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Biodiversity Conservation and the Earth System: Mind the Gap.

Ken Norris¹, Andrew Terry², James P Hansford³

¹Natural History Museum, Cromwell Road, South Kensington, London, SW7 5BD, UK.

Trends in Ecology & Evolution

|July 12, 2020

Summary

Large vertebrate loss, or megafauna depletion, significantly impacts global ecosystems and Earth systems. Conservation efforts must adopt a global scale to restore these vital functions.

Keywords:

Earth system biodiversity biome ecological function megafauna

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Area of Science:

Ecology
Conservation Biology
Global Change Biology

Background:

Human activities are causing a significant decline in large vertebrates (megafauna) across terrestrial and aquatic environments.
The loss of megafauna can disrupt ecosystem structure, function, and essential services at biome and Earth system scales.
Current conservation strategies often operate at spatial scales insufficient to address these large-scale impacts.

Purpose of the Study:

To highlight the profound ecological consequences of megafauna depletion.
To argue for a paradigm shift in conservation approaches.
To propose a new global strategy for megafauna recovery and ecosystem function restoration.

Main Methods:

Review of recent scientific literature on megafauna loss and its ecological impacts.
Analysis of the spatial scales relevant to megafaunal conservation.
Synthesis of arguments for a global conservation approach.

Main Results:

Megafauna depletion has far-reaching effects on ecosystem services and biogeochemical cycles.
Existing conservation frameworks are inadequate for addressing the scale of megafauna loss.
A global approach is necessary to restore functionally relevant megafaunal populations.

Conclusions:

Restoring biome and Earth system functions through megafauna recovery is critical.
A coordinated global conservation strategy is urgently needed.
Conservation science and policy must prioritize the re-establishment of megafauna populations.