On the importance of the megabiota to the functioning of the biosphere

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Authors

Brian Joseph Enquist, Andrew Abraham, Michael B. J. Harfoot, Yadvinder Malhi, Christopher Doughty 

Abstract

A prominent signal of the Anthropocene is the extinction and population reduction of the megabiota – the largest animals and plants on the planet. However, we lack a predictive framework for the sensitivity of megabiota during times of rapid global change and how they impact the functioning of ecosystems and the biosphere. Here, we extend metabolic scaling theory and use global simulation models to demonstrate that the megabiota (i) are more prone to extinction due to human land use, hunting, and climate change; (ii) their loss has a negative impact on ecosystem metabolism and functioning; and (iii) their continued reduction will significantly decrease biosphere functioning. Analyses of several forest and animal datasets and large-scale simulation models largely support these predictions. Global simulations show that continued loss of large animals could lead to a 44%, 18% and 92% reduction in terrestrial heterotrophic biomass, metabolism, and fertility respectively. Landscapes with megabiota buffer ecosystem functioning, diversity, and likely human health. As a result, policies that emphasize the promotion of large trees and animals will have disproportionate impact on biodiversity, ecosystem processes, and climate mitigation.

DOI

https://doi.org/10.32942/osf.io/hn9xs

Subjects

Biodiversity, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Environmental Sciences, Life Sciences, Natural Resources and Conservation, Other Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Physical Sciences and Mathematics

Keywords

allometry, Anthropocene, conservation biology, megabiota, metabolic scaling theory, metabolism

Dates

Published: 2019-06-15 03:30

License

CC-By Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International