We are indebted to the donors involved in research at AFTER and to the invaluable contribution they have made to forensic science. We thank all UTS staff and students who assisted with donor acquisition and placement. Natasha Mansfield assisted with soil sample preparation. Andrew Higgins provided expert technical advice on soil analytical procedures.PSB received funding from the Australian Research Council (DE150100026).

Summary Animal mass mortality events (MMEs) will increase with weather and climate extremes. MMEs can add significant stress to ecosystems through extraordinary nutrient pulses or contribute to potential disease transmission risks. Given their efficient removal of carrion biomass from landscapes, we argue here for the potential of scavenger guilds to be a key nature-based solution to mitigating MME effects. However, we caution that scavenger guilds alone will not be a silver bullet. It is critical for further research to identify how the composition of scavenger guilds and the magnitude of MMEs will determine when scavengers will buffer the impacts of such events on ecosystems and when intervention might be required. Some MMEs are too large for scavengers to remove efficiently, and there is a risk of MMEs subsidizing pest species, altering nutrient cycling or leading to disease spread. Prioritizing native scavenger taxa in conservation management policies may help to boost ecosystem resilience through preserving their key ecological services. This should be part of a multi-pronged approach to MME mitigation that combines scavenger conservation with practices such as carcass dispersal or removal when exceeding a threshold quantity. Policymakers are urged to identify such thresholds and to recognize both the insects and the vertebrate scavengers that could act as allies for mitigating the emerging problem of climate-driven MMEs.

Climate-driven animal mass mortality events (MMEs) will increase as the magnitude and frequency of extreme weather and climate events worsens due to climate change. Besides resulting in demographic catastrophes for affected species, MMEs adds further pressure to vulnerable ecosystems in several ways. We suggest the protection and restoration of resilient native scavenging guilds are key strategies to build climate-resilient ecosystems. Incorporating this nature-based solution into biodiversity conservation policies will ensure the efficient breakdown and recycling of carcasses back into the environment, and minimise risks of disease spillover to human and wildlife. Policy makers are urged to recognise scavengers as allies in mitigating the negative impacts of climate-driven MMEs on our ecosystems.