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Long‐term changes in functional diversity and its implications for mammalian conservation and ecological restoration in a grassland ecosystem

Thayara S. Carrasco Orcid Logo, Catalina Pimiento Orcid Logo, Tiago B. Quental, Pedro L. Godoy

Functional Ecology

Swansea University Author: Catalina Pimiento Orcid Logo

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DOI (Published version): 10.1111/1365-2435.70378

Abstract

Paleontological data provide information on natural environments prior to human influence, which are useful for tracking changes in ecosystem functioning through time. During the Late Pleistocene, about 10% of terrestrial mammalian species were extinct in South America. Given the key ecological role...

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Published in: Functional Ecology
ISSN: 0269-8463 1365-2435
Published: Wiley 2026
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URI: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa72077
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Given the key ecological roles played by the megafauna, different approaches to ecological restoration are constantly debated. Among these, livestock has been suggested as an important factor for biodiversity maintenance and for the conservation of ecological processes, particularly in grassland ecosystems. We investigated the ecological impacts of the biodiversity loss during the Late Pleistocene extinctions, focusing on terrestrial mammals from the Brazilian Pampa as a study model. To do so, we quantified and compared the functional diversity of assemblages from the Pleistocene (pre&#x2010;extinction), Holocene (post&#x2010;extinction) and Recent (post&#x2010;extinction + introductions), and assessed whether introduced herbivores are suitable substitutes for lost species. Our results show that functional loss has outpaced taxonomic decline since the Late Pleistocene. 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spelling 2026-06-15T10:36:04.4278433 v2 72077 2026-06-15 Long‐term changes in functional diversity and its implications for mammalian conservation and ecological restoration in a grassland ecosystem 7dd222e2a1d5971b3f3963f0501a9d4f 0000-0002-5320-7246 Catalina Pimiento Catalina Pimiento true false 2026-06-15 BGPS Paleontological data provide information on natural environments prior to human influence, which are useful for tracking changes in ecosystem functioning through time. During the Late Pleistocene, about 10% of terrestrial mammalian species were extinct in South America. Given the key ecological roles played by the megafauna, different approaches to ecological restoration are constantly debated. Among these, livestock has been suggested as an important factor for biodiversity maintenance and for the conservation of ecological processes, particularly in grassland ecosystems. We investigated the ecological impacts of the biodiversity loss during the Late Pleistocene extinctions, focusing on terrestrial mammals from the Brazilian Pampa as a study model. To do so, we quantified and compared the functional diversity of assemblages from the Pleistocene (pre‐extinction), Holocene (post‐extinction) and Recent (post‐extinction + introductions), and assessed whether introduced herbivores are suitable substitutes for lost species. Our results show that functional loss has outpaced taxonomic decline since the Late Pleistocene. Introduced species, despite playing a role in filling some lost ecological functions, are mainly functionally redundant. Common domesticated livestock species, such as cattle (Bos spp.), are not functionally similar to any extinct species in this South American landscape. Conversely, some introduced species may be fulfilling ecological functions left vacant by the megafauna. From a functional perspective, we also identified current endangered species that are functionally unique and specialized. This study illustrates how paleontological data may be useful for delineating and improving conservation and ecological restoration, and highlights that future conservation decisions should prioritize species important for preserving ecosystem functions. Journal Article Functional Ecology 0 Wiley 0269-8463 1365-2435 alien species, extinction, livestock, megafauna, Pampa, Quaternary, South America 15 6 2026 2026-06-15 10.1111/1365-2435.70378 COLLEGE NANME Biosciences Geography and Physics School COLLEGE CODE BGPS Swansea University Another institution paid the OA fee Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo. Grant Number: 2024/09825-7; Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior. Grant Number: 88887.020039/2024-00. 2026-06-15T10:36:04.4278433 2026-06-15T10:30:30.8011001 Faculty of Science and Engineering School of Biosciences, Geography and Physics - Biosciences Thayara S. Carrasco 0000-0002-8890-2249 1 Catalina Pimiento 0000-0002-5320-7246 2 Tiago B. Quental 3 Pedro L. Godoy 4 72077__36966__f849bb6b32464d31bc57aea1b423fad0.pdf 1365-2435.70378.pdf 2026-06-15T10:30:30.7809641 Output 4748211 application/pdf Version of Record true © 2026 The Author(s). Functional Ecology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of British Ecological Society. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. true eng http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
