Megaherbivore

A very large plant-eating animal whose feeding, movement, and other activities can strongly shape vegetation and ecosystem structure.

Herbivory: The consumption of plant or algal material by animals. Megaherbivores exert their ecological influence chiefly through large-scale plant consumption.
Elephant: A large, trunked mammal in the family Elephantidae. Elephants are living megaherbivores that fell trees, browse, graze, and disperse seeds.
Trophic cascade: An ecological effect that spreads through multiple levels of a food web. Megaherbivores can alter plant communities and thereby affect animals at other trophic levels.
Herbivore density: The number of herbivores per unit area in a habitat. Density helps determine whether feeding remains patch-forming or suppresses vegetation across a landscape.
Browsing: The feeding of animals on leaves, shoots, and woody vegetation. Many megaherbivores remove foliage and branches as they move through vegetation.
White rhinoceros: A large African rhinoceros species that primarily grazes on grasses. Its grazing can maintain short-grass patches within savanna landscapes.
Savanna: A tropical or subtropical ecosystem with a continuous grass layer and scattered trees. Megaherbivore feeding and disturbance help shape the balance between trees and grasses.
Carrying capacity: The population size an environment can sustain over time under specified conditions. Estimating it for megaherbivores is difficult because their effects can change the habitat itself.
Grazing: The feeding of animals on grasses and other low-growing plants. Large grazers can alter grass height, composition, and the balance between grassland and woodland.
Hippopotamus: A large semiaquatic African mammal that grazes on land and rests in water. Hippos transfer nutrients between terrestrial grazing areas and aquatic habitats.

Linked from 11 pages