Lluís

Efforts to maximise crop yields are fuelling agricultural intensification, exacerbating the biodiversity crisis. Low-intensity agricultural practices, however, may not sacrifice yields if they support biodiversity-driven ecosystem services. We quantified the value native predators provide to farmers by consuming coffee's most damaging insect pest, the coffee berry borer beetle (Hypothenemus hampei). Our experiments in Costa Rica showed birds reduced infestation by ~ 50%, bats played a marginal role, and farmland forest cover increased pest removal. We identified borer-consuming bird species by assaying faeces for borer DNA and found higher borer-predator abundances on more forested plantations. Our coarse estimate is that forest patches doubled pest control over 230 km² by providing habitat for ~ 55 000 borer-consuming birds. These pest-control services prevented US$75–US$310 ha-year⁻¹ in damage, a benefit per plantation on par with the average annual income of a Costa Rican citizen. Retaining forest and accounting for pest control demonstrates a win–win for biodiversity and coffee farmers.

Body condition indices are widely used by ecologists, but many indices are used without empirical validation. To test the validity of a variety of indices, we compared how well a broad range of body condition indices predicted body fat mass, percent body fat and residual fat mass in mice Mus musculus. We also compared the performance of these condition indices with the multiple regression of several morphometric variables on body fat mass, percent body fat and residual fat mass.

In our study population, two ratio based condition indices – body mass/body length and log body mass/log body length – predicted body fat mass as well as or better than other ratio and residual indices of condition in females. In males one ratio based condition index (log body mass/log body length) and one residual index (residuals from a regression of pelvic circumference on body length) were best at predicting body fat mass. All indices were better at estimating body fat mass, and residual fat mass than at estimating percent body fat. The predictions of body fat were much better for females than for males.

Multiple regressions incorporating pelvic circumference (i.e. girth at the iliac crests) were the best predictors of body fat mass, residual fat mass, and percent body fat, and these multiple regressions were better than any of the condition indices.

We recommend 1) that condition be precisely defined, 2) that predictors of condition be empirically validated, 3) that pelvic circumference be considered as a potential predictor of fat content, and 4) that, in general, multiple regression be considered as an alternative to condition indices.

1. The relationship between species richness and ecosystem function, as measured by productivity or biomass, is of long-standing theoretical and practical interest in ecology. This is especially true for forests, which represent a majority of global biomass, productivity and biodiversity.

2. Here, we conduct an analysis of relationships between tree species richness, biomass and productivity in 25 forest plots of area 8–50 ha from across the world. The data were collected using standardized protocols, obviating the need to correct for methodological differences that plague many studies on this topic.

3. We found that at very small spatial grains (0.04 ha) species richness was generally positively related to productivity and biomass within plots, with a doubling of species richness corresponding to an average 48% increase in productivity and 53% increase in biomass. At larger spatial grains (0.25 ha, 1 ha), results were mixed, with negative relationships becoming more common. The results were qualitatively similar but much weaker when we controlled for stem density: at the 0.04 ha spatial grain, a doubling of species richness corresponded to a 5% increase in productivity and 7% increase in biomass. Productivity and biomass were themselves almost always positively related at all spatial grains.

4. Synthesis. This is the first cross-site study of the effect of tree species richness on forest biomass and productivity that systematically varies spatial grain within a controlled methodology. The scale-dependent results are consistent with theoretical models in which sampling effects and niche complementarity dominate at small scales, while environmental gradients drive patterns at large scales. Our study shows that the relationship of tree species richness with biomass and productivity changes qualitatively when moving from scales typical of forest surveys (0.04 ha) to slightly larger scales (0.25 and 1 ha). This needs to be recognized in forest conservation policy and management.

Our analysis of 25 forests across the world shows that the relationship of tree species richness to biomass (AGB) and productivity (CWP) changes qualitatively from positive at small spatial grains typical of forest surveys (0.04 ha) to mixed at slightly larger spatial grains (0.25 and 1 ha). This needs to be recognised in forest conservation policy and management.

The TEASI model is presented in Leung et al. (2012; TEASIng apart alien species risk assessments: a framework for best practices. Ecol. Lett., 15, 1475) as a framework for best practice in alien species risk assessment. This is not supported by the paper's review as it does not define good, bad or best practice and therefore cannot logically make this claim.

