Wardle, David
- Institutionen för skogens ekologi och skötsel, Sveriges lantbruksuniversitet
Sammanfattning
Until recently, large apex consumers were ubiquitous across the globe and had been for millions of years. The loss of these animals may be humankind's most pervasive influence on nature. Although such losses are widely viewed as an ethical and aesthetic problem, recent research reveals extensive cascading effects of their disappearance in marine, terrestrial, and freshwater ecosystems worldwide. This empirical work supports long-standing theory about the role of top-down forcing in ecosystems but also highlights the unanticipated impacts of trophic cascades on processes as diverse as the dynamics of disease, wildfire, carbon sequestration, invasive species, and biogeochemical cycles. These findings emphasize the urgent need for interdisciplinary research to forecast the effects of trophic downgrading on process, function, and resilience in global ecosystems.
Publicerad i
Science
2011, volym: 333, nummer: 6040, sidor: 301-306
Utgivare: AMER ASSOC ADVANCEMENT SCIENCE
SLU författare
Globala målen (SDG)
SDG2 Ingen hunger
SDG14 Hav och marina resurser
SDG15 Ekosystem och biologisk mångfald
UKÄ forskningsämne
Miljö- och naturvårdsvetenskap
Miljövetenskap
Ekologi
Publikationens identifierare
- DOI: https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1205106
Permanent länk till denna sida (URI)
https://res.slu.se/id/publ/58978