Conservation Letters

To prevent species extinctions, targeted action must focus on areas of threatened biodiversity facing intense human pressures. This objective is even more important in the run-up to 2030, the target date to conserve 30% of lands and waters globally. Conservation Imperatives (unprotected terrestrial sites that harbour rare, range-restricted, and threatened species) are critical to preventing imminent species losses. To prioritize among the 16,825 Conservation Imperatives Sites spanning 1.64 million km2, we ranked each site using a prioritization framework based on four criteria: number of threatened species per site; irreplaceability of the site; the proportion of an ecoregions remaining habitat contained in the site; and conversion pressure. Our approach prioritizes 1,667 sites representing 501,426 km2, or 0.37% of Earths terrestrial surface, most in need of urgent protection, with 87.34% of these sites occurring in 20 countries and in 250 ecoregions. This prioritization directly addresses the concern that protected areas must be targeted to protect endangered species, habitats and populations: 33.46% of the prioritized Conservation Imperatives Sites scored higher in irreplaceability than 90% of existing protected areas. Additionally, 51.53% are within 2.5 km2 of an existing protected area, making extending protection or restoring connectivity more feasible. Targeting conservation actions, especially in this small set of countries and ecoregions identified here, would contribute "high quality" areas for biodiversity as part of reaching the 30% coverage target by 2030.

There is an urgent need to gather data on harvest rates of waterbirds in Europe to assess the sustainability of hunting. Estimates of total waterbird harvest in the United Kingdom (UK) and the relative harvest of different huntable species come from two separate surveys, the Value of Shooting (PACEC 2014) and National Gamebag Census (NGC, Aebischer 2019), and these have been recently used to explore the likelihood of unsustainable harvests of wild waterbirds by UK hunters (Ellis and Cameron 2022; Madden et al., 2025). The reliability of these sustainability estimates depends on how representative the original surveys are of hunter behaviour and success. There are also 1-3 million released game-farm mallard (Anas platyrhynchos) that takes up considerable and unquantified proportions of the UK waterbird harvest. Here we explore uncertainties in the UK winter harvest of wild waterfowl by comparing estimates from the NGC dataset with those from the Crown Estate coastal hunting clubs, and a novel approach using analysis of social-media images (2019/20 to 2023/24). We explore the difference in species-specific harvest with and without the uncertainties in the number of released mallard and the total number of duck harvested in the UK. Waterbird harvest estimates differ markedly depending on the input dataset and whether released mallard are included in the analysis. Confidence intervals of each estimate are inflated by uncertainties in the number of released game-farm mallard contributing to, and the size of that national bag. Estimates extrapolated from social media suggest the national harvest of several species may be considerably larger than the corresponding NGC estimates (e.g. Teal *2.07 and gadwall *11.2), while mallard harvests away from formal shoots represented by NGC are significantly lower (*0.71). Excluding released mallard reduces the statistical estimate of total wild duck harvest by 56-63%, which would have biologically significant effects if realised.

