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Status and ecological effects of the world's largest carnivores
journal contribution
posted on 2014-01-10, 00:00 authored by William J Ripple, James A Estes, Robert L Beschta, Christopher C Wilmers, Euan RitchieEuan Ritchie, Mark Hebblewhite, Joel Berger, Bodil Elmhagen, Mike Letnic, Michael P Nelson, Oswald J Schmitz, Douglas W Smith, Arian D Wallach, Aaron J WirsingLarge carnivores face serious threats and are experiencing massive declines in their populations and geographic ranges around the world. We highlight how these threats have affected the conservation status and ecological functioning of the 31 largest mammalian carnivores on Earth. Consistent with theory, empirical studies increasingly show that large carnivores have substantial effects on the structure and function of diverse ecosystems. Significant cascading trophic interactions, mediated by their prey or sympatric mesopredators, arise when some of these carnivores are extirpated from or repatriated to ecosystems. Unexpected effects of trophic cascades on various taxa and processes include changes to bird, mammal, invertebrate, and herpetofauna abundance or richness; subsidies to scavengers; altered disease dynamics; carbon sequestration; modified stream morphology; and crop damage. Promoting tolerance and coexistence with large carnivores is a crucial societal challenge that will ultimately determine the fate of Earth’s largest carnivores and all that depends upon them, including humans.
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Journal
ScienceVolume
343Issue
6167Article number
1241484Pagination
1 - 11Publisher
American Association for the Advancement of ScienceLocation
Washington, D.C.Publisher DOI
ISSN
0036-8075Language
engPublication classification
C Journal article; C1 Refereed article in a scholarly journalCopyright notice
2014, American Association for the Advancement of ScienceUsage metrics
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