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Pringle RM, Abraham JO, Anderson TM, Coverdale TC, Davies AB, Dutton CL, Gaylard A, Goheen JR, Holdo RM, Hutchinson MC, Kimuyu DM, Long RA, Subalusky AL, Veldhuis MP. Impacts of large herbivores on terrestrial ecosystems. Curr Biol 2023; 33:R584-R610. [PMID: 37279691 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2023.04.024] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 15.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
Large herbivores play unique ecological roles and are disproportionately imperiled by human activity. As many wild populations dwindle towards extinction, and as interest grows in restoring lost biodiversity, research on large herbivores and their ecological impacts has intensified. Yet, results are often conflicting or contingent on local conditions, and new findings have challenged conventional wisdom, making it hard to discern general principles. Here, we review what is known about the ecosystem impacts of large herbivores globally, identify key uncertainties, and suggest priorities to guide research. Many findings are generalizable across ecosystems: large herbivores consistently exert top-down control of plant demography, species composition, and biomass, thereby suppressing fires and the abundance of smaller animals. Other general patterns do not have clearly defined impacts: large herbivores respond to predation risk but the strength of trophic cascades is variable; large herbivores move vast quantities of seeds and nutrients but with poorly understood effects on vegetation and biogeochemistry. Questions of the greatest relevance for conservation and management are among the least certain, including effects on carbon storage and other ecosystem functions and the ability to predict outcomes of extinctions and reintroductions. A unifying theme is the role of body size in regulating ecological impact. Small herbivores cannot fully substitute for large ones, and large-herbivore species are not functionally redundant - losing any, especially the largest, will alter net impact, helping to explain why livestock are poor surrogates for wild species. We advocate leveraging a broad spectrum of techniques to mechanistically explain how large-herbivore traits and environmental context interactively govern the ecological impacts of these animals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Robert M Pringle
- Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA.
| | - Joel O Abraham
- Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA
| | - T Michael Anderson
- Department of Biology, Wake Forest University, Winston Salem, NC 27109, USA
| | - Tyler C Coverdale
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN 46556, USA; Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
| | - Andrew B Davies
- Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
| | | | | | - Jacob R Goheen
- Department of Zoology & Physiology, University of Wyoming, Laramie, WY 82072, USA
| | - Ricardo M Holdo
- Odum School of Ecology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, USA
| | - Matthew C Hutchinson
- Department of Life & Environmental Sciences, University of California Merced, Merced, CA 95343, USA
| | - Duncan M Kimuyu
- Department of Natural Resources, Karatina University, Karatina, Kenya
| | - Ryan A Long
- Department of Fish and Wildlife Sciences, University of Idaho, Moscow, ID 83844, USA
| | - Amanda L Subalusky
- Department of Biology, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA
| | - Michiel P Veldhuis
- Institute of Environmental Sciences, Leiden University, 2333 CC Leiden, The Netherlands
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Shao X, Lu Q, Xiong M, Bu H, Shi X, Wang D, Zhao J, Li S, Yao M. Prey partitioning and livestock consumption in the world's richest large carnivore assemblage. Curr Biol 2021; 31:4887-4897.e5. [PMID: 34551283 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2021.08.067] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/26/2021] [Revised: 05/13/2021] [Accepted: 08/30/2021] [Indexed: 12/26/2022]
Abstract
Large mammalian carnivores have undergone catastrophic declines during the Anthropocene across the world. Despite their pivotal roles as apex predators in food webs and ecosystem dynamics, few detailed dietary datasets of large carnivores exist, prohibiting deep understanding of their coexistence and persistence in human-dominated landscapes. Here, we present fine-scaled, quantitative trophic interactions among sympatric carnivores from three assemblages in the Mountains of Southwest China, a global biodiversity hotspot harboring the world's richest large-carnivore diversity, derived from DNA metabarcoding of 1,097 fecal samples. These assemblages comprise a large-carnivore guild ranging from zero to five species along with two mesocarnivore species. We constructed predator-prey food webs for each assemblage and identified 95 vertebrate prey taxa and 260 feeding interactions in sum. Each carnivore species consumed 6-39 prey taxa, and dietary diversity decreased with increased carnivore body mass across guilds. Dietary partitioning was more evident between large-carnivore and mesocarnivore guilds, yet different large carnivores showed divergent proportional utilization of different-sized prey correlating with their own body masses. Large carnivores particularly selected livestock in Tibetan-dominated regions, where the indigenous people show high tolerance toward wild predators. Our results suggest that dietary niche partitioning and livestock subsidies facilitate large-carnivore sympatry and persistence and have key implications for sustainable conservation promoting human-carnivore coexistence.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xinning Shao
- School of Life Sciences, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China; Institute of Ecology, College of Urban and Environmental Sciences, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China
| | - Qi Lu
- School of Life Sciences, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China; Institute of Ecology, College of Urban and Environmental Sciences, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China
| | - Mengyin Xiong
- School of Life Sciences, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China
| | - Hongliang Bu
- School of Life Sciences, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China
| | - Xiaoyun Shi
- School of Life Sciences, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China; Institute of Ecology, College of Urban and Environmental Sciences, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China
| | - Dajun Wang
- School of Life Sciences, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China
| | - Jindong Zhao
- School of Life Sciences, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China; Institute of Ecology, College of Urban and Environmental Sciences, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China
| | - Sheng Li
- School of Life Sciences, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China; Institute of Ecology, College of Urban and Environmental Sciences, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China.
| | - Meng Yao
- School of Life Sciences, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China; Institute of Ecology, College of Urban and Environmental Sciences, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China.
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Using next generation sequencing of alpine plants to improve fecal metabarcoding diet analysis for Dall's sheep. BMC Res Notes 2021; 14:173. [PMID: 33962681 PMCID: PMC8103577 DOI: 10.1186/s13104-021-05590-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/11/2021] [Accepted: 04/28/2021] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Objectives Dall’s sheep (Ovis dalli dalli) are important herbivores in the mountainous ecosystems of northwestern North America, and recent declines in some populations have sparked concern. Our aim was to improve capabilities for fecal metabarcoding diet analysis of Dall’s sheep and other herbivores by contributing new sequence data for arctic and alpine plants. This expanded reference library will provide critical reference sequence data that will facilitate metabarcoding diet analysis of Dall’s sheep and thus improve understanding of plant-animal interactions in a region undergoing rapid climate change. Data description We provide sequences for the chloroplast rbcL gene of 16 arctic-alpine vascular plant species that are known to comprise the diet of Dall’s sheep. These sequences contribute to a growing reference library that can be used in diet studies of arctic herbivores. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s13104-021-05590-z.
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McShea WJ, Sukmasuang R, Erickson DL, Herrmann V, Ngoprasert D, Bhumpakphan N, Davies SJ. Metabarcoding reveals diet diversity in an ungulate community in Thailand. Biotropica 2019. [DOI: 10.1111/btp.12720] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- William J. McShea
- Conservation Ecology Center Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute Front Royal VA USA
| | - Ronglarp Sukmasuang
- Department of Forest Biology Faculty of Forestry Kasetsart University Bangkok Thailand
| | | | - Valentine Herrmann
- Conservation Ecology Center Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute Front Royal VA USA
| | - Dusit Ngoprasert
- Conservation Ecology Program King Mongkut's University of Technology Thonburi Thailand
| | - Naris Bhumpakphan
- Department of Forest Biology Faculty of Forestry Kasetsart University Bangkok Thailand
| | - Stuart J. Davies
- ForestGeo Program Smithsonian Tropical Biology Institute Washington DC USA
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