BackgroundA structural governance failure sits at the intersection of international biodiversity law and the digital genomics revolution. The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and the Nagoya Protocol on Access and Benefit-Sharing (ABS) were designed to ensure that countries of biological origin share equitably in commercial benefits from their genetic resources. Critically, these instruments apply exclusively to non-human genetic resources: plants, animals, fungi, and microbiota. Human genetic resources are deliberately excluded from the CBD and Nagoya ABS framework and are governed separately through bioethics instruments, including the World Health Organization (WHO) framework and the Declaration of Helsinki. This study focuses on non-human digital sequence information (DSI), nucleotide and protein sequence data derived from non-human organisms deposited in open-access databases, which underpins industries generating over USD 1.56 trillion in annual revenue. Africa, hosting approximately 25% of global terrestrial species and nine of the worlds 36 biodiversity hotspots, provides a disproportionate share of the genetic resources from which non-human DSI is derived, yet receives negligible monetary returns because digitisation severs the traceability chain that ABS governance requires. Human genomic data is presented here solely as a secondary indicator of Africas broader infrastructure; it does not constitute the legal basis for Africas modelled allocation share under the Cali Fund. ObjectivesThis study systematically characterises (i) Africas non-human biodiversity endowment as the basis for Cali Fund claims; (ii) ABS governance readiness across 54 African Union (AU) member states; (iii) the commercial trajectories of non-human DSI-dependent industries and projected Cali Fund benefit-sharing flows; and (iv) Africas human genomic representation as a secondary infrastructure indicator, explicitly distinguished from the non-human DSI benefit-sharing argument. MethodsA structured evidence synthesis was conducted following Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) 2020 reporting elements, where applicable to a secondary data analysis design. Literature was searched across PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, Google Scholar, and official repositories of the CBD, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), and United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). The search was restricted to January 2022 - April 2026 to capture post-Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (KMGBF) literature. A total of 412 records were identified before screening; 34 peer-reviewed articles and 19 institutional documents met all inclusion criteria. Quantitative Cali Fund scenario modelling used the United Nations Environment Programme World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC) and KPMG (2024) non-human DSI sector revenue baseline (CBD/WGDSI/2/2/Add.2). The 12.5% net profit margin is a cross-sector proxy from that study; actual margins vary by sector. Africas modelled allocation share (20-25%) is the authors analytical construct based on Africas non-human species richness and hotspot share; it is not an internationally agreed formula. ResultsAfricas non-human biodiversity endowment is exceptional: 25% of terrestrial species, nine of 36 biodiversity hotspots, and the worlds second-largest tropical forest system. Non-human DSI from African genetic resources is a critical input to industries generating USD 1.56 trillion annually, yet Africa contributes a marginal and unmeasured fraction of International Nucleotide Sequence Database Collaboration (INSDC) sequences. As a secondary indicator, 94.48% of genome-wide association study (GWAS) participants as of 2024 were of European ancestry (Corpas et al., 2025); this human genomic data is presented for contextual illustration only and is not the basis for Africas Cali Fund modelled allocation share. Zero African Union member states have enacted legislation explicitly covering non-human DSI in their ABS framework. Africas modelled allocation share ranges from USD 312 million (Scenario A, 20% weight) to USD 5.83 billion (Scenario C, 25% weight) annually. ConclusionsAfrica is among the most biologically rich continents on Earth for non-human life, yet structurally excluded from the benefit-sharing framework the CBD intended to create. The Cali Fund represents the first mechanism capable of correcting this at scale. Realising Africas modelled allocation share requires urgent legislative reform, institutional capacity investment, sequencing infrastructure development, and a coordinated African position at COP17 scheduled in Yerevan, October 2026.

The use of marine space by human activities is globally increasing, resulting in a competition with spatial management measures for marine conservation. Within the European Union (EU) these measures are currently implemented by the union member states to achieve the UN sustainable development goal (SDG) of protecting at least 10 % of the national marine waters. Further, the EU Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD) and the Nature Restoration Regulation (NRL) are the two main legal means for the implementation of ambitious spatial conservation targets for benthic habitat types, which can range from 10 - 90 %. This study analysis how the targets of the MSFD and NRL are currently met in the German waters of the North Sea and which areas the full implementation of both legislations might require. A spatial optimisation tool ("prioritizr" in R) was used to identify optimised solutions for the conservation of up to 75 % of NRL benthic habitats. The current spatial conservation measures (which ban demersal trawling within certain zones of designated marine protected areas, MPA) are not sufficient to reach the targets of the MSFD and NRL. Extending the exclusion of demersal trawling to the entire area of the MPAs would achieve a sufficient coverage for all habitats except for offshore sand and mud habitats. These could be further protected, when including areas for offshore wind farms, where trawling is also banned. However, to date it is unclear, if and how these (or other human use) areas could be included into spatial conservation regimes, a debate that needs to be resolved to allow for the achievement of the ambitious MSFD and NRL targets.

Designing effective spatial management for chondrichthyans (sharks, skates, rays and chimaeras) requires incorporating critical areas, sites essential for population maintenance, such as reproductive and feeding areas. Yet most area-based measures have been developed without consideration of chondrichthyan habitat use. The Important Shark and Ray Area (ISRA) initiative has been pivotal in designating priority areas through a rigorous, consultative process. To complement this, our study offers researchers a testable definition for generating robust evidence to strengthen future critical area delineations and related management decisions. We define critical areas using three criteria: 1) relative frequency of use, (2) extended within-year occupancy and (3) repeated use across years. This framework enables objective comparison among candidate sites and is generalisable across different critical area types. The definition builds upon established early-life-stage habitat concepts and applies these to broader life-history functions. The utility of this framework is then demonstrated through a systematic review of contemporary peer-reviewed literature of critical chondrichthyan areas in the European Atlantic. The review highlighted 62 critical areas with Strong evidence and 41 areas of Moderate strength evidence, which informed the European Atlantic ISRA selection process. Research effort was concentrated in inshore areas, particularly around the British Isles and Portugal, with biases towards large, threatened and commercially valuable species, whilst chimaeras were notably underrepresented. Early-life stage areas were most frequently identified, whereas resting areas were rarely documented. Evidence patterns and biases are examined in the context of evolving critical area concepts to advance their development and improve the quality and breadth of future research. By outlining a testable definition, identifying key knowledge gaps, and proposing research and reporting guidelines, this work enhances the consistency, comparability, and spatial coverage of future chondrichthyan habitat research to support its application to conservation planning.

