Less than a quarter of Earth's terrestrial ecosystems remain intact. Protected areas (PAs) are far exceeded in area by natural habitats that have been transformed for agriculture, and PAs are too small to safeguard viable wildlife populations. It is therefore imperative to understand the use of agricultural matrix habitats by native wildlife. In this study we seek to understand how the world's mammalian carnivore species (order Carnivora) use agricultural land. We assessed relationships between agroecosystem type, carnivore species traits and conservation status, and carnivore occurrence at agricultural sites, investigated the prevalent human–carnivore conflicts in anthropogenic landscapes, and identified knowledge gaps. We reviewed 129 studies reporting agroecosystem use by native carnivores to understand which agroecosystem types are used by different species, and which factors may affect their occurrence in these habitats. We uncovered records of 97 wild and two domesticated carnivore species within 41 types of crop in temperate and tropical regions that we classified into four agroecosystem types (agroforestry, tree plantations, perennial cropland, and annual cropland). Non‐threatened carnivore species were more likely to use agricultural ecosystems than threatened species. Adult body mass, energetic trophic level, and locomotion mode were significant predictors of carnivore occupancy in agricultural lands. Our results depict a globally consistent pattern, in which the use of agroecosystem landscapes by mammalian carnivores is related to both species traits and habitat quality. We emphasise the rarity of threatened carnivore and apex predator species in agroecosystems, which strengthens the paramount importance of retaining native habitat within agricultural landscapes. Understanding the role of agricultural habitat matrices, the influence of management intensification, and the threshold areas of native habitats within anthropogenic landscapes are essential for prescribing ways to prevent further erosion of the world's carnivores in human‐modified landscapes.

Neotropical mammal diversity is currently threatened by several chronic human-induced pressures. We compiled 1,029 contemporary mammal assemblages surveyed across the Neotropics to quantify the continental-scale extent and intensity of defaunation and understand their determinants based on environmental covariates. We calculated a local defaunation index for all assemblages—adjusted by a false-absence ratio—which was examined using structural equation models. We propose a hunting index based on socioenvironmental co-variables that either intensify or inhibit hunting, which we used as an additional predictor of defaunation. Mammal defaunation intensity across the Neotropics on average erased 56.5% of the local source fauna, with ungulates comprising the most ubiquitous losses. The extent of defaunation is widespread, but more incipient in hitherto relatively intact major biomes that are rapidly succumbing to encroaching deforestation frontiers. Assemblage-wide mammal body mass distribution was greatly reduced from a historical 95th-percentile of ~ 14 kg to only ~ 4 kg in modern assemblages. Defaunation and depletion of large-bodied species were primarily driven by hunting pressure and remaining habitat area. Our findings can inform guidelines to design transnational conservation policies to safeguard native vertebrates, and ensure that the “empty ecosystem” syndrome will be deterred from reaching much of the New World tropics.

Mammal feces are the primary food and nesting resource for the majority of dung beetle species, and larval development depends on the quantity and quality of that resource. Physiological necessities, competitive interactions, and resource sharing are common and suggest that dung beetles may show preferences for feces of greater nutritional quality, which may in turn impact beetle assemblages and community structure. This study investigated whether attractiveness of dung beetles to different resource (feces) types varies depending on mammal trophic guild and associated nutritional content. This study was conducted in Atlantic Forest fragments in the Parque Estadual da Serra do Tabuleiro, Santa Catarina, Brazil. To evaluate attractiveness, the feces of the carnivore Puma concolor , the omnivores Cerdocyon thous and Sapajus nigritus, and the herbivore Tapirus terrestris were utilized as bait. Dung was collected from zoo animals fed a standard diet. Sampling was performed in triplicate in five areas in the summer of 2013. Four pitfall traps were established in each area, and each trap was baited with one type of mammal feces. Food preference of the species was analyzed by calculating Rodgers’ index for cafeteria-type experiments. In total, 426 individuals from 17 species were collected. Rodgers’ index showed that omnivorous mammal feces ( C. thous ) were most attractive to all dung beetle species , although it is known that dung beetles are commonly opportunistic with respect to search for and allocation of food resources. These results suggest that mammal loss could alter competitive interactions between dung beetles.

