野外的呼唤:青藏高原鸟类自然历史研究之挑战

The call of the wild:a challenge to reveal the natural history of birds on the Tibetan plateau

物种的自然历史是生态和进化生物学的基石,与自然保护、公众健康和文化传承密切相关.平均海拔4000 m、面积2500000 km^(2)的青藏高原是地球上独特的地理单元,其极端环境对有机体生活史的进化形成强的选择压力,并使得这里成为全球生物多样性保护的关键区域.有超过700种鸟类生活在青藏高原,但对其中90%的自然历史一无所知.揭示青藏高原鸟类的自然历史,将为深入认识物种的形成、演化及适应性提供重要数据,是中国鸟类学研究者的学术追求和义不容辞的责任.

Knowledge on the natural history of organisms is the bedrock upon which ecology and evolutionary biology stand,and contributes to natural conservation,public health and human culture.With an average elevation of more than 4000 m and a territory of 2500000 km^(2),the Tibetan plateau is the highest and largest highland on earth.The extreme environments in the plateau have imposed strong selective pressures on the evolution of organisms’life histories,leading to the biodiversity hotpots with global conservation concern.Of more than 700 bird species inhabiting the plateau,90%are unknown with respect to natural history.Without such data,many important scientific and conservative questions cannot be fully understood.Chinese ornithologists are encouraged to full up the knowledge gap.