Skip to main content
SLU publication database (SLUpub)

Review article2011Peer reviewedOpen access

Trophic Downgrading of Planet Earth

Esters, James A.; Terborgh, John; Brashares, Justin S.; Power, Mary E.; Berger, Joel; Bond, William J.; Carpenter, Stephen R.; Essington, Timothy E.; Holt, Robert D.; Jackson, Jeremy B. C.; Marquis, Robert J.; Oksanen, Lauri; Oksanen, Tarja; Paine, Robert T.; Pikitch, Ellen K.; Ripple, William J.; Sandin, Stuart A.; Scheffer, Marten; Schoener, Thomas W.; Shurin, Jonathan B.;
Show more authors

Abstract

Until recently, large apex consumers were ubiquitous across the globe and had been for millions of years. The loss of these animals may be humankind's most pervasive influence on nature. Although such losses are widely viewed as an ethical and aesthetic problem, recent research reveals extensive cascading effects of their disappearance in marine, terrestrial, and freshwater ecosystems worldwide. This empirical work supports long-standing theory about the role of top-down forcing in ecosystems but also highlights the unanticipated impacts of trophic cascades on processes as diverse as the dynamics of disease, wildfire, carbon sequestration, invasive species, and biogeochemical cycles. These findings emphasize the urgent need for interdisciplinary research to forecast the effects of trophic downgrading on process, function, and resilience in global ecosystems.

Published in

Science
2011, Volume: 333, number: 6040, pages: 301-306
Publisher: AMER ASSOC ADVANCEMENT SCIENCE

    Sustainable Development Goals

    SDG15 Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss
    SDG14 Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development
    SDG2 End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture

    UKÄ Subject classification

    Environmental Sciences related to Agriculture and Land-use
    Environmental Sciences
    Ecology

    Publication identifier

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1205106

    Permanent link to this page (URI)

    https://res.slu.se/id/publ/58978