Large-scale annual releases of pheasants Phasianus colchicus and their subsequent management for recreational shooting create various ecological impacts in the UK. While effects at release sites are fairly well understood, dispersing birds may influence areas farther away. If they enter ecologically important but sensitive protected areas (PAs), any negative impacts could be especially harmful. Using tracking data, from 766 birds across 10 sites, we estimated survival and dispersal of released pheasants and applied these patterns to gamebird release records near English PAs to gauge intrusion risk. Of 2,885 registered release sites, just over half lay within 2 km of a PA. A large number of shoots release relatively few birds while a small number release many birds. Thus, numbers expected to enter a particular PA likely depend both on the size of releases and proximity to the PA. We estimate that, at a national level, a maximum of between 525,000 and 784,000 pheasants might be found within PAs very soon after release, representing around 1.7% of all the pheasants released annually. This number declines over the months after release until in February, we estimate that there are between 131,000 and 196,000 pheasants (0.4% of the total release) might be found within PAs. The critical metric by which ecological damage might occur is their density within PAs. Mean densities soon after release averaged 12.0 birds/ha in PAs within 250 m of release sites. This density declined markedly both in time (as birds died) and space (as they moved further from the pen as potential areas increased). By November, densities in PAs 500-1000m from release sites peaked at 0.5 birds/ha, falling to 0.16 birds/ha in February. These estimated densities are around two orders of magnitude lower than those known to cause strong, lasting impacts within release pens. The results are subject to assumptions about movement behaviour, game management and bias in registration. Despite these constraints, considerable local variation exists, with a minority of high-volume release sites very near PAs posing the greatest potential ecological risk.

AimA comprehensive understanding of the spatial distribution of biodiversity is hindered by fragmented datasets, sampling biases, and inconsistent observation protocols. Here, we present a workflow that integrates disparate datasets to produce large scale maps of biodiversity metrics as a basis for management-relevant information tools. We use integrated species distribution modeling (iSDM) to account for sampling biases and disparate data collection techniques, taking advantage of the vast numbers of open datasets available in data aggregators like GBIF. LocationNorway (excluding Svalbard and Jan Mayen) TaxonVascular plants MethodsThe workflow consists of four main steps: data acquisition, data integration, integrated species distribution modelling (iSDM), and the production of derived outputs. Input data include structured surveys, opportunistic observations, and environmental covariates. These are standardised and integrated into a point-processed based iSDM framework to produce species richness maps, associated uncertainties, and sampling effort maps. The outputs are further processed to identify biodiversity hotspots or to summarise species-environment relationships. The workflow used vascular plant data from Norway, combining occurrence-only and presence-absence datasets with environmental covariates. Outputs were generated at a spatial resolution of 500 x 500 meters, balancing accuracy, computational feasibility and relevance for management decisions. High-performance computing resources were utilized for model fitting and predictions. A subset of available data was used to validate the species richness maps. ResultsWe produced detailed maps of species richness, uncertainties and sampling intensity across Norways heterogeneous landscape, incorporating 1218 species in our final results. The species richness patterns highlight patterns consistent with previous mapping efforts. Validation showed an increase in model accuracy when compared to models which did not use an iSDM framework. The workflow highlights limitations in the infrastructure of the currently openly accessible data, particularly the need for more structured presence-absence datasets and standardized metadata. Main conclusionsThis study underscores the potential of workflows that integrate disparate datasets for biodiversity modeling. To maximize accuracy and utility, future efforts should focus on improving data standardization, the publication and collection of more structured data, and fostering data-sharing collaborations. Advances in the workflow itself, including optimising modelling covariates and integrating more comprehensive spatio-temporal aspects, will also increase the relevance of the outputs. These advances will increase our ability to estimate species richness with a precision and accuracy that can reliably inform conservation and management decisions.

