Science Advances · 17 July 2026 · From issue 09
Body size, diet, and brain size predict extinction risk in large tropical mammals across scales.
Simon D. Schowanek, Douglas Sheil et al., Predictors of extinction risk in large tropical forest mammals: From global to local, Science Advances.
Some traits reliably predict which large tropical forest mammals are at risk of dying out, no matter if you study the whole world or just one region. This held true for body size, how long each generation lives, diet, brain size, and whether the animal climbs trees. But when studies also looked at different time spans, the risk predictions changed. This means big global studies can help guide local conservation, but only if scientists account for how much history each study covers.
The number of tropical forest mammal species analyzed across 64 forests and three biogeographical regions.
Historical and regional data only, no live population testing.
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