Rethinking megafauna

Autor(es):Mostrar menos -

Moleon, Marcos ^{[1, 2]} ; Sanchez-Zapata, Jose A. ^[3] ; Donazar, Jose A. ^[2] ; Revilla, Eloy ^[2] ; Martin-Lopez, Berta ^[4] ; Gutierrez-Canovas, Cayetano ^[5] ; Getz, Wayne M. ^{[6, 7]} ; Morales-Reyes, Zebensui ^[3] ; Campos-Arceiz, Ahimsa ^{[8, 9]} ; Crowder, Larry B. ^[10] ; Galetti, Mauro ^{[11, 12]} ; Gonzalez-Suarez, Manuela ^[13] ; He, Fengzhi ^{[14, 15]} ; Jordano, Pedro ^[2] ; Lewison, Rebecca ^[16] ; Naidoo, Robin ^[17] ; Owen-Smith, Norman ^[18] ; Selva, Nuria ^[19] ; Svenning, Jens-Christian ^{[20, 21]} ; Tella, Jose L. ^[2] ; Zarfl, Christiane ^[22] ; Jaehnig, Sonja C. ^[15] ; Hayward, Matt W. ^{[23, 24, 25, 26]} ; Faurby, Soren ^{[27, 28]} ; Garcia, Nuria ^[29] ; Barnosky, Anthony D. ^[30] ; Tockner, Klement ^{[14, 15, 31]}

Afiliação do(s) autor(es):Mostrar menos -

^[1] Univ Granada, Dept Zool, Granada - Spain

^[2] CSIC, Dept Conservat Biol, Donana Biol Stn, Seville - Spain

^[3] Univ Miguel Hernandez, Dept Appl Biol, Elche - Spain

^[4] Leuphana Univ, Luneburg - Germany

^[5] Univ Barcelona, Dept Evolutionary Biol Ecol & Environm Sci, FEHM Lab IRBIO, Barcelona - Spain

^[6] Univ Calif Berkeley, Dept ESPM, Berkeley, CA - USA

^[7] Univ KwaZulu Natal, Sch Math Sci, Durban - South Africa

^[8] Univ Nottingham Malaysia, Sch Environm & Geog Sci, Selangor - Malaysia

^[9] Univ Nottingham Malaysia, Mindset Interdisciplinary Ctr Environm Studies, Selangor - Malaysia

^[10] Stanford Univ, Hopkins Marine Stn, Stanford, CA 94305 - USA

^[11] Univ Estadual Paulista, Inst Biociencias, Dept Ecol, Rio Claro, SP - Brazil

^[12] Univ Miami, Dept Biol, Coral Gables, FL 33124 - USA

^[13] Univ Reading, Sch Biol Sci, Ecol & Evolutionary Biol Div, Reading, Berks - England

^[14] Free Univ Berlin, Inst Biol, Berlin - Germany

^[15] Leibniz Inst Freshwater Ecol & Inland Fisheries I, Berlin - Germany

^[16] San Diego State Univ, Dept Biol, San Diego, CA 92182 - USA

^[17] WWF US, Washington, DC - USA

^[18] Univ Witwatersrand, Sch Anim Plant & Environm Sci, Johannesburg - South Africa

^[19] Polish Acad Sci, Inst Nat Conservat, Krakow - Poland

^[20] Aarhus Univ, Dept Biosci, Sect Ecoinformat & Biodivers, Aarhus C - Denmark

^[21] Ctr Biodivers Dynam Changing World BIOCHANGE, Dept Biosci, Aarhus C - Denmark

^[22] Eberhard Karls Univ Tubingen, Ctr Appl Geosci, Tubingen - Germany

^[23] Bangor Univ, Coll Nat Sci, Bangor, Gwynedd - Wales

^[24] Univ Pretoria, Ctr Wildlife Management, Pretoria - South Africa

^[25] Nelson Mandela Metropolitan Univ, Ctr African Conservat Ecol, Port Elizabeth - South Africa

^[26] Univ Newcastle, Sch Environm & Life Sci, Newcastle, NSW - Australia

^[27] Univ Gothenburg, Dept Biol & Environm Sci, Gothenburg - Sweden

^[28] Gothenburg Global Biodivers Ctr, Gothenburg - Sweden

^[29] Univ Complutense Madrid, Dept Geodynam Stratig & Paleontol, Quaternary Ecosyst, Madrid - Spain

^[30] Stanford Univ, Jasper Ridge Biol Preserve, Stanford, CA 94305 - USA

^[31] Austrian Sci Fund FWF, Vienna - Austria

• Tipo de documento: Artigo de Revisão
• Fonte: PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY B-BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES; v. 287, n. 1922 MAR 11 2020.
• Citações Web of Science: 0

Resumo

Concern for megafauna is increasing among scientists and non-scientists. Many studies have emphasized that megafauna play prominent ecological roles and provide important ecosystem services to humanity. But, what precisely are `megafauna'? Here, we critically assess the concept of megafauna and propose a goal-oriented framework for megafaunal research. First, we review definitions of megafauna and analyse associated terminology in the scientific literature. Second, we conduct a survey among ecologists and palaeontologists to assess the species traits used to identify and define megafauna. Our review indicates that definitions are highly dependent on the study ecosystem and research question, and primarily rely on ad hoc size-related criteria. Our survey suggests that body size is crucial, but not necessarily sufficient, for addressing the different applications of the term megafauna. Thus, after discussing the pros and cons of existing definitions, we propose an additional approach by defining two function-oriented megafaunal concepts: `keystone megafauna' and `functional megafauna', with its variant `apex megafauna'. Assessing megafauna from a functional perspective could challenge the perception that there may not be a unifying definition of megafauna that can be applied to all eco-evolutionary narratives. In addition, using functional definitions of megafauna could be especially conducive to cross-disciplinary understanding and cooperation, improvement of conservation policy and practice, and strengthening of public perception. As megafaunal research advances, we encourage scientists to unambiguously define how they use the term `megafauna' and to present the logic underpinning their definition. (AU)

• Processo FAPESP: 14/01986-0 - Consequências ecológicas da defaunação na Mata Atlântica
• Beneficiário: Mauro Galetti Rodrigues
• Modalidade de apoio: Auxílio à Pesquisa - Temático