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Ripple et al_Megafauna 6-20-16.pdf (627.14 kB)

Saving the world’s terrestrial megafauna

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posted on 2023-06-09, 02:12 authored by Christopher SandomChristopher Sandom, William J Ripple, Guillaume Chapron, José Vicente López-Bao, Sarah M Durant, David W Macdonald, Peter A Lindsey, Elizabeth L Bennett, et al
From the late Pleistocene to the Holocene, and now the so called Anthropocene, humans have been driving an ongoing series of species declines and extinctions (Dirzo et al. 2014). Large-bodied mammals are typically at a higher risk of extinction than smaller ones (Cardillo et al. 2005). However, in some circumstances terrestrial megafauna populations have been able to recover some of their lost numbers due to strong conservation and political commitment, and human cultural changes (Chapron et al. 2014). Indeed many would be in considerably worse predicaments in the absence of conservation action (Hoffmann et al. 2015). Nevertheless, most mammalian megafauna face dramatic range contractions and population declines. In fact, 59% of the world’s largest carnivores (= 15 kg, n = 27) and 60% of the world’s largest herbivores (= 100 kg, n = 74) are classified as threatened with extinction on the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List (supplemental table S1 and S2). This situation is particularly dire in sub-Saharan Africa and Southeast Asia, home to the greatest diversity of extant megafauna (figure 1). Species at risk of extinction include some of the world’s most iconic animals—such as gorillas, rhinos, and big cats (figure 2 top row)—and, unfortunately, they are vanishing just as science is discovering their essential ecological roles (Estes et al. 2011). Here, our objectives are to raise awareness of how these megafauna are imperiled (species in supplemental table S1 and S2) and to stimulate broad interest in developing specific recommendations and concerted action to conserve them.

History

Publication status

  • Published

File Version

  • Accepted version

Journal

BioScience

ISSN

0006-3568

Publisher

American Institute of Biological Sciences

Issue

10

Volume

66

Page range

807-812

Department affiliated with

  • Evolution, Behaviour and Environment Publications

Full text available

  • Yes

Peer reviewed?

  • Yes

Legacy Posted Date

2016-07-25

First Open Access (FOA) Date

2017-07-27

First Compliant Deposit (FCD) Date

2016-07-24

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