Ripple, William J, Newsome, Thomas M, Wolf, Christopher, Dirzo, Rodolfo, Everatt, Kristoffer T, Galetti, Mauro, Hayward, Matt W, Kerley, Graham I H, Levi, Taal, Lindsey, Peter A, Macdonald, David W, Malhi, Yadvinder, Painter, Luke E, Sandom, Christopher J, Terborgh, John and Van Valkenburgh, Blaire Van (2015) Collapse of the world's largest herbivores. Science Advances, 1 (4). e1400103. ISSN 2375-2548

PDF - Published Version Available under License Creative Commons Attribution. Download (2MB)

Abstract

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.

Item Type:	Article
Schools and Departments:	School of Life Sciences > Biology and Environmental Science
Subjects:	Q Science > QH Natural history > QH0001 Natural history (General) > QH0075 Nature conservation Q Science > QH Natural history > QH0301 Biology > QH0540 Ecology
Depositing User:	Christopher Sandom
Date Deposited:	21 Jan 2016 12:48
Last Modified:	11 Sep 2017 05:45
URI:	http://srodev.sussex.ac.uk/id/eprint/57897

View download statistics for this item

📧 Request an update