species were more susceptible to extinction if they have slower reproductive rates. In contrast, risk in non-hunted artiodactyls was unrelated to reproductive rate and more closely associated with the economic development of the region in which they live. This study was part of my Ph.D. with John Gittleman at the University of Virginia. 

This study is the basis for an online module for high school and undergraduate students I have developed in conjunction with the Dryad data repository. It aims to teach students about extinction as an evolutionary process and a conservation concern by getting the students to analyze our data. For more information see here.

Price, S.A. & Gittleman, J.L. 2007. Hunting to extinction: biology

and regional economy influence artiodactyl extinction risk and the

impact of hunting. Proceedings of the Royal Society of Science B

274, 1845-1851.

Bison bison, an even-toed hoofed mammal that was almost hunted to extinction during the nineteenth century. It is currently listed as Near Threatened on the IUCN red list due to its dependence on an ongoing conservation programme and a very limited number of viable populations.

The combination of comprehensive spatial and temporal datasets allows us to visually explore and identify complex evolutionary patterns.  The three datasets we have used combine general ecological data with species geographic ranges, and phylogenetic information in order to elucidate the evolution of the even-toed hoofed mammals. By plotting the tree (temporal) onto the globe with the tips showing the mid-point of the species range (spatial), along with a basic habitat variable (spatial), we enable the exploration a variety of large-scale ecological and evolutionary patterns.

Judges comments

"This is the most readable and revealing entry we received: I can imagine using this to do actual work even though it encourages the neophyte to browse and learn; excellent data density." W. Bradford Paley (Designer) Digital Image Design Inc

" Elegant, lucid use of graphics." Peter Christensen (Art Curator) Museum of Modern Art, New York

Visualizing Network Dynamics competition, NetSci Conference 2007. 3rdd prize poster: Evolution of the Artiodactyla in Space and Time, Kidd, D. & Price, S. A.

Artiodactyla evolution in time and space poster, to download a pdf of the complete version click the image. This poster won 3rd prize in the Visualizing Network Dynamics competition 2007, the two entries that beat us were movies!

Identifying factors that determine parasite distributions in wild animal populations has basic and applied importance. Using phylogenetic comparative methods. Our results suggest that body mass, longevity, and social organization influence the diversity and types of parasites that infect wild populations of hoofed mammals. Furthermore, the relationships between group size and parasite species richness depends on the mating system: monogamous species with small groups have the lowest parasite species richness.

Ezenwa, V.O., Price, S. A., Altizer, S., Vitone, N. D. & Cook, K. C. 2006. Host traits and parasite species richness in even and odd-toed hoofed mammals, Artiodactyla and Perissodactyla. Oikos 115, 526-536.

Relationship between social group size and total parasite species richness for monogamous species (dark line) and polygynous species (fine line).

X                           Contact: saprice at ucdavis dot edu, Department of Evolution & Ecology, 1 Shields Avenue, UC Davis, CA 95616