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This data set provides a global inventory of reported animal geomorphic agents and their effects, created by systematically reviewing the published research on animal impacts on landforms and landscapes. Full details on the systematic review process are provided in the accompanying publication Harvey GL, Khan Z, Alberston LK, Coombes M, Johnson MF, Rice SP and Viles HA, Global diversity and energy of animals shaping the Earth's surface, PNAS, which presents analyses of these data (see Related Works). This record contains: a README file, a full bibliography of papers derived from systematic literature review, species inventory of animal geomorphic agents, species occurrence data (where available) downloaded from the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF), average body size data and number of species for each genus, code used to download and map species occurrence data and code used to produce biomass and energy calculations. All calculations and figures in the accompanying publication (see Related Works) are based on data shared here. Gemma Harvey and Zareena Khan were supported by the Leverhulme Trust via a Leverhulme Research Fellowship (grant number RF-2022-284\4 for the project: Nature's engineers: uncovering signatures of life in landscapes).
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This content will become publicly available on February 25, 2026
Global diversity and energy of animals shaping the Earth’s surface
The collective influence of animals on the processes shaping the Earth’s surface remains largely unknown, with most studies limited to individual species and well-known exemplars. To establish the global geomorphic significance of animals, we systematically reviewed and synthesized evidence across freshwater and terrestrial ecosystems. Over 600 animal taxa had reported geomorphic effects. For the 495 wild animals and 5 livestock identified to species level, we estimated their global abundance, and collective biomass and energy. While our census is global in scope, a lack of research in the tropics and subtropics, and on less visible animals, leaves them underrepresented in analyses. Most reported species are globally widespread, but some are rare, endemic, and/or threatened, leading to risks that key geomorphic processes cease before we fully understand them. We estimate the collective biomass in wild animal geomorphic agents at ≈0.2 Mt Carbon, equating to a biological energy content of ≈7.6 million GJ. If a conservative minimum 1% of this energy contributes to geomorphic work annually, this yields an energy contribution from wild animal geomorphic agents of ≈76,000 GJ—equivalent to the energy of hundreds of thousands of extreme floods. Uncertainties in biomass estimates and energy partitioning mean this value could credibly be an order of magnitude higher, and countless species remain unreported or undiscovered. The livestock estimates exceed the wild animals estimates by three orders of magnitude. The geomorphic energy of animals is far more influential than previously recognized and future losses, dispersal and introductions of zoogeomorphic species may induce substantive landscape changes.
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- Award ID(s):
- 1945941
- PAR ID:
- 10586159
- Publisher / Repository:
- National Academy of Sciences
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
- Volume:
- 122
- Issue:
- 8
- ISSN:
- 0027-8424
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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