We address criticism that the Transport, Establishment, Abundance, Spread, Impact (TEASI) framework does not facilitate objective mapping of risk assessment methods nor defines best practice. We explain why TEASI is appropriate for mapping, despite inherent challenges, and how TEASI offers considerations for best practices, rather than suggesting one best practice.

Biodiversity offsets are intended to achieve no net loss of biodiversity due to economic and human development. A variety of biodiversity components are addressed by offset policies. It is required that loss of protected species due to development be offset under the EU Habitats and Birds Directives in Europe. We call this type of offset a species-equality offset because the offset pertains to the same species affected by the development project. Whether species equality can be achieved by offset design is unknown. We addressed this gap by reviewing derogation files (i.e., specific files that describe mitigation measures to ensure no net loss under the EU Habitats and Birds Directives) from 85 development projects in France (2009–2010). We collected information on type of effect (reversible vs. irreversible) and characteristics of affected and offset sites (i.e., types of species, total area). We analyzed how the type of effect and the affected-site characteristics influenced the occurrence of offset measures. The proportion of species targeted by offset measures (i.e., offset species) increased with the irreversibility of the effect of development and the conservation status of the species affected by development (i.e., affected species). Not all effects on endangered species (International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List) were offset; on average, 82% of affected species would be offset. Twenty-six percent of species of least concern were offset species. Thirty-five percent of development projects considered all affected species in their offset measures. Species richness was much lower in offset sites than in developed sites even after offset proposals. For developed areas where species richness was relatively high before development, species richness at offset sites was 5–10 times lower. The species-equality principle appears to have been applied only partially in offset policies, as in the EU directives. We suggest the application of this principle through offsets is highly important for the long-term conservation of biodiversity in Europe.

Compensaciones y Conservación de las Especies de las Directivas de Hábitats y Aves de la UE

Las compensaciones de biodiversidad tienen la intención de alcanzar la no-pérdida neta de la biodiversidad debido al desarrollo humano y económico. Una variedad de componentes de la biodiversidad están señalados por políticas de compensación. Se requiere que la pérdida de especies protegidas debido al desarrollo sea compensada bajo las Directivas de Hábitats y Aves de la Unión Europea. Llamamos a este tipo de compensación una compensación de igualdad de especies porque pertenece a las mismas especies afectadas por el proyecto de desarrollo. Se desconoce si la igualdad de especies se puede obtener mediante el diseño de compensaciones. Nos dirigimos a este vacío al revisar archivos de derogación (p. ej.: archivos específicos que describen las medidas de mitigación para asegurar la no-pérdida bajo las Directivas de Hábitats y Aves de la UE) de 85 proyectos de desarrollo en Francia (2009–2010). Colectamos información sobre el tipo de efecto (reversible vs. irreversible) y sobre las características de los sitios afectados y de compensación (p. ej.: tipos de especies, área total). Analizamos como el tipo de efecto y las características del sitio afectado influenciaron la ocurrencia de las medidas de compensación. La proporción de especies enfocadas por las medidas de compensación (p. ej.: especies afectadas). No todos los efectos sobre las especies en peligro (Lista Roja de la Unión Internacional para la Conservación de la Naturaleza) fueron compensaciones; en promedio el 82% de las especies afectadas serían compensaciones. El 26% de las especies de menor preocupación fueron especies de compensación. El 35% de los proyectos de desarrollo consideraban a todas las especies afectadas en sus medidas de compensación. La riqueza de especies fue mucho más baja en los sitios de compensación que en sitios desarrollados, aún después de las propuestas de compensación. Para las áreas desarrolladas donde la riqueza de especies fue relativamente alta antes del desarrollo, la riqueza de especies en sitios de compensación fue entre 5 – 10 veces más baja. El principio de igualdad de especies parece haber sido aplicado parcialmente en políticas de compensación, como en las directivas de la UE. Sugerimos que la aplicación de este principio a través de compensaciones es muy importante para la conservación a largo plazo de la biodiversidad en Europa.

