# Functional traits—not nativeness—shape the effects of large mammalian herbivores on plant communities

*PRI Rank #5 · Topics and Trends in Most Cited Wildlife Ecology and Conservation Papers, Class of 2026*

*Canonical URL: https://pri.pepkio.com/top-papers/wildlife-ecology-and-conservation/2026/rank-5*

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Rank | #5 |
| 18m citations | 59 |
| Journal | Science |
| Year | 2024 |
| DOI | 10.1126/science.adh2616 |
| Corresponding authors | Erick Lundgren |
| Institution | Aarhus University, Denmark |

**Ranking page:** [Topics and Trends in Most Cited Wildlife Ecology and Conservation Papers, Class of 2026](https://pri.pepkio.com/top-papers/wildlife-ecology-and-conservation/2026)

**Paper link:** [10.1126/science.adh2616](https://doi.org/10.1126/science.adh2616)

## Topics

Large herbivores · megafauna · introduced megafauna · native megafauna · functional traits · body size · bulk-feeding · plant abundance · plant diversity · meta-analysis · nativeness · Invasive potential · feralness · coevolutionary history · functional novelty · phylogenetic novelty · trait-based ecology · Plant-herbivore interactions · plot-scale responses

## Cite this ranking

```
Pepkio Research Index (PRI). Topics and Trends in Most Cited Wildlife Ecology and Conservation Papers, Class of 2026. https://pri.pepkio.com/top-papers/wildlife-ecology-and-conservation/2026. Accessed 2026-07-17.

Zheng Su, Tinsley Li, Thematic Shifts in Early-High-Impact Cancer Genomics and Diagnostics Research: A Bibliometric and Semantic Analysis. bioRxiv 2026.07.04.736459; doi: https://doi.org/10.64898/2026.07.04.736459
```