The ecological consequences of megafaunal loss: giant tortoises and wetland biodiversity - Cynthia Froyd (Ecology Letters, 2014)
These results identify that, far from being the pristine ecosystems of common perception, the Galapagos Islands, despite their uniquely high rates of native species retention, have experienced significant habitat transformations since human arrival in the archipelago. The Galapagos upland Sphagnum crater bogs were found to be a relatively recent development rather than historic ecosystem components, replacing former (and now exceptionally rare) open water wetland habitats, likely as a consequence of the loss of tortoises from the highlands. This has important conservation implications both for the species and more widely, in terms of ecosystem restoration and conservation. These findings support growing evidence of the extent of the ecological consequences of the extinction of large herbivores globally and identify an aspect that is often not considered the effect of megafaunal loss on specialised wetland habitats and the unique organisms and ecosystem functions they maintained