Science for a wilder Anthropocene: Synthesis and future directions for trophic rewilding research

Trophic rewilding is an ecological restoration strategy that uses species introductions to restore top-down trophic interactions and associated trophic cascades to promote self-regulating biodiverse ecosystems. Given the importance of large animals in trophic cascades and their widespread losses and resulting trophic downgrading, it often focuses on restoring functional megafaunas. Trophic rewilding is increasingly being implemented for conservation, but remains controversial. Here, we provide a synthesis of its current scientific basis, highlighting trophic cascades as the key conceptual framework, discussing the main lessons learned from ongoing rewilding projects, systematically reviewing the current…

• AU
  Aarhus Universitet
• NR
  National Research Foundation
• DG
  Danmarks Grundforskningsfond
• FD
  Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo
• ER
  European Research Council

  Award: ERC-2012-StG-310886-HISTFUNC