Journal
PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY B-BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
Volume 287, Issue 1922, Pages -Publisher
ROYAL SOC
DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2019.2643
Keywords
apex predators; body size; functional traits; keystone species; large animals; megaherbivores
Categories
Funding
- Leibniz-Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries (IGB-Berlin, Germany)
- Estacion Biologica de Donana (EBD-CSIC, Spain)
- Severo Ochoa Program for Centres of Excellence in R+D+I [SEV-2012-0262]
- research contract Ramon y Cajal from the MINECO [RYC-2015-19231]
- 'Juan de la Cierva' research contract (MINECO) [FJCI-2015-25785]
- Generalitat Valenciana
- European Social Fund [APOSTD/2019/016]
- Programa BIOTA from Fundacao de Amparo a Pesquisa do Estado de Sao Paulo [2014/01986-0]
- European Union
- National Science Center in Poland [DEC-2013/08/M/NZ9/00469]
- Carlsberg Foundation Semper Ardens project MegaPast2Future [CF16-0005]
- VILLUM Investigator project (VILLUM FONDEN) [16549]
- German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) [01LN1320A]
- [PGC2018-093925-B-C33]
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Concern for megafauna is increasing among scientists and non-scientists. Many studies have emphasized that megafauna play prominent ecological roles and provide important ecosystem services to humanity. But, what precisely are 'megafauna'? Here, we critically assess the concept of megafauna and propose a goal-oriented framework for megafaunal research. First, we review definitions of megafauna and analyse associated terminology in the scientific literature. Second, we conduct a survey among ecologists and palaeontologists to assess the species traits used to identify and define megafauna. Our review indicates that definitions are highly dependent on the study ecosystem and research question, and primarily rely on ad hoc size-related criteria. Our survey suggests that body size is crucial, but not necessarily sufficient, for addressing the different applications of the term megafauna. Thus, after discussing the pros and cons of existing definitions, we propose an additional approach by defining two function-oriented megafaunal concepts: 'keystone megafauna' and 'functional megafauna', with its variant 'apex megafauna'. Assessing megafauna from a functional perspective could challenge the perception that there may not be a unifying definition of megafauna that can be applied to all eco-evolutionary narratives. In addition, using functional definitions of megafauna could be especially conducive to cross-disciplinary understanding and cooperation, improvement of conservation policy and practice, and strengthening of public perception. As megafaunal research advances, we encourage scientists to unambiguously define how they use the term 'megafauna' and to present the logic underpinning their definition.
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