Scientists have been assessing the ecological consequences of a megafauna-depleted world and what, if anything, should be done about it.
Researchers discussed whether the loss of big beasts contributed to regional and global system changes, such as Arctic warming and more wildfires.
Megafauna (animals with a mass of 44kg or more) once dominated but disappeared in an ecological "blink of an eye".
The global scientific gathering was held at the University of Oxford, UK.
Co-organiser Yadvinder Malhi, professor of ecosystem science at the university's Environmental Change Institute, said the conference was "unique" as it brought together many disciplines that would not normally meet during their day-to-day work.
Assessing the event's discussions, he observed: "There was such a strong consensus emerging that megafaunal extinctions did have a huge impact on the structure of ecosystems, which still ramifies through to the ecosystems today.
"What we think as natural now are still carrying many disequilibria – or ghosts – resulting from the loss of the megafauna in terms of their structure, functioning and nutrient recycling."
Prof Malhi added that a greater understanding of the impacts of megafaunal extinctions helped researchers model the consequences of losing big beasts from today's landscapes in sub-Saharan Africa and Asia.
"Somehow, it seems as if megafauna have been linked to dinosaurs in people's popular imagination," he told BBC News.
"But, ecologically speaking, it was only a blink of an eye ago that there were megafauna everywhere."
Written By: Mark Kinver
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