Local extinctions have cascading effects on ecosystem functions, yet little is known about the potential for the rapid evolutionary change of species in human-modified scenarios. We show that the functional extinction of large-gape seed dispersers in the Brazilian Atlantic forest is associated with the consistent reduction of seed size of a keystone palm species. Among 22 palm populations, areas deprived of large avian frugivores for several decades present smaller seeds than non-defaunated forests, with negative...

Fertilizer-intensive soya bean agriculture has recently expanded in southeastern Amazônia, and whereas intensive fertilizer use in the temperate zone has led to widespread eutrophication of freshwater ecosystems, the effects in tropical systems are less well understood. We examined the fate of fertilizer P by comparing P forms and budgets across a chronosequence of soya bean fields (converted to soya beans between 2003 and 2008) and forests on an 800 km2 soya bean farm in Mato...