Abstract: Dr. Mauro Galetti is a tropical ecologist at the University of Miami and Director of the Gifford Arboretum. His current research centers broadly on the effects of animal extinction on key ecological, evolutionary and ecosystem processes. Current understanding of the effects of animal extinction and the cascading effects in terrestrial ecosystems has been historically based in relatively simple food webs. In contrast, the effects of human-induced trophic cascades in hyper-diverse complex ecosystems, such as tropical rainforests, are largely unknown.