Why Past Mass Extinctions Didn't Break Ecosystems—But This One Might

Why past mass extinctions didn't break ecosystems—But this one might

For millions of years, large herbivores like mastodons and giant deer shaped the Earth's ecosystems, which astonishingly stayed stable despite extinctions and upheavals. A new study reveals that only twice in 60 million years did environmental shifts dramatically reorganize these systems once with a continental land bridge, and again with climate-driven habitat change. Yet the ecosystems adapted, with new species taking on old roles. Now, a thir…

Impact of large herbivore rewilding on acorn dispersal dynamics

Large herbivores drive ecosystem functions and processes through their direct or indirect impact on different habitats and wildlife communities. Some …

Why past mass extinctions didn't break ecosystems—But this one might - Conservative Angle

For millions of years, large herbivores like mastodons and giant deer shaped the Earth's ecosystems, which astonishingly stayed stable despite extinctions and upheavals. A new study reveals that only twice in 60 million years did environmental shifts dramatically reorganize these systems once with a continental land bridge, and again with climate-driven habitat change. Yet the ecosystems adapted, with new species taking on old roles. Now, a thir…