ArticleNature communications2025
Harms of introduced large herbivores outweigh benefits to native biodiversity.
Article in Nature communications, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
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.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
4 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Native and introduced megafauna have convergent effects on animals and ecosystems: a meta-analysis.Nature communications · 2026Pooled it
- Reevaluating introduced herbivores in conservation.Conservation biology : the journal of the Society for Conservation Biology · 2026Article
- A general framework for predicting the ecological effects of range expansions in marine systems.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2026Article
- Species-specific dung characteristics and selective grazing jointly affect plant diversity in an experimental grassland community.Communications biology · 2026Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Introduced species significantly impact native biodiversity worldwide, with extensive research on harms but relatively less focus on benefits. Here, using the IUCN Environmental Impact Classification for Alien Taxa (EICAT) and EICAT+ frameworks, we assess 2021 negative and positive impacts of introduced large mammalian herbivores globally. We show that negative impacts are more common, and of higher magnitude than positive impacts, i.e. affect populations, not only the performance of individuals. Native species on islands and at higher trophic level experience greater impacts. Reported impact magnitudes decline over time only for positive impacts. Most positive impacts are caused indirectly through changes in species interactions and ecosystem properties, often following negative impacts on native plants through herbivory and disturbance. We therefore advise caution regarding the intentional introduction of large mammalian herbivores for conservation purposes (rewilding, assisted colonization) without rigorous assessment of their impacts on native communities.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.