近日，普林斯顿大学
该团队的研究表明，大象是东非蜣螂和大型食草动物之间广泛互动网络的核心。基于该网络的计算机模拟预测，如果大象灭绝，屎壳虫的数量会不成比例地减少，一项为期15年的实验支持了这一预测：排除大象会减少屎壳虫的丰度、多样性和生态系统功能，而排除较小的有蹄类动物几乎没有增加效果。在牲畜取代大象的附近地区，屎壳郎的数量减少了，这证实了实验结果。他们的发现证实了一个长期存在的观点，即大型动物——极易灭绝——作为关键物种，为许多相互关联的消费者提供了必要的资源，从而维持了生物多样性和生态系统服务。
据了解，生态学家的理论是，从生态网络中移除高度关联的物种将引发共同灭绝的浪潮，但经验证据不足。
附：英文原文
Title: Importance of elephants for dung beetle biodiversity and ecosystem functions
Author: Finote Gijsman, Ciara M. Nutter, Fathiya M. Khamis, Fidelis L. O. Ombura, Matthew C. Hutchinson, Todd M. Palmer, Jacob R. Goheen, Scott E. Miller, Robert M. Pringle
Issue&Volume: 2026-05-28
Abstract: Ecologists theorize that removing highly connected species from ecological networks will trigger waves of coextinction, but empirical evidence is scant. We show that elephants are central to a generalized network of interactions between dung beetles and large herbivores in East Africa. Computer simulations based on this network predicted disproportionate dung beetle losses if elephants go extinct, and a 15-year experiment supported this prediction: Excluding elephants diminished dung beetle abundance, diversity, and ecosystem functions, whereas excluding smaller ungulates had little added effect. Dung beetle abundance was depressed in nearby landscapes where livestock had displaced elephants, corroborating the experimental results. Our findings affirm the long-standing idea that large animals—which are inordinately extinction-prone—act as keystone species by provisioning many linked consumers with essential resources, thereby sustaining biodiversity and ecosystem services.
DOI: aeb7062
Source: https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.aeb7062