Background Megafauna are attracting growing interest from scientists and the general public. Megafauna have particularly suffered from anthropogenic impacts since the rise of modern humans. Habitat degradation, overexploitation and conflicts with humans (e.g. predation on livestock and even on humans) are the main drivers of the current megafauna crisis. At the same time, however, humans may greatly benefit from megafauna species, although the recognition of the ecosystem services provided by them is still in its infancy. Thus, a global understanding of the conflict-service trade-offs, including terrestrial, marine and freshwater realms, is extremely timely and required in setting conservation priorities.
Objective The general objective of the workshop is to discuss about the past, present and future of human-wildlife conflicts and the ecosystem services provided by the megafauna worldwide. To achieve this goal, an international group of around 20 experts on terrestrial, marine and freshwater megafauna will meet for a 3 days workshop (9-11 Nov. 2016) at the Doñana Biological Station (EBD-CSIC), Seville (Spain). Apart from several working sessions restricted to invited participants, there will be an interactive and participatory session open to any researcher interested in large animals.