title: Response of ecosystems to realistic extinction sequences.
abstract: Recent research suggests that effects of species loss on the structure and functioning of ecosystems will critically depend on the order with which species go extinct. However, there are few studies of the response of natural ecosystems to realistic extinction sequences. Using an extinction scenario based on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List, de Visser et al. sequentially deleted species from a topological model of the Serengeti food web. Under this scenario, large-bodied species like top predators and mega-herbivores go extinct first. The resulting changes in the trophic structure of the food web might affect the robustness of the ecosystem to future disturbances.
authors.affiliation: Division of Theoretical Biology, Linköping University, IFM Theory and Modelling, SE-58183 Linköping, Sweden.
authors.forename: Bo
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Ebenman
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D044822:Biodiversity; D003247:Conservation of Natural Resources; D017753:Ecosystem; D053476:Extinction, Biological; D020387:Food Chain; D006802:Human Activities; D008954:Models, Biological; D013045:Species Specificity; D013636:Tanzania