title Long‐term changes in functional diversity and its implications for mammalian conservation and ecological restoration in a grassland ecosystem
spellingShingle Long‐term changes in functional diversity and its implications for mammalian conservation and ecological restoration in a grassland ecosystem
Catalina Pimiento
title_short Long‐term changes in functional diversity and its implications for mammalian conservation and ecological restoration in a grassland ecosystem
title_full Long‐term changes in functional diversity and its implications for mammalian conservation and ecological restoration in a grassland ecosystem
title_fullStr Long‐term changes in functional diversity and its implications for mammalian conservation and ecological restoration in a grassland ecosystem
title_full_unstemmed Long‐term changes in functional diversity and its implications for mammalian conservation and ecological restoration in a grassland ecosystem
title_sort Long‐term changes in functional diversity and its implications for mammalian conservation and ecological restoration in a grassland ecosystem
author_id_str_mv 7dd222e2a1d5971b3f3963f0501a9d4f
author_id_fullname_str_mv 7dd222e2a1d5971b3f3963f0501a9d4f_***_Catalina Pimiento
author Catalina Pimiento
author2 Thayara S. Carrasco
Catalina Pimiento
Tiago B. Quental
Pedro L. Godoy
format Journal article
container_title Functional Ecology
container_volume 0
publishDate 2026
institution Swansea University
issn 0269-8463
1365-2435
doi_str_mv 10.1111/1365-2435.70378
publisher Wiley
college_str Faculty of Science and Engineering
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hierarchy_top_id facultyofscienceandengineering
hierarchy_top_title Faculty of Science and Engineering
hierarchy_parent_id facultyofscienceandengineering
hierarchy_parent_title Faculty of Science and Engineering
department_str School of Biosciences, Geography and Physics - Biosciences{{{_:::_}}}Faculty of Science and Engineering{{{_:::_}}}School of Biosciences, Geography and Physics - Biosciences
document_store_str 1
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description Paleontological data provide information on natural environments prior to human influence, which are useful for tracking changes in ecosystem functioning through time. During the Late Pleistocene, about 10% of terrestrial mammalian species were extinct in South America. Given the key ecological roles played by the megafauna, different approaches to ecological restoration are constantly debated. Among these, livestock has been suggested as an important factor for biodiversity maintenance and for the conservation of ecological processes, particularly in grassland ecosystems. We investigated the ecological impacts of the biodiversity loss during the Late Pleistocene extinctions, focusing on terrestrial mammals from the Brazilian Pampa as a study model. To do so, we quantified and compared the functional diversity of assemblages from the Pleistocene (pre‐extinction), Holocene (post‐extinction) and Recent (post‐extinction + introductions), and assessed whether introduced herbivores are suitable substitutes for lost species. Our results show that functional loss has outpaced taxonomic decline since the Late Pleistocene. Introduced species, despite playing a role in filling some lost ecological functions, are mainly functionally redundant. Common domesticated livestock species, such as cattle (Bos spp.), are not functionally similar to any extinct species in this South American landscape. Conversely, some introduced species may be fulfilling ecological functions left vacant by the megafauna. From a functional perspective, we also identified current endangered species that are functionally unique and specialized. This study illustrates how paleontological data may be useful for delineating and improving conservation and ecological restoration, and highlights that future conservation decisions should prioritize species important for preserving ecosystem functions.
published_date 2026-06-15T06:03:02Z
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