Systematic reviews comprehensively summarize evidence about the effectiveness of conservation interventions. We investigated the contribution to management decisions made by this growing body of literature. We identified 43 systematic reviews of conservation evidence, 23 of which drew some concrete conclusions relevant to management. Most reviews addressed conservation interventions relevant to policy decisions; only 35% considered practical on-the-ground management interventions. The majority of reviews covered only a small fraction of the geographic and taxonomic breadth they aimed to address (median = 13% of relevant countries and 16% of relevant taxa). The likelihood that reviews contained at least some implications for management tended to increase as geographic coverage increased and to decline as taxonomic breadth increased. These results suggest the breadth of a systematic review requires careful consideration. Reviews identified a mean of 312 relevant primary studies but excluded 88% of these because of deficiencies in design or a failure to meet other inclusion criteria. Reviews summarized on average 284 data sets and 112 years of research activity, yet the likelihood that their results had at least some implications for management did not increase as the amount of primary research summarized increased. In some cases, conclusions were elusive despite the inclusion of hundreds of data sets and years of cumulative research activity. Systematic reviews are an important part of the conservation decision making tool kit, although we believe the benefits of systematic reviews could be significantly enhanced by increasing the number of reviews focused on questions of direct relevance to on-the-ground managers; defining a more focused geographic and taxonomic breadth that better reflects available data; including a broader range of evidence types; and appraising the cost-effectiveness of interventions.

Contribuciones de las Revisiones Sistemáticas a las Decisiones de Manejo

Las revisiones sistemáticas resumen integralmente la evidencia sobre la efectividad de las intervenciones de conservación. Investigamos la contribución de las decisiones de manejo hechas por este creciente cuerpo de literatura. Identificamos 43 revisiones sistemáticas de evidencia de conservación, 23 de las cuales hicieron algunas conclusiones concretas relevantes al manejo. La mayoría de las revisiones se dirigían a intervenciones de conservación relevantes a las decisiones políticas; sólo el 35% consideraba intervenciones de manejo sobre-la-causa prácticas. La mayoría de las revisiones cubrieron solo una pequeña fracción de la amplitud geográfica y taxonómica a la que buscaban dirigirse (mediana = 13% de los países relevantes y 16% de los taxones relevantes). La probabilidad de que las revisiones tuvieran por lo menos algunas implicaciones para el manejo tendió a incrementar conforme la cobertura geográfica incrementaba y a declinar conforme aumentaba la amplitud taxonómica. Estos resultados sugieren que la amplitud de una revisión taxonómica requiere de una consideración cuidadosa. Las revisiones identificaron una media de 312 estudios primarios relevantes pero excluyeron 88% de estos por deficiencias en el diseño o fallas para coincidir con otros criterios de inclusión. Las revisiones resumieron en promedio 248 juegos de datos y 112 años de actividad de investigación, pero la probabilidad de que sus resultados tuvieran por lo menos algunas implicaciones para el manejo no incrementaron mientras la cantidad de investigación primaria resumida aumentaba. En algunos casos, las conclusiones fueron elusivas a pesar de la inclusión de cientos de conjuntos de datos y años de actividad de investigación acumulada. Las revisiones sistemáticas son una parte importante del juego de herramientas en la toma de decisiones de conservación, aunque consideramos que los beneficios de las revisiones sistemáticas podrían ser mejorados significativamente al incrementar el número de revisiones centradas en preguntas con relevancia directa a administradores sobre-la-causa; definiendo una amplitud geográfica y taxonómica más enfocada que reflejo los datos disponibles; incluyendo un rango más amplio de tipos de evidencia; y evaluando la efectividad de costo de las intervenciones.

Businesses, governments, and financial institutions are increasingly adopting a policy of no net loss of biodiversity for development activities. The goal of no net loss is intended to help relieve tension between conservation and development by enabling economic gains to be achieved without concomitant biodiversity losses. biodiversity offsets represent a necessary component of a much broader mitigation strategy for achieving no net loss following prior application of avoidance, minimization, and remediation measures. However, doubts have been raised about the appropriate use of biodiversity offsets. We examined what no net loss means as a desirable conservation outcome and reviewed the conditions that determine whether, and under what circumstances, biodiversity offsets can help achieve such a goal. We propose a conceptual framework to substitute the often ad hoc approaches evident in many biodiversity offset initiatives. The relevance of biodiversity offsets to no net loss rests on 2 fundamental premises. First, offsets are rarely adequate for achieving no net loss of biodiversity alone. Second, some development effects may be too difficult or risky, or even impossible, to offset. To help to deliver no net loss through biodiversity offsets, biodiversity gains must be comparable to losses, be in addition to conservation gains that may have occurred in absence of the offset, and be lasting and protected from risk of failure. Adherence to these conditions requires consideration of the wider landscape context of development and offset activities, timing of offset delivery, measurement of biodiversity, accounting procedures and rule sets used to calculate biodiversity losses and gains and guide offset design, and approaches to managing risk. Adoption of this framework will strengthen the potential for offsets to provide an ecologically defensible mechanism that can help reconcile conservation and development.

