Australia's recently established predators restore complexity to food webs simplified by extinction.

Wooster, EIF; Middleton, OS; Wallach, AD; Ramp, D; Sanisidro, O; Harris, VK; Rowan, J; Schowanek, SD; Gordon, CE; Svenning, J-C; Davis, M; Scharlemann, JPW; Nimmo, DG; Lundgren, EJ; Sandom, CJ

Australia's recently established predators restore complexity to food webs simplified by extinction.

Wooster, EIF Middleton, OS Wallach, AD Ramp, D

Sanisidro, O Harris, VK Rowan, J Schowanek, SD Gordon, CE Svenning, J-C Davis, M Scharlemann, JPW Nimmo, DG Lundgren, EJ Sandom, CJ

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Publisher:: CELL PRESS
Publication Type:: Journal Article
Citation:: Curr Biol, 2024, 34, (22), pp. 5164-5172.e2
Issue Date:: 2024-11-18

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Field	Value	Language
dc.contributor.author	Wooster, EIF
dc.contributor.author	Middleton, OS
dc.contributor.author	Wallach, AD
dc.contributor.author	Ramp, D https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3202-9898
dc.contributor.author	Sanisidro, O
dc.contributor.author	Harris, VK
dc.contributor.author	Rowan, J
dc.contributor.author	Schowanek, SD
dc.contributor.author	Gordon, CE
dc.contributor.author	Svenning, J-C
dc.contributor.author	Davis, M
dc.contributor.author	Scharlemann, JPW
dc.contributor.author	Nimmo, DG
dc.contributor.author	Lundgren, EJ
dc.contributor.author	Sandom, CJ
dc.date.accessioned	2025-01-30T09:04:17Z
dc.date.available	2024-09-18
dc.date.available	2025-01-30T09:04:17Z
dc.date.issued	2024-11-18
dc.identifier.citation	Curr Biol, 2024, 34, (22), pp. 5164-5172.e2
dc.identifier.issn	0960-9822
dc.identifier.issn	1879-0445
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/10453/184680
dc.description.abstract	Since prehistory, humans have altered the composition of ecosystems by causing extinctions and introducing species. However, our understanding of how waves of species extinctions and introductions influence the structure and function of ecological networks through time remains piecemeal. Here, focusing on Australia, which has experienced many extinctions and introductions since the Late Pleistocene, we compared the functional trait composition of Late Pleistocene (130,00-115,000 years before present [ybp]), Holocene (11,700-3,000 ybp), and current Australian mammalian predator assemblages (≥70% vertebrate meat consumption; ≥1 kg adult body mass). We then constructed food webs for each period based on estimated prey body mass preferences. We found that introduced predators are functionally distinct from extinct Australian predators, but they rewire food webs toward a state that closely resembles the Late Pleistocene, prior to the megafauna extinctions. Both Late Pleistocene and current-day food webs consist of an apex predator and three smaller predators. This leads to food web networks with a similar total number of links, link densities, and compartmentalizations. However, this similarity depends on the presence of dingoes: in their absence, food webs become simplified and reminiscent of those following the Late Pleistocene extinctions. Our results suggest that recently established predators, even those implicated in species extinctions and declines, can restore complexity to food webs simplified by extinction.
dc.format	Print-Electronic
dc.language	eng
dc.publisher	CELL PRESS
dc.relation	http://purl.org/au-research/grants/arc/DP180100272
dc.relation.ispartof	Curr Biol
dc.relation.isbasedon	10.1016/j.cub.2024.09.049
dc.rights	info:eu-repo/semantics/closedAccess
dc.subject	06 Biological Sciences, 11 Medical and Health Sciences, 17 Psychology and Cognitive Sciences
dc.subject.classification	Developmental Biology
dc.subject.classification	31 Biological sciences
dc.subject.classification	32 Biomedical and clinical sciences
dc.subject.classification	52 Psychology
dc.subject.mesh	Food Chain
dc.subject.mesh	Animals
dc.subject.mesh	Extinction, Biological
dc.subject.mesh	Australia
dc.subject.mesh	Predatory Behavior
dc.subject.mesh	Introduced Species
dc.subject.mesh	Mammals
dc.subject.mesh	Animals
dc.subject.mesh	Mammals
dc.subject.mesh	Predatory Behavior
dc.subject.mesh	Food Chain
dc.subject.mesh	Australia
dc.subject.mesh	Extinction, Biological
dc.subject.mesh	Introduced Species
dc.subject.mesh	Food Chain
dc.subject.mesh	Animals
dc.subject.mesh	Extinction, Biological
dc.subject.mesh	Australia
dc.subject.mesh	Predatory Behavior
dc.subject.mesh	Introduced Species
dc.subject.mesh	Mammals
dc.title	Australia's recently established predators restore complexity to food webs simplified by extinction.
dc.type	Journal Article
utslib.citation.volume	34
utslib.location.activity	England
utslib.for	06 Biological Sciences
utslib.for	11 Medical and Health Sciences
utslib.for	17 Psychology and Cognitive Sciences
pubs.organisational-group	University of Technology Sydney
pubs.organisational-group	University of Technology Sydney/Provost
pubs.organisational-group	University of Technology Sydney/Provost/TD School
utslib.copyright.status	closed_access	*
dc.date.updated	2025-01-30T09:04:14Z
pubs.issue	22
pubs.publication-status	Published
pubs.volume	34
utslib.citation.issue	22

Abstract:

Since prehistory, humans have altered the composition of ecosystems by causing extinctions and introducing species. However, our understanding of how waves of species extinctions and introductions influence the structure and function of ecological networks through time remains piecemeal. Here, focusing on Australia, which has experienced many extinctions and introductions since the Late Pleistocene, we compared the functional trait composition of Late Pleistocene (130,00-115,000 years before present [ybp]), Holocene (11,700-3,000 ybp), and current Australian mammalian predator assemblages (≥70% vertebrate meat consumption; ≥1 kg adult body mass). We then constructed food webs for each period based on estimated prey body mass preferences. We found that introduced predators are functionally distinct from extinct Australian predators, but they rewire food webs toward a state that closely resembles the Late Pleistocene, prior to the megafauna extinctions. Both Late Pleistocene and current-day food webs consist of an apex predator and three smaller predators. This leads to food web networks with a similar total number of links, link densities, and compartmentalizations. However, this similarity depends on the presence of dingoes: in their absence, food webs become simplified and reminiscent of those following the Late Pleistocene extinctions. Our results suggest that recently established predators, even those implicated in species extinctions and declines, can restore complexity to food webs simplified by extinction.

Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item:

http://hdl.handle.net/10453/184680