Abstract
As defaunation spreads through the world, there is an urgent need for restoring ecological interactions, thus assuring ecosystem processes. Here, we define the new concept of credit of ecological interactions, as the number of interactions that can be restored in a focal area by species colonization or reintroduction. We also define rewiring time, as the time span until all the links that build the credit of ecological interactions of a focal area have become functional again. We expect that the credit will be gradually cashed following refaunation in rates that are proportional to (1) the abundance of the reintroduced species (that is expected to increase in time since release), (2) the abundance of the local species that interact with them, and (3) the traits of reintroduced species. We illustrated this approach using a theoretical model and an empirical case study where the credit of ecological interactions was estimated. This new conceptual framework is useful for setting reintroduction priorities and for evaluating the success of conservation initiatives that aim to restore ecosystem services.
Highlights
The pervasive loss of ecological interactions in the Anthropocene jeopardizes the stability of ecosystems and can cause their collapse
Many habitats are in extinction debt of ecological interactions (Valiente-Banuet et al, 2015), meaning that large proportions of their remaining interactions are likely to vanish, silently but inexorably, in the core of ecosystems worldwide
The number of interactions that can be restored in a focal area following species colonization or reintroduction can usefully be understood as that area’s credit of ecological interactions
Summary
The pervasive loss of ecological interactions in the Anthropocene jeopardizes the stability of ecosystems and can cause their collapse. KEYWORDS conservation management, ecological interactions, ecosystem functioning, refaunation, reintroduction, rewiring The number of interactions that can be restored in a focal area following species colonization or reintroduction can usefully be understood as that area’s credit of ecological interactions.
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