Balances de Biodiversidad y el Reto de No Obtener Pérdida Neta

Los negocios, gobiernos e instituciones financieras adoptan cada vez más una política de no pérdida neta de biodiversidad para el desarrollo de actividades. La meta de la no pérdida neta está enfocada en ayudar a aliviar la tensión entre la conservación y el desarrollo al permitir que se obtengan ganancias económicas sin pérdidas de biodiversidad acompañantes. Los balances de biodiversidad representan un componente necesario de una estrategia de mitigación mucho más amplia para obtener una no pérdida neta siguiendo la aplicación previa de evitación, minimización y medidas de remediación. Sin embargo, han surgido dudas sobre el uso apropiado de los balances de biodiversidad. Examinamos lo que implica una no pérdida neta como un resultado de conservación deseable y revisamos las condiciones que determinan si, y bajo cuales circunstancias, los balances de biodiversidad pueden ayudar a obtener dicha meta. Propusimos un marco de trabajo conceptual para sustituir las aproximaciones seguidas y ad hoc en muchas iniciativas de balances de biodiversidad. La relevancia de los balances de biodiversidad hacia la no pérdida neta yace sobre dos premisas fundamentales. Primero, los balances rara vez son adecuados para obtener la no pérdida neta por sí sola. Segundo, algunos efectos de desarrollo pueden ser muy difíciles o riesgosos, o incluso imposibles, para el balance. Para ayudar a obtener no pérdida neta a través de los balances de biodiversidad, las ganancias de biodiversidad deben ser comparables con las pérdidas, estar sumadas a las ganancias de conservación que pueden haber ocurrido en la ausencia de los balances y ser duraderas y estar protegidas del riesgo de fracaso. La adhesión a estas condiciones requiere una consideración del contexto de paisaje más amplio de desarrollo y de las actividades del balance, la sincronización de la obtención del balance, medida de la biodiversidad, procedimientos de aseguramiento y juegos de reglas usados para calcular las pérdidas y ganancias de biodiversidad y guías en el diseño de balances, y aproximaciones al manejo de riesgo. La adopción de este marco de trabajo hará más fuerte el potencial para que los balances proporcionen un mecanismo defendible ecológicamente que pueda ayudar a reconciliar a la conservación con el desarrollo.

Use of population viability analyses (PVAs) in endangered species recovery planning has been met with both support and criticism. Previous reviews promote use of PVA for setting scientifically based, measurable, and objective recovery criteria and recommend improvements to increase the framework's utility. However, others have questioned the value of PVA models for setting recovery criteria and assert that PVAs are more appropriate for understanding relative trade-offs between alternative management actions. We reviewed 258 final recovery plans for 642 plants listed under the U.S. Endangered Species Act to determine the number of plans that used or recommended PVA in recovery planning. We also reviewed 223 publications that describe plant PVAs to assess how these models were designed and whether those designs reflected previous recommendations for improvement of PVAs. Twenty-four percent of listed species had recovery plans that used or recommended PVA. In publications, the typical model was a matrix population model parameterized with ≤5 years of demographic data that did not consider stochasticity, genetics, density dependence, seed banks, vegetative reproduction, dormancy, threats, or management strategies. Population growth rates for different populations of the same species or for the same population at different points in time were often statistically different or varied by >10%. Therefore, PVAs parameterized with underlying vital rates that vary to this degree may not accurately predict recovery objectives across a species’ entire distribution or over longer time scales. We assert that PVA, although an important tool as part of an adaptive-management program, can help to determine quantitative recovery criteria only if more long-term data sets that capture spatiotemporal variability in vital rates become available. Lacking this, there is a strong need for viable and comprehensive methods for determining quantitative, science-based recovery criteria for endangered species with minimal data availability.

