ArticleNature communications2022
The legacy of the extinct Neotropical megafauna on plants and biomes.
Article in Nature communications, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Who cites it
6 citing papers in PubMed.
- The complex interaction between mammalian herbivores, climate, soil and fire has shaped the evolution and distribution of plant spinescence across biogeographical realms.The New phytologist · 2026Article
- Spatiotemporal variation in top-kill agents relative to ontogenetic resprouting strategies in African savannas.Bioscience · 2026Article
- Article
- Macroecology of Abiotic Stress Tolerance in Woody Plants of the Northern Hemisphere: Tolerance Biomes and Polytolerance Hotspots.Ecology letters · 2024Article
- Evolutionary causes and consequences of ungulate migration.Nature ecology & evolution · 2022Article
- The legacy of the extinct Neotropical megafauna on plants and biomes.Nature communications · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
2 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Large mammal herbivores are important drivers of plant evolution and vegetation patterns, but the extent to which plant trait and ecosystem geography currently reflect the historical distribution of extinct megafauna is unknown. We address this question for South and Central America (Neotropical biogeographic realm) by compiling data on plant defence traits, climate, soil, and fire, as well as on the historical distribution of extinct megafauna and extant mammal herbivores. We show that historical mammal herbivory, especially by extinct megafauna, and soil fertility explain substantial variability in wood density, leaf size, spines and latex. We also identified three distinct regions (''antiherbiomes''), differing in plant defences, environmental conditions, and megafauna history. These patterns largely matched those observed in African ecosystems, where abundant megafauna still roams, and suggest that some ecoregions experienced savanna-to-forest shifts following megafauna extinctions. Here, we show that extinct megafauna left a significant imprint on current ecosystem biogeography.
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Registered trials
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