Braulio A. Santos

Abstract Anthropogenic landscape modification may lead to the proliferation of a few species and the loss of many. Here we investigate mechanisms and functional consequences of this winner–loser replacement in six human-modified Amazonian and Atlantic Forest regions in Brazil using a causal inference framework.

1 INTRODUCTION Coral reefs provide habitat complexity that sustains the abundance, diversity, and ecosystem functioning of multiple reef-associated communities (Coker et al., 2014; Darling et al., 2017). However, given the increasing impacts of climate change, widespread concerns have arisen about the abrupt loss of three-dimensional reef structure caused by the mortality and rapid pos-mortality erosion of reef-building corals (Cornwall et al., 2021; Morais et al., 2022; Sully et al., 2019).

Abstract Human-induced climate change has intensified negative impacts on socioeconomic factors, the environment, and biodiversity, including changes in rainfall patterns and an increase in global average temperatures. Drylands are particularly at risk, with projections suggesting they will become hotter, drier, and less suitable for a significant portion of their species, potentially leading to mammal defaunation.