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Collapse of the world's largest herbivores

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posted on 2023-06-15, 20:50 authored by William J Ripple, Thomas M Newsome, Christopher Wolf, Rodolfo Dirzo, Kristoffer T Everatt, Mauro Galetti, Matt W Hayward, Graham I H Kerley, Taal Levi, Peter A Lindsey, David W Macdonald, Yadvinder Malhi, Luke E Painter, Christopher SandomChristopher Sandom, John Terborgh, Blaire Van Van Valkenburgh
Large wild herbivores are crucial to ecosystems and human societies. We highlight the 74 largest terrestrial herbivore species on Earth (body mass =100 kg), the threats they face, their important and often overlooked ecosystem effects, and the conservation efforts needed to save them and their predators from extinction. Large herbivores are generally facing dramatic population declines and range contractions, such that ~60% are threatened with extinction. Nearly all threatened species are in developing countries, where major threats include hunting, land-use change, and resource depression by livestock. Loss of large herbivores can have cascading effects on other species including large carnivores, scavengers, mesoherbivores, small mammals, and ecological processes involving vegetation, hydrology, nutrient cycling, and fire regimes. The rate of large herbivore decline suggests that ever-larger swaths of the world will soon lack many of the vital ecological services these animals provide, resulting in enormous ecological and social costs.

History

Publication status

  • Published

File Version

  • Published version

Journal

Science Advances

ISSN

2375-2548

Publisher

American Association for the Advancement of Science

Issue

4

Volume

1

Article number

e1400103

Department affiliated with

  • Biology and Environmental Science Publications

Full text available

  • Yes

Peer reviewed?

  • Yes

Legacy Posted Date

2016-01-21

First Open Access (FOA) Date

2016-01-21

First Compliant Deposit (FCD) Date

2015-12-08

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