The Mega Problem of Large Herbivore Decline
There is a sad and important story unfolding. Climate change and human activity – including hunting,poaching, land-use change and resource depression by livestock – is closing in on the world’s megafaunaand in some corners of the globe, particularly in developing countries, many are under threat ofextinction. A growing area of research is showing that large terrestrial herbivores are crucial to ecosystems andhuman societies and their decline has cascading effects on other species. The rate of decline suggeststhat increasing areas of the world will soon lack many of the vital ecological services these animalsprovide, resulting in significant ecological and social costs…. Continue reading
