Credit of ecological interactions: A new conceptual framework to support conservation in a defaunated world.

As defaunation spreads through the world, there is an urgent need for restoring ecological interactions, thus assuring ecosystem processes. Here, we define the new concept of , as the number of interactions that can be restored in a focal area by species colonization or reintroduction. We also define , as the time span until all the links that build the credit of ecological interactions of a focal area have become functional again.