Nature Search

Meta-analysis shows that wild large herbivores shape ecosystem properties and promote spatial heterogeneity

A meta-analysis synthesizes the range of effects of megafauna on ecosystems, finding that megafauna significantly increase ecosystem heterogeneity and impact a wide range of ecosystem properties by altering soil nutrient availability, promoting open vegetation structure and reducing the abundance of smaller animals.

Jonas Trepel
Elizabeth le Roux
Jens-Christian Svenning
Research09 Feb 2024
Nature Ecology & Evolution

Volume: 8, P: 705-716
Long-term biotic homogenization in the East African Rift System over the last 6 million years of hominin evolution

Spatial beta diversity analyses of mammalian fossil records from the East African Rift System reveal long-term biotic homogenization over the last six million years, a key time frame and context for human evolution.

John Rowan
Andrew Du
Jason M. Kamilar
Research15 Jul 2024
Nature Ecology & Evolution

Volume: 8, P: 1751-1759
Worldwide Late Pleistocene and Early Holocene population declines in extant megafauna are associated with Homo sapiens expansion rather than climate change

Extinction of megafauna is a defining trend of the last 50,000 years. Here, the authors use genomic data to infer population histories of 139 extant megafauna, suggesting that their population decline is better explained by Homo sapiens expansion than by climate change.

Juraj Bergman
Rasmus Ø. Pedersen
Jens-Christian Svenning
ResearchOpen Access24 Nov 2023
Nature Communications

Volume: 14, P: 1-11
Functional traits of the world’s late Quaternary large-bodied avian and mammalian herbivores

Erick J. Lundgren
Simon D. Schowanek
Jens-Christian Svenning
ResearchOpen Access20 Jan 2021
Scientific Data

Volume: 8, P: 1-21

Quick links

Search

Filter By:

Meta-analysis shows that wild large herbivores shape ecosystem properties and promote spatial heterogeneity

Long-term biotic homogenization in the East African Rift System over the last 6 million years of hominin evolution

Worldwide Late Pleistocene and Early Holocene population declines in extant megafauna are associated with Homo sapiens expansion rather than climate change

Functional traits of the world’s late Quaternary large-bodied avian and mammalian herbivores

Search

Quick links