Emer, Carine [UNESP]Galetti, Mauro [UNESP]Pizo, Marco A. [UNESP]Jordano, PedroVerdu, Miguel2019-10-042019-10-042019-06-01Science Advances. Washington: Amer Assoc Advancement Science, v. 5, n. 6, 8 p., 2019.2375-2548http://hdl.handle.net/11449/185868Species on Earth are interconnected with each other through ecological interactions. Defaunation can erode those connections, yet we lack evolutionary predictions about the consequences of losing interactions in human-modified ecosystems. We quantified the fate of the evolutionary history of avian-seed dispersal interactions across tropical forest fragments by combining the evolutionary distinctness of the pairwise-partner species, a proxy to their unique functional features. Both large-seeded plant and large-bodied bird species showed the highest evolutionary distinctness. We estimate a loss of 3.5 to 4.7 x 10(4) million years of cumulative evolutionary history of interactions due to defaunation. Bird-driven local extinctions mainly erode the most evolutionarily distinct interactions. However, the persistence of less evolutionarily distinct bird species in defaunated areas exerts a phylogenetic rescue effect through seed dispersal of evolutionarily distinct plant species.8engArtigo10.1126/sciadv.aav6699WOS:000473798500031Acesso aberto