Extinction Cascades

How it works

Comparisons

Evidence quality

Highlighted claims

• Understanding extinct community disassembly requires attention to trophic-structure changes as megafauna are lost. — On the dynamics of mortality and the ephemeral nature of mammalian megafauna
• The article proposes a feedback mechanism in which megaherbivore loss increases predation intensity on remaining large herbivores. — On the dynamics of mortality and the ephemeral nature of mammalian megafauna
• Rising predation intensity can lower the threshold herbivore mass and push additional herbivore species below feasibility. — On the dynamics of mortality and the ephemeral nature of mammalian megafauna
• The model connects this mechanism to top-down dietary ratcheting and the hypercarnivore ratchet in Pleistocene extinction discussions. — On the dynamics of mortality and the ephemeral nature of mammalian megafauna