Uso Actual y Potencial del Análisis de Viabilidad Poblacional para la Recuperación de Especies de Plantas Enlistadas en el Acta de Especies En Peligro de E.U.A

El uso de análisis de viabilidad poblacional (AVP) en la planificación de la recuperación de especies en peligro ha enfrentado tanto apoyo como críticas. Revisiones previas promueven el uso de AVP para fijar criterios de recuperación objetivos y con bases científicas y recomiendan mejoras para incrementar la utilidad de la herramienta. Sin embargo, otras han cuestionado el valor de los modelos de AVP para definir criterios de recuperación y afirman que los AVP son más apropiados para comprender los pros y contras de acciones de manejo alternativas. Revisamos 258 planes de recuperación finales para 642 especies de plantas enlistadas en el Acta de Especies En Peligro de E.U.A. para determinar el número de planes que usaban o recomendaban AVP en la planificación de la recuperación. También revisamos 223 publicaciones que describen AVP de plantas para evaluar el diseño de estos modelos y si esos diseños reflejaban recomendaciones previas para el mejoramiento de los AVP. Veinticuatro porciento de las especies enlistadas tenían planes de recuperación que usaron o recomendaron AVP. En las publicaciones, el modelo típico fue el modelo matricial con parámetros de ≤5 años de datos demográficos que no consideraron estocasticidad, genética, denso dependencia, bancos de semillas, reproducción vegetativa, latencia, amenazas o estrategias de manejo. Las tasas de crecimiento poblacional para poblaciones diferentes de la misma especie o para la misma población en diferentes puntos en el tiempo a menudo fueron estadísticamente diferentes o variaron en >10%. Por lo tanto, puede que los AVP con parámetros de tasas vitales con este grado de variación no predigan con precisión los objetivos de recuperación en toda el área de distribución de una especie o en escalas de tiempo mayores. Afirmamos que los AVP, aunque una herramienta importante de un programa de manejo adaptativo, pueden ayudar a determinar criterios de recuperación cuantitativos solo si se dispone de conjuntos de datos de largo plazo que captan la variabilidad espaciotemporal de tasas vitales. Si se carece de ello, hay una fuerte necesidad de métodos viables e integrales para definir criterios de recuperación cuantitativos, basados científicamente, para especies en peligro con mínima disponibilidad de datos.

Web-crawling approaches, that is, automated programs data mining the internet to obtain information about a particular process, have recently been proposed for monitoring early signs of ecosystem degradation or for establishing crop calendars. However, lack of a clear conceptual and methodological framework has prevented the development of such approaches within the field of conservation biology. Our objective was to illustrate how Google Trends, a freely accessible web-crawling engine, can be used to track changes in timing of biological processes, spatial distribution of invasive species, and level of public awareness about key conservation issues. Google Trends returns the number of internet searches that were made for a keyword in a given region of the world over a defined period. Using data retrieved online for 13 countries, we exemplify how Google Trends can be used to study the timing of biological processes, such as the seasonal recurrence of pollen release or mosquito outbreaks across a latitudinal gradient. We mapped the spatial extent of results from Google Trends for 5 invasive species in the United States and found geographic patterns in invasions that are consistent with their coarse-grained distribution at state levels. From 2004 through 2012, Google Trends showed that the level of public interest and awareness about conservation issues related to ecosystem services, biodiversity, and climate change increased, decreased, and followed both trends, respectively. Finally, to further the development of research approaches at the interface of conservation biology, collective knowledge, and environmental management, we developed an algorithm that allows the rapid retrieval of Google Trends data.

