Most terrestrial large mammals went extinct on different continents at the end of the Pleistocene, between 50,000 and 10,000 years ago. Besides the loss in species diversity and the truncation of body mass distributions, those extinctions were even more impactful to interaction diversity. Along with each extinction, dozens of ecological interactions were lost, reorganizing species interaction networks, which attained species-poor configurations with low functional redundancy. Extinctions of most large herbivores impacted energy flow and the rates of nutrient cycling, reconfiguring ecosystem-level networks. Because large mammals have high mobility, their loss also shortened seed-dispersal distance and reduced nutrient diffusivity, disrupting spatial networks. This review examines the recent advances in understanding how different types of ecological networks have been restructured by megafaunal extinctions and how this reorganization affected ecosystem functions. ▪Megafaunal extinctions resulted in the loss of multiple ecological interactions in terrestrial systems.▪Interaction loss reshaped different types of ecological networks including food webs and spatial networks.▪The reorganization of ecological networks changed how terrestrial ecosystems are structured and function.

中文翻译：

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更新世灭绝对生态网络的重构


大多数陆地大型哺乳动物在更新世末期，即 50,000 至 10,000 年前，在不同大陆上灭绝。除了物种多样性的丧失和体重分布的截断外，这些灭绝对交互多样性的影响更大。随着每次灭绝，数十种生态相互作用丢失，重组了物种相互作用网络，从而获得了具有低功能冗余的物种贫乏配置。大多数大型食草动物的灭绝影响了能量流动和营养循环的速度，重新配置了生态系统层面的网络。由于大型哺乳动物具有很高的流动性，它们的损失也缩短了种子传播距离并降低了营养扩散率，从而破坏了空间网络。这篇综述研究了在理解不同类型的生态网络如何被大型动物灭绝重组以及这种重组如何影响生态系统功能方面的最新进展。▪大型动物灭绝导致陆地系统中多种生态相互作用的丧失。▪相互作用的丧失重塑了不同类型的生态网络，包括食物网和空间网络。▪生态网络的重组改变了陆地生态系统的结构和功能。