Effective conservation planning increasingly relies on species distribution models (SDMs) to guide where actions deliver the greatest biodiversity benefits through spatial conservation prioritization. However, SDMs are inherently uncertain, and this uncertainty propagates through prioritization processes, affecting the identification of priority areas and influencing conservation decisions. Here, we evaluate whether correcting SDM overprediction reduces uncertainty propagation into spatial conservation prioritization. Using two large European datasets of vertebrates and invertebrates, we compared unconstrained SDMs with models corrected for overprediction through a Bayesian integration of occurrences, expert range maps, and habitat suitability. We found that overprediction correction reduced spatial and performance uncertainty, with uncertainty strongly structured by model and algorithm choice and amplified when overprediction was not corrected. Although no single modelling adjustment fully eliminates uncertainty propagation from SDMs into prioritization, we demonstrate that overprediction correction consistently reduces it across datasets, taxa, and modelling approaches, highlighting its importance for robust conservation planning.

Reef manta rays (Mobula alfredi) are threatened by fishing and other anthropogenic threats. Which, when coupled with conservative life history traits, have made this species vulnerable to extinction. Spatiotemporal ecological knowledge, such as site fidelity and visitation patterns to key aggregation sites, are imperative for effective conservation management of M. alfredi. A novel method of environmental sensing, remote underwater photo systems (RUPs), was employed to understand drivers of M. alfredi habitat use and resighting patterns. RUPs were deployed at four cleaning sites around Laamu Atoll, Maldives. Between March 2021 and May 2023, 455,458 photos were analysed. Generalised linear models revealed increases in M. alfredi presence in response to high chlorophyll-a concentrations, low illumination moon states, the Southwest Monsoon, and in the morning, while human presence had no effect. Branchial spot patterns allowed for 81 M. alfredi individuals to be identified, from 629 sightings, representing 51.59% of Laamu Atolls previously identified population (n = 157). Cleaning stations are visited more intensively during periods of increased productivity of the Southwest Monsoon, likely in response to greater foraging opportunities near the study areas. Additionally, moon state, used as a proxy for tidal strength, was associated with increased visitation during new moon periods, suggesting that weaker tidal states may facilitate presence. These data support integrating RUPs with observational surveys to improve inferences about habitat use and our understanding of cleaning sites frequented by M. alfredi. This study aims to inform the implementation of Laamu Atolls first marine protected area management plan.

Coral reefs deliver vital services via a complex three-dimensional framework sustained by the balance between calcium carbonate production and erosion, or the net carbonate budget state. In many tropical western Atlantic reefs, ecological decline has reduced carbonate production, yielding near-neutral or negative budgets. Yet some reefs retain high coral cover and, theoretically, should also have high net positive budgets, yet often show modest carbonate accumulation. We used the remote reef of Cayo Arenas in the Campeche Bank, Gulf of Mexico, to test whether in reefs under suboptimal (variable) environmental conditions, high coral production is offset by robust bioeroder communities, producing neutral budgets. At 14 sites, we quantified carbonate producers and bioeroders to estimate gross production, bioerosion, and net budget states. Despite relatively high live coral cover, mean net carbonate budgets were approximately neutral. Crucially, this neutrality arose not from depressed biological activity (as in degraded reefs) but from an active equilibrium: vigorous carbonate production coupled with substantial bioerosion. These reefs, therefore, represent a contemporary, functional reef state in net stasis. Distinguishing active-neutral from impoverishment-neutral regimes is critical for predicting reef trajectories under environmental change and for targeting management, although near-stasis emerging from high carbonate turnover can appear functionally intact yet operate with limited buffering capacity against net carbonate loss.

