Extinction of large animals accelerates climate change – Times

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Research shows that a decrease in fruit-eating animals such as great apes, tapirs and toucans, could have a ripple effect for tree species. | Mileniusz Spanowicz-WCS -. Agency

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Hunting, illegal trafficking and forest deforestation are leading to the extinction of thousands of species of large animals around the world but we know what happens when these copies disappear? .

A study published yesterday in the journal Science warns Advances for the first time defaunation or extinction of large animals has serious implications for ecological interactions, depleted forests and accelerates climate change.

The study, conducted by Spanish researchers, Colombian and Brazilian Paulista State University (Unesp), together with scientists from England and Finland, shows that large animals maintain diversity and ecosystem services and, therefore, their disappearance has “unexpected and devastating to the environment”.

The study analyzes effects for the first time what happens when large -the frugívoros that feed mainly fruit- disappear, “which are crucial to reforestation and natural regeneration of forests, “says research professor at the Biological Station of Doñana and study co-author Pedro Jordano.

” And it is because of their diet, these animals, as the toucans, tapirs, or large primates eat lots of fruits of plants, large seeds after defecate or regurgitate back into the forest and in suitable conditions for germination. That is, they are responsible for planting the forest, “says the researcher.

This does not only favor these animals but also to forests,” is what we call an ecological interaction mutual, ie, that favors both parties. “

The study, conducted in forests of southeastern Brazil (some well preserved and others with little wildlife due to deforestation and hunting), showed that” forest areas no frugívoros have a storage capacity much less carbon than forests are well preserved, and therefore its potential to counteract the effects of climate change is much smaller, “says Jordan.

“The trees that have large seeds are large trees with dense wood, which store more carbon,” says Mauro Galetti Professor Department of Ecology Unesp.

The work is important because it shows that the loss of these animals represents a loss of ecological interactions that are crucial to the environment and generate a chain reaction.

“Not only do we face the loss of charismatic animals, we face loss of interactions that maintain the proper functioning of key ecosystem services such as carbon storage, “says Jordan.

The findings are extrapolated to the entire planet, as more than 90 percent woody species of trees and shrubs from around the world and 60 percent of Mediterranean forests depend on frugivorous for conservation, Jordan recalls.

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