BACKGROUND Comparing patterns of terrestrial and marine defaunation helps to place
human impacts on marine fauna in context and to navigate toward recovery. Defaunation …

Ecologists have identified numerous keystone species, defined as organisms that have
outsized ecological impacts relative to their biomass. Here we identify human beings as a …

While the physical dimensions of climate change are now routinely assessed through
multimodel intercomparisons, projected impacts on the global ocean ecosystem generally …

Climate change is impacting virtually all marine life. Adaptation strategies will require a
robust understanding of the risks to species and ecosystems and how those propagate to …

Many of the world's vertebrates have experienced large population and geographic range
declines due to anthropogenic threats that put them at risk of extinction. The largest …

Species diversity assessments are an important step to evaluate the conservation status of a
community, both in marine and terrestrial ecosystems. These assessments are pivotal if …

The turbulent waters off ocean beaches provide habitat for large marine fauna, including
dolphins, sharks, rays, turtles and game fish. Although, historically, these assemblages have …

Fishing pressure on coral reef ecosystems has been frequently linked to reductions of large
fishes and reef fish biomass. Associated impacts on overall community structure are …

Aquatic ecosystems support size structured food webs, wherein predator‐prey body sizes
span orders of magnitude. As such, these food webs are replete with extremely generalized …

Predator-prey relationships are integral to ecosystem stability and functioning. These
relationships are, however, difficult to maintain in protected areas where large predators are …