The Ecology of Large Herbivores in South and Southeast Asia

Abstract

The countries of South and Southeast Asia (SSEA) are home to a diverse array of large native herbivores, but the majority of these species are currently threatened with extinction. Ensuring the future survival of these species and the integrity of the ecological services they provide will require concerted management efforts, but these need to be built on a strong scientific foundation, which is currently lacking. In particular, there is an urgent need for research efforts to: (i) generate baseline data on the current status and distribution of large herbivores species in South and Southeast Asia, (ii) quantify vital rates of species and identify factors that regulate the population dynamics of different species across their ranges, (iii) understand the role of large herbivores in regulating community and ecosystem processes, and how their losses are likely to affect ecosystems, and (iv) characterize the ecological and socioeconomic drivers of human–herbivore conflicts to identify the most effective ways of reducing conflict and thereby sustain large herbivore populations across the landscape. The large herbivores of South and Southeast Asia also offer unlimited opportunities for addressing a diverse array of other basic, as well as applied, scientific questions ranging from evolution and behavior to disease dynamics and the responses of herbivore populations to changing climates. Besides establishing and sustaining research initiatives that will generate much-needed long-term scientific data on large herbivores, there is also an urgent need for greater cooperation between ecologists, sociologists, economists, politicians, land managers, and the public if we are to ensure the long-term survival of large herbivores in the region.