Excerpt;
Defaunation, the loss or population decline of medium and large native vertebrates represents a signifi-
cant threat to the biodiversity of tropical ecosystems. Here we review the anthropogenic drivers of def-
aunation, provide a brief historical account of the development of this field, and analyze the types of
biological consequences of this impact on the structure and functioning of tropical ecosystems. We iden-
tify how defaunation, operating at a variety of scales, from the plot to the global level, affects biological
systems along a gradient of processes ranging from plant physiology (vegetative and reproductive perfor-
mance) and animal behavior (movement, foraging and dietary patterns) in the immediate term; to plant
population and community dynamics and structure leading to disruptions of ecosystem functioning (and
thus degrading environmental services) in the short to medium term; to evolutionary changes (pheno-
typic changes and population genetic structure) in the long-term. We present such a synthesis as a pre-
amble to a series of papers that provide a compilation of our current understanding of the impact and
consequences of tropical defaunation. We close by identifying some of the most urgent needs and per-
spectives that warrant further study to improve our understanding of this field, as we confront the chal-
lenges of living in a defaunated world.
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