Small animals, big impact: invertebrates keep ecosystems running

Be they large or small - herbivorous animals such as red deer, marmots, mice, snails and insects play a central role in grassland ecosystems. Particularly when all vertebrates and invertebrates are absent, food webs and nutrient cycles disintegrate and the ecosystem collapses. This is demonstrated by a study conducted by the Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research (WSL) in the Swiss National Park.