Mammals represent the largest-bodied elements of the world’s surviving megafauna and provide several key ecosystems services, yet their populations are often under steep decline throughout the tropics. Anthropogenic defaunation is one the most important contemporary threats to modern mammal faunas. Although the Atlantic Forest biome of South America shows several clear signs of defaunation, the extent to which this biome has lost its mammal fauna remains poorly understood. Here, we collate and analyze a comprehensive body of secondary data to quantitatively assess the spatial patterns of defaunation of all medium- to large-bodied Atlantic Forest mammals which were then classed by morpho-ecological traits. We used a Defaunation Index, which was scaled-up to the entire biome using kriging interpolation, to examine the integrity of site-specific mammal faunas. We further use environmental and socioeconomic predictors to explain the drivers of defaunation. Our results show high levels of defaunation (>0.5) for most of the Atlantic Forest. Apex predators, other carnivores, large-bodied mammals and large herbivores were among the most defaunated functional groups. Remaining native vegetation cover, forest fragment size, and the largest neighboring forest remnant were the main negative predictors of defaunation. We conclude that medium- to large-bodied Atlantic Forest mammals are under high levels of threat due to historical population losses that continue today. A conservation action plan thus becomes imperative to prevent this biome from becoming an even “emptier forest”, severely compromising patterns of diversity, ecological processes and ecosystem functioning.

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Xenarthrans—anteaters, sloths, and armadillos—have essential functions for ecosystem maintenance, such as insect control and nutrient cycling, playing key roles as ecosystem engineers. Because of habitat loss and fragmentation, hunting pressure, and conflicts with domestic dogs, these species have been threatened locally, regionally, or even across their full distribution ranges. The Neotropics harbor 21 species of armadillos, 10 anteaters, and 6 sloths. Our data set includes the families Chlamyphoridae (13), Dasypodidae (7), Myrmecophagidae (3), Bradypodidae (4), and Megalonychidae (2). We have no occurrence data on Dasypus pilosus (Dasypodidae). Regarding Cyclopedidae, until recently, only one species was recognized, but new genetic studies have revealed that the group is represented by seven species. In this data paper, we compiled a total of 42,528 records of 31 species, represented by occurrence and quantitative data, totaling 24,847 unique georeferenced records. The geographic range is from the southern United States, Mexico, and Caribbean countries at the northern portion of the Neotropics, to the austral distribution in Argentina, Paraguay, Chile, and Uruguay. Regarding anteaters, Myrmecophaga tridactyla has the most records (n = 5,941), and Cyclopes sp. have the fewest (n = 240). The armadillo species with the most data is Dasypus novemcinctus (n = 11,588), and the fewest data are recorded for Calyptophractus retusus (n = 33). With regard to sloth species, Bradypus variegatus has the most records (n = 962), and Bradypus pygmaeus has the fewest (n = 12). Our main objective with Neotropical Xenarthrans is to make occurrence and quantitative data available to facilitate more ecological research, particularly if we integrate the xenarthran data with other data sets of Neotropical Series that will become available very soon (i.e., Neotropical Carnivores, Neotropical Invasive Mammals, and Neotropical Hunters and Dogs). Therefore, studies on trophic cascades, hunting pressure, habitat loss, fragmentation effects, species invasion, and climate change effects will be possible with the Neotropical Xenarthrans data set. Please cite this data paper when using its data in publications. We also request that researchers and teachers inform us of how they are using these data.

The millennial-scale evolutionary relationships between mammals and dung beetles have been eroded due to several drivers of contemporary biodiversity loss. Although some evidence of co-decline has been shown for mammals and dung beetles at some Neotropical sites, a biome-scale analysis for the entire Atlantic Forest of South America would strengthen our understanding of how relictual sets of mammal species can affect dung beetle co-occurrences and co-declines. We therefore collated hundreds of assemblages of both dung beetles and medium-to large-bodied mammals throughout the world's longest tropical forest latitudinal gradient to examine to what extent mammal assemblages may exert a positive influence on dung beetle species composition and functional assembly, and whether this relationship is scale dependent. We also collated several climatic and other environmental variables to examine the degree to which they shape mammal-dung beetle relationships. The relationships between local mammal and dung beetle faunas were examined using regression models, variation partitioning, dissimilarity indices and ecological networks. We found a clear positive relationship between mammal and dung beetle species richness across this forest biome, indicating an ongoing process of mammal-dung beetle niche-mediated co-decline. We found a strong relationship between the species composition of both taxa, in which dung beetle species dissimilarity apparently track changes in mammalian dissimilarity, typically in 80% of all cases. Co-variables such as phytomass and climatic variables also influenced mammal-dung beetle patterns of co-decline along the Atlantic Forest. We conclude that dung beetle diversity and community assembly are shaped by the remaining co-occurring mammal assemblages and their functional traits, and both groups were governed by environmental features. We emphasize that ecosystem-wide effects of mammal population declines remain poorly understood both quantitatively and qualitatively, and curbing large vertebrate defaunation will ensure the persistence of co-dependent species.

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