Species

The largest cat in the Americas and the top predator across much of its range. As an apex predator, the jaguar is associated with keeping prey populations in balance, which in turn is linked to the stability of the ecosystems it lives in — from the Amazon to the Pantanal.

The largest member of the dolphin family and a top predator in every ocean. Orcas are associated with shaping marine food webs from the top down, though their role varies sharply between populations, which differ in diet, calls and hunting behaviour.

The largest living land animal and a powerful ecosystem engineer. Through feeding, movement and water use, savanna elephants are linked to seed dispersal, open habitat and water access that many other species depend on.

The Arctic's largest land predator — and, in practice, a marine one. Polar bears hunt seals from sea ice, which makes them closely linked to the extent of Arctic ice and one of the clearest examples of a species pressured directly by a warming climate.

One of the world's most important managed pollinators. Through pollination, the honey bee is linked to the reproduction of many wild plants and to the production of a large share of the crops people eat — connecting nature directly to the food system.