Skip to main content
Journal cover image

Trophic downgrading of planet Earth.

Publication ,  Journal Article
Estes, JA; Terborgh, J; Brashares, JS; Power, ME; Berger, J; Bond, WJ; Carpenter, SR; Essington, TE; Holt, RD; Jackson, JBC; Marquis, RJ ...
Published in: Science (New York, N.Y.)
July 2011

Until recently, large apex consumers were ubiquitous across the globe and had been for millions of years. The loss of these animals may be humankind's most pervasive influence on nature. Although such losses are widely viewed as an ethical and aesthetic problem, recent research reveals extensive cascading effects of their disappearance in marine, terrestrial, and freshwater ecosystems worldwide. This empirical work supports long-standing theory about the role of top-down forcing in ecosystems but also highlights the unanticipated impacts of trophic cascades on processes as diverse as the dynamics of disease, wildfire, carbon sequestration, invasive species, and biogeochemical cycles. These findings emphasize the urgent need for interdisciplinary research to forecast the effects of trophic downgrading on process, function, and resilience in global ecosystems.

Duke Scholars

Altmetric Attention Stats
Dimensions Citation Stats

Published In

Science (New York, N.Y.)

DOI

EISSN

1095-9203

ISSN

0036-8075

Publication Date

July 2011

Volume

333

Issue

6040

Start / End Page

301 / 306

Related Subject Headings

  • Predatory Behavior
  • Population Dynamics
  • Introduced Species
  • Humans
  • General Science & Technology
  • Food Chain
  • Feeding Behavior
  • Extinction, Biological
  • Ecosystem
  • Biodiversity
 

Citation

APA
Chicago
ICMJE
MLA
NLM
Estes, J. A., Terborgh, J., Brashares, J. S., Power, M. E., Berger, J., Bond, W. J., … Wardle, D. A. (2011). Trophic downgrading of planet Earth. Science (New York, N.Y.), 333(6040), 301–306. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1205106
Estes, James A., John Terborgh, Justin S. Brashares, Mary E. Power, Joel Berger, William J. Bond, Stephen R. Carpenter, et al. “Trophic downgrading of planet Earth.Science (New York, N.Y.) 333, no. 6040 (July 2011): 301–6. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1205106.
Estes JA, Terborgh J, Brashares JS, Power ME, Berger J, Bond WJ, et al. Trophic downgrading of planet Earth. Science (New York, NY). 2011 Jul;333(6040):301–6.
Estes, James A., et al. “Trophic downgrading of planet Earth.Science (New York, N.Y.), vol. 333, no. 6040, July 2011, pp. 301–06. Epmc, doi:10.1126/science.1205106.
Estes JA, Terborgh J, Brashares JS, Power ME, Berger J, Bond WJ, Carpenter SR, Essington TE, Holt RD, Jackson JBC, Marquis RJ, Oksanen L, Oksanen T, Paine RT, Pikitch EK, Ripple WJ, Sandin SA, Scheffer M, Schoener TW, Shurin JB, Sinclair ARE, Soulé ME, Virtanen R, Wardle DA. Trophic downgrading of planet Earth. Science (New York, NY). 2011 Jul;333(6040):301–306.
Journal cover image

Published In

Science (New York, N.Y.)

DOI

EISSN

1095-9203

ISSN

0036-8075

Publication Date

July 2011

Volume

333

Issue

6040

Start / End Page

301 / 306

Related Subject Headings

  • Predatory Behavior
  • Population Dynamics
  • Introduced Species
  • Humans
  • General Science & Technology
  • Food Chain
  • Feeding Behavior
  • Extinction, Biological
  • Ecosystem
  • Biodiversity