Los métodos de navegación en la red, esto es, programas automatizados de minería de datos para obtener información de un proceso determinado, han sido propuestos recientemente para monitorear señales tempranas de la degradación de ecosistemas o para el establecimiento de calendarios de cosecha. Sin embargo, la falta de un marco conceptual y metodológico ha prevenido el desarrollo de tales métodos en el campo de la biología de la conservación. Nuestro objetivo fue ilustrar como Google Trends, una plataforma de rastreo en la red accesible gratuitamente, puede ser utilizado para seguir los cambios de cronología en procesos biológicos, distribución espacial de especies invasoras y el nivel de conciencia pública acerca de temas clave de conservación. Google Trends reporta el número de búsquedas por internet realizadas para una palabra clave en una región determinada del mundo en un período definido. Mediante el uso de datos recuperados para 13 países, ejemplificamos como se puede usar Google Trends para estudiar la cronología de procesos biológicos, como la recurrencia estacional de liberación de polen o brotes de mosquitos en un gradiente latitudinal. Mapeamos la extensión espacial de los resultados de Google Trends para cinco especies invasoras en Estados Unidos y encontramos patrones geográficos de invasiones que son consistentes con su distribución de grano grueso a nivel estatal. De 2004 a 2012 Google Trends mostró que el nivel de interés y conciencia del público sobre temas de conservación relacionados con servicios del ecosistema, biodiversidad y cambio climático incrementaron, disminuyeron y siguieron ambas tendencias, respectivamente. Finalmente, para promover el desarrollo de métodos de investigación en la interfaz de la biología de la conservación, el conocimiento colectivo y la gestión ambiental, desarrollamos un algoritmo que permite la rápida recuperación de datos de Google Trends.

The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) expects forestry plantations to contribute to biodiversity conservation. A well-developed understory in forestry plantations might serve as a surrogate habitat for native species and mitigate the negative effect of plantations on species richness. We experimentally tested this hypothesis by removing the understory in Monterey pine (Pinus radiata) plantations in central Chile and assessing changes in species richness and abundance of medium-sized mammals. Frequency of occurrence of mammals, including kodkods (Leopardus guigna), culpeo foxes (Pseudalopex culpaeus), lesser grisons (Conepatus chinga), and Southern pudu deer (Pudu puda), was low in forest stands with little to no understory relative to stands with well-developed undergrowth vegetation. After removing the understory, their frequency of occurrence decreased significantly, whereas in control stands, where understory was not removed, their frequency did not change. This result strongly supports the idea that facilitating the development of undergrowth vegetation may turn forestry stands into secondary habitats as opposed to their containing no habitat for native mammals. This forestry practice could contribute to conservation of biological diversity as it pertains to CBD targets.

Proporcionando Hábitat para Mamíferos Nativos Mediante el Mejoramiento del Sotobosque en Plantaciones Forestales

La Convención sobre Diversidad Biológica (CDB) espera que las plantaciones forestales contribuyan a la conservación de la biodiversidad. Un sotobosque bien desarrollado en plantaciones forestales puede servir como hábitat sustituto para especies nativas y mitigar el efecto negativo de las plantaciones sobre la riqueza de especies. Probamos esta hipótesis experimentalmente mediante la remoción del sotobosque en plantaciones de pino (Pinus radiata) en Chile central y evaluando los cambios en la riqueza y abundancia de mamíferos medianos. La frecuencia de ocurrencia de mamíferos, incluyendo Leopardus guigna, Pseudalopex culpaeus, Conepatus chinga y Pudu puda, fue baja en bosques con poco o nada de sotobosque. Después de remover el sotobosque, su frecuencia de ocurrencia disminuyó significativamente, mientras que en las plantaciones control, donde no se removió el sotobosque, la frecuencia no cambió. Este resultado soporta sólidamente la idea de que la facilitación del desarrollo de la vegetación de sotobosque puede convertir las parcelas forestales en hábitats secundarios para mamíferos nativos en contraposición a que no los tengan. Esta práctica forestal podría contribuir a la conservación de la diversidad biológica en el contexto de las metas de la CBD.

