Reacción a "The decline of large scavengers could increase the risk of disease for humans"

What is your overall opinion of the study?

‘The study does a tremendous job of reviewing both the conservation status of scavenger species worldwide and the scientific literature on the role these species may play in human health. This, together with the explicit acknowledgement of possible limitations or lack of evidence in some areas and the replicable methodology, illustrate the quality of the contribution.’

How does it fit in with existing evidence and what new insights does it provide?

"The results, as the authors themselves indicate, are consistent with previous scientific work. This is true both in terms of the threat level of the species studied (for example, larger species tend to be in a worse situation) and in terms of the potential effects that these declines could have on the maintenance of ecosystem functions and services. The study points to both direct effects from the disappearance of species that are highly efficient at consuming carrion and indirect effects from the increase in other species that are not as well adapted to such consumption. In this case, the focus is on ecosystem services related to the persistence of carrion in the environment and its possible relationship with various diseases and other risks to human health, in line with previous review work focusing on large vertebrate scavengers, but broadening the focus to include the role of other less specialised scavengers or those generally located at lower levels of food webs.

Are there any important limitations to bear in mind?

"As the authors of the study themselves acknowledge, despite this being a message that is repeated almost every time the ecology and conservation of scavenger species is discussed, the available evidence on the role these species play in disease control is still limited and sometimes even contradictory or highly context-dependent. Therefore, the main contribution of this study, apart from the exhaustive review already mentioned, is not so much to warn that the loss of apical scavenger species poses a threat to human health, but rather to highlight the importance of having more scientific evidence to understand when this effect occurs and its scope at the ecological level and how it may affect human health and well-being."