review · Science
Large herbivorous mammals have suffered major historical losses, though introduced species have partially replaced them. Introduced herbivores are often assumed to damage plant communities more severely than native species. A meta-analysis examining thousands of plot-scale plant abundance and diversity measurements across hundreds of studies shows no evidence that herbivore impacts depend on whether an animal is native, invasive, or feral. Furthermore, introduced herbivores do not favour introduced plant species any more than native herbivores do. Instead, ecological functional traits govern these interactions. In particular, larger body sizes and bulk-feeding habits promote plant diversity. Evaluating large herbivores by their functional traits, rather than their geographic origin or evolutionary history, offers a more accurate understanding of how megafauna influence plant ecosystems.
Assumptions that introduced large animals inherently harm ecosystems can misdirect conservation policy. By showing that functional traits like body size and feeding style matter far more than geographic origin, these findings encourage land managers to evaluate wildlife by ecological roles rather than native status. This shift can guide more flexible restoration and rewilding initiatives globally.
This early-stage ecological research informs biodiversity and habitat management programmes, offering decision frameworks for conservation practitioners, rewilding enterprises, and forestry bodies. While it does not present a commercial product or near-market tool, the trait-based approach could be incorporated into ecosystem assessment models, habitat restoration planning services, and environmental offset design.
AI-generated from the published abstract. Always read the original work before citing.
Large mammalian herbivores (megafauna) have experienced extinctions and declines since prehistory. Introduced megafauna have partly counteracted these losses yet are thought to have unusually negative effects on plants compared with native megafauna. Using a meta-analysis of 3995 plot-scale plant abundance and diversity responses from 221 studies, we found no evidence that megafauna impacts were shaped by nativeness, "invasiveness," "feralness," coevolutionary history, or functional and phylogenetic novelty. Nor was there evidence that introduced megafauna facilitate introduced plants more than native megafauna. Instead, we found strong evidence that functional traits shaped megafauna impacts, with larger-bodied and bulk-feeding megafauna promoting plant diversity. Our work suggests that trait-based ecology provides better insight into interactions between megafauna and plants than do concepts of nativeness.
This page summarises published work. The authoritative version sits with the publisher.
DOI: 10.1126/science.adh2616
Is something wrong with this record? Report it or request removal.
Discussion
Have you built on this work, tried to replicate it, or seen it applied in practice? Share what you know. Verified researchers and MARATTO™ domain experts can open a discussion, and any member can reply. Contributions are reviewed before they appear.
No discussion yet. Open the first thread.
New to MARATTO™? Create a free account.