Comparative extinction risk analysis is a common approach for assessing the relative plight of biodiversity and making conservation recommendations. However, the usefulness of such analyses for conservation practice has been questioned. One reason for underperformance may be that threats arising from global environmental changes (e.g., habitat loss, invasive species, climate change) are often overlooked, despite being widely regarded as proximal drivers of species’ endangerment. We explore this problem by (i) reviewing the use of threats in this field and (ii) quantitatively investigating the effects of threat exclusion on the interpretation and potential application of extinction risk model results. We show that threat variables are routinely (59%) identified as significant predictors of extinction risk, yet while most studies (78%) include extrinsic factors of some kind (e.g., geographic or bioclimatic information), the majority (63%) do not include threats. Despite low overall usage, studies are increasingly employing threats to explain patterns of extinction risk. However, most continue to employ methods developed for the analysis of heritable traits (e.g., body size, fecundity), which may be poorly suited to the treatment of nonheritable predictors including threats. In our global mammal and continental amphibian extinction risk case studies, omitting threats reduced model predictive performance, but more importantly (i) reduced mechanistic information relevant to management; (ii) resulted in considerable disagreement in species classifications (12% and 5% for amphibians and mammals, respectively, translating to dozens and hundreds of species); and (iii) caused even greater disagreement (20–60%) in a downstream conservation application (species ranking). We conclude that the use of threats in comparative extinction risk analysis is important and increasing but currently in the early stages of development. Priorities for future studies include improving uptake, availability, quality and quantification of threat data, and developing analytical methods that yield more robust, relevant and tangible products for conservation applications.

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Climate change has the potential to alter the phenological synchrony between interacting mutualists, such as plants and their pollinators. However, high levels of biodiversity might buffer the negative effects of species-specific phenological shifts and maintain synchrony at the community level, as predicted by the biodiversity insurance hypothesis. Here, we explore how biodiversity might enhance and stabilise phenological synchrony between a valuable crop, apple and its native pollinators. We combine 46 years of data on apple flowering phenology with historical records of bee pollinators over the same period. When the key apple pollinators are considered altogether, we found extensive synchrony between bee activity and apple peak bloom due to complementarity among bee species’ activity periods, and also a stable trend over time due to differential responses to warming climate among bee species. A simulation model confirms that high biodiversity levels can ensure plant–pollinator phenological synchrony and thus pollination function.

Alien plants pose significant threats to protected areas worldwide yet many studies only describe the degree to which these areas have become invaded. Research must move toward a better understanding of alien plant impacts since managers urgently require an appropriate evidence base to prioritize control/eradication targets. We analyze a global database of quantitative studies of alien plant impacts to evaluate existing knowledge of alien plant impacts within and outside protected areas. Although protected areas are a significant focus for quantitative impact studies, the biogeographic emphasis of most research effort does not coincide with the global distribution of protected areas nor the plant species or life-forms recognized to have greatest impacts on ecosystems. While impacts were often as significant within protected areas as outside, only a minority of studies provide any subsequent management recommendations. There is therefore considerable scope to improve the evidence base on alien plant management in protected areas.

Lindenmayer et al. proposed that logging makes “some kinds of forests more prone to increased probability of ignition and increased fire severity.” The proposition was developed most strongly in relation to the wet eucalypt forests of south-eastern Australia. A key argument was that logging in wet forests results in drier forests that tend to be more fire-prone, and this argument has gained prominence both in the literature and in policy debate. We find no support for that argument from considerations of eucalypt stand development, and from reanalysis of the only Australian study cited by Lindenmayer et al. In addition, there is no evidence from recent megafires in Victoria that younger regrowth (<10 years) burnt with greater severity than older forest (>70 years); furthermore, forests in reserves (with no logging) did not burn with less severity than multiple-use forests (with some logging). The flammability of stands of different ages can be explained in terms of stand structure and fuel accumulation, rather than as a dichotomy of regrowth stands being highly flammable but mature and old-growth stands not highly flammable. Lack of management of fire-adapted ecosystems carries long-term social, economic, and environmental consequences.

Selective logging is a major driver of rainforest degradation across the tropics. Two competing logging strategies are proposed to meet timber demands with the least impact on biodiversity: land sharing, which combines timber extraction with biodiversity protection across the concession; and land sparing, in which higher intensity logging is combined with the protection of intact primary forest reserves. We evaluate these strategies by comparing the abundances and species richness of birds, dung beetles and ants in Borneo, using a protocol that allows us to control for both timber yield and net profit across strategies. Within each taxonomic group, more species had higher abundances with land-sparing than land-sharing logging, and this translated into significantly higher species richness within land-sparing concessions. Our results are similar when focusing only on species found in primary forest and restricted in range to Sundaland, and they are independent of the scale of sampling. For each taxonomic group, land-sparing logging was the most promising strategy for maximizing the biological value of logging operations.