Introduced megafauna are rewilding the Anthropocene

Lundgren, Erick J.; Ramp, Daniel; Ripple, William J.; Wallach, Arian D.

doi:10.1111/ecog.03430

Cited by 70 publications

(80 citation statements)

References 48 publications

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“…The notion of non-native species restoring lost ecological interactions, such as seed dispersal, and functioning as surrogates of extinct or extirpated biota is not new (Gawel, Rogers, Miller, & Kerr, 2018;Lundgren, Ramp, Ripple, & Wallach, 2018). For example, frugivorous alien birds in New Zealand may be rescuing native zoochoric flora from population collapse due to extinction of native bird species (García, Martínez, Stouffer, & Tylianakis, 2014).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Seed dispersal effectiveness by a large‐bodied invasive species in defaunated landscapes

et al. 2019

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Animal‐dispersed plants are increasingly reliant on effective seed dispersal provided by small‐bodied frugivores in defaunated habitats. In the Neotropical region, the non‐native wild pig (Sus scrofa) is expanding its distribution and we hypothesized that they can be a surrogate for seed dispersal services lost by defaunation. We performed a thorough analysis of their interaction patterns, interaction frequencies, seed viability, and characteristics of the seed shadows they produce. We found 15,087 intact seeds in 56% of the stomachs and 5,186 intact seeds in 90% of the scats analyzed, 95% of which were smaller than 10 mm in diameter. Wild pigs were the third most effective disperser among 21 extant frugivore species in a feeding trail experiment in terms of quantity of seeds removed. Gut retention time was 70 ± 23 hr, indicating wild pigs can promote long‐distance seed dispersal. Seed survival after seed handling and gut passage by wild pigs was positively related with seed size, but large seeds were spat out and only smaller seeds were defecated intact, for which we observed a positive or neutral effect on germination relative to manually de‐pulped seeds. Finally, deposition of seeds was four times more frequent in unsuitable than suitable sites for seedling recruitment and establishment. Seed dispersal effectiveness by wild pigs is high in terms of the quantity of seeds dispersed but variable in terms of the quality of the service provided. Our study highlights that negative and positive effects delivered by non‐native species should be examined in a case by case scenario. Abstract in Portuguese is available with online material.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Seed dispersal effectiveness by a large‐bodied invasive species in defaunated landscapes

et al. 2019

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“…), despite that group of animals representing the only wild population of the species in the world (Lundgren et al. ). A native animal species may also be overabundant (Nugent et al.…”

Section: Overabundant Wild Herbivoresmentioning

confidence: 99%

Compassionate versus consequentialist conservation

Hampton

Warburton

Sandøe

2019

Conservation Biology

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Ethical treatment of wildlife and consideration of animal welfare have become important themes in conservation, but ethical perspectives on how best to protect wild animals and promote their welfare are diverse. There are advantages to the consequentialist harms ethical framework applied in managing wild herbivores for conservation purposes. To minimize harms while achieving conservation goals, we argue that overabundant wild herbivores should in many cases be managed through consumptive in situ killing. Advantages of this policy are that the negative welfare states imposed on animals last only a short time; remaining animals are not deprived of positive welfare states (e.g., linked to rearing offspring); poor welfare states of animals in overabundant populations are avoided (e.g., starvation); negative welfare impacts on heterospecifics through resource depletion (i.e., competition) are prevented; harvesting meat reduces the number of (agricultural) animals raised to supply meat; and minimal costs maximize funding for other wildlife management and conservation priorities. Alternative ethical approaches to our consequentialist framework include deontology (containing animal rights) and virtue ethics, some of which underpin compassionate conservation. These alternative ethical approaches emphasize the importance of avoiding intentional killing of animals but, if no population reduction occurs, are likely to impose considerable unintentional harms on overabundant wildlife and indirectly harm heterospecifics through ineffective population reduction. If nonlethal control is used, it is likely that overabundant animals would be deprived of positive welfare states and economic costs would be prohibitive. We encourage conservation stakeholders to consider animal‐welfare consequentialism as an ethical approach to minimize harms to the animals under their care as well as other animals that policies may affect while at the same time pursuing conservation goals.

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“…They are to be found, instead on invasive species lists (Lundgren et al. ). Introduced megafauna are a wonder of the Anthropocene hidden in plain sight (Fig.…”

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confidence: 99%

“…All continents have more megafauna species today than in the Holocene (Lundgren et al. ). Humans are implicated in the Pleistocene megafauna collapse (Sandom et al.…”

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confidence: 99%