Tag: Megafauna

Horses, camels and deer get a bad rap for razing plants – but our new research shows they’re no worse than native animals

  By ,

Robert Sleep/AAP Large introduced herbivores such as feral horses and camels are often seen as “invasive” species which damage native plants. My colleagues and I published new research in Science testing this assumption and found it isn’t true. Instead, both native and introduced species of plant-eating megafauna (weighing over 45 kilos) have similar impacts on plants. The effects of introduced megafauna on plants can drive negative public sentiment towards the species. It’s time to change how we think of these animals. ……………………… The double standard of ‘harm’ It can be a shock to see the impact of feral pigs, deer,… Continue reading

The Mega Problem of Large Herbivore Decline

  By ,

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