The Late-Quaternary Extinctions Gave Rise to Functionally Novel Herbivore Assemblages.

ABSTRACT: Various authors have suggested that extinctions and extirpations of large mammalian herbivores during the last ca. 50,000 years have altered ecological processes. Yet, the degree to which herbivore extinctions have influenced ecosystems has been difficult to assess because past changes in herbivore impact are difficult to measure directly. Here, we indirectly estimated changes in (theorised) herbivore impact by comparing the functional composition of current large (≥ 10 kg) mammalian herbivore assemblages to those of a no-extinction scenario. As an assemblage's functional composition determines how it interacts with its environment, changes in functional compositions should correspond to changes in ecological impacts. We quantified functional composition using the body mass, diet and life

SUBMITTER: Schowanek SD 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11906253 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature