Introduction: The Large Herbivores of South and Southeast Asia—A Prominent but Neglected Guild

Abstract

The large herbivores of South and Southeast Asia comprise an ancient and diverse guild with a long history of association with humans. To this day, our knowledge of the ecology of these herbivores, and the ecological roles they play in ecosystems, remains largely inadequate. In this edited collection of chapters, we attempt to synthesize and integrate ongoing research on large herbivores in the region, and highlight directions for future research that is critical for the management of large herbivores in South and Southeast Asia. Given the dramatic population declines and range contractions of large herbivores in the region, there is an urgent need for scientifically based management efforts to ensure both their continued persistence as well as the integrity of the ecological services they provide in ecosystems. Keywords Artiodactyla Á Biogeographic realms Á Perisodactyla Á Species richness and diversity Á Ungulate ecology As primary consumers, large (>5 kg) terrestrial mammalian herbivores are an integral component of nearly every ecosystem on Earth (Duncan et al. 2006). Besides their obvious and irreplaceable role in supporting viable populations of large carnivores, large herbivores also play other critical roles in ecosystems as regulators of energy and nutrient cycles, modulators of plant community composition and grassland-woodland transitions, and as agents of seed dispersal (Janzen