Functional traits mediate the interactions of species among themselves and with their environment, providing a link between diversity and ecosystem function. Crucially, the loss of biodiversity can jeopardize the functionality of ecosystems. Much focus is on predicting the impacts of current and future species loss; however, modern ecosystems have undergone biodiversity decline throughout the Late Quaternary, starting with the Pleistocene megafaunal extinctions. Thus, the fossil record offers the opportunity to investigate the long-term legacy of biodiversity erosion and how this is affecting modern ecosystems in a cumulative manner. We aimed to investigate changes in functional diversity and redundancy of a local mammal community at Hall’s Cave, a site with a continuous record from 21,000 years ago to the present. Additionally, we included several common introduced species in the modern community to test whether they restore some lost ecological function.

中文翻译：

---

巨型动物灭绝的隐藏遗产：霍尔洞穴晚第四纪功能多样性和恢复力的丧失

功能性状介导物种之间及其与环境的相互作用，提供多样性与生态系统功能之间的联系。至关重要的是，生物多样性的丧失会危及生态系统的功能。重点是预测当前和未来物种丧失的影响；然而，从更新世巨型动物灭绝开始，现代生态系统在整个晚第四纪经历了生物多样性的下降。因此，化石记录提供了研究生物多样性侵蚀的长期遗产以及这如何以累积的方式影响现代生态系统的机会。我们旨在调查霍尔洞穴（Hall's Cave）的功能多样性和当地哺乳动物群落冗余的变化，该遗址从 21,000 年前到现在的连续记录。此外，