Wildlife feeding during the wild turkey (Meleagris gallopavo) hunting season is legal in many states within the United States, but hunting turkeys with the aid of bait is unlawful in most states. The most common policy to prevent wildlife feeding from acting as bait is to restrict hunting within a defined radius. However, the effect of wildlife feeders on turkey harvest risk and the effectiveness of distance restrictions on mitigating that influence have not been investigated. During 2024-2025, we used GPS transmitters to track 30 adult male turkeys during the spring hunting season on private land with active feeders in Florida, USA, where hunting turkeys within a 91 m radius of a feeder was unlawful. We used Cox proportional hazard models to link risk of hunter harvest with unique feeders visited daily, number of feeders within a home range, and average morning distance and roosting distance to feeders at multiple temporal scales. Hunters harvested 53% of the tagged turkeys. Risk of hunter harvest increased with the number of unique feeders visited the previous day and after the first three days of hunting season with the number of active feeders within a home range. As distance from the most recent roost site and average morning distance to a feeder decreased, risk of hunter harvest increased. We estimated that risk of hunter harvest would be reduced by over 50% if distance restrictions were increased from 100 m to 200 m, by nearly 75% with an increase from 100 m to 300 m, and by nearly 90% with an increase from 100 m to 500 m. To completely eliminate the influence of wildlife feeders on risk of hunter harvest would require a restriction distance well beyond a 500m radius, which is impractical given that this radius would result in an area twice the average private landowner property size in the region. Thus, if wildlife feeding during the turkey hunting season is to be allowed, it will act as bait, in which case, the acceptable level of its influence as bait can be achieved with the appropriate hunting radius restriction.

O_LICalluna vulgaris is often managed in the UK by rotational burning, but this practice has recently been banned on peat with depth greater than 30-40 cm. It is unclear how then to manage the large areas of Calluna on blanket bogs used for sport shooting because without managed burning, fuel loads and wildfire risk will increase as the Calluna ages within the artificially narrow age distributions created by burn management. C_LIO_LIWe developed a model of Calluna mortality and management to understand duration and persistence of post-management effects. This allows us to assess how long it will take to reach a more natural age structure which would allow increased diversity if management ceases. C_LIO_LIOur results show that management effects persist for around 50 years depending on site-specific mortality rates. Active management may therefore be needed either to mitigate the elevated risk of severe wildfire or to speed up this transition. C_LIO_LISome studies have employed, as unmanaged analogues, Calluna stands that were last managed <50 years ago, but such studies may have unintentionally biased their results by observing Calluna still in post-management recovery leading to an over-estimation of wildfire risk associated with more natural blanket bogs. C_LIO_LISynthesis and applications: with the banning of burning as a management tool for Calluna on deep peat, alternative management is now likely needed as our model shows it could take around 50 years for the Calluna to reach a more natural age distribution. Mowing can replicate some of the effects of managed burning but requires repeated intervention and may compress the peat surface from repeated machine tracking. Rewetting and Sphagnum reintroduction may offer a more sustainable management approach to lowering Calluna fuel loads and reducing severe wildfire risk by creating wetter sub-optimal conditions for Calluna growth and thereby altering the competitive balance between Sphagnum and Calluna. Further work is needed to assess the efficacy of rewetting in controlling fuel loads and how this varies with climate and local pressures. More broadly, this work highlights the need to quantify the persistence of past management regimes to understand ecological trajectories. C_LI

Effective biodiversity conservation requires tools that can identify priority areas under growing human pressures. Building on the concept of global biodiversity hotspots, we present a transparent and repeatable approach to mapping conservation priorities using data for 33,604 species of terrestrial vertebrates from the IUCN Red List. This framework expands the taxonomic scope of previous efforts and integrates updated information on key human-driven threats to biodiversity. We identify that around 13% of Earths terrestrial surface qualifies as vertebrate conservation hotspots, often shaped by distinct combinations of species groups and threats. These results highlight the need for tailored, context-specific conservation strategies. By providing a robust method to guide spatial prioritization, our work supports more effective implementation of conservation targets in a rapidly changing world.

The ongoing decline in biodiversity highlights the need for understanding the causes of population changes. This study uses 25-year, large-scale monitoring dataset to investigate the influence of climate and landscape structure on the annual population growth rates of 84 bird species across Poland. Our methodological framework involves the spatiotemporal decomposition of these environmental drivers to decouple demographic effects of long-term carrying capacities from the short-term effects of environmental perturbations. Using species-specific demographic models followed by a community-wide meta-analysis, we evaluated how individual species responses scale up to shape community-level dynamics. The results reveal significant variation in species-specific responses to individual drivers. At the community level, our findings suggest that bird populations are mainly regulated by the long-term spatial constraints rather than short-term disturbances. Persistent environmental heterogeneity had the strongest positive demographic effect on birds, followed by temperature, forest dominance over croplands, and precipitation. In contrast, rapid temporal shifts in environmental heterogeneity and precipitation anomalies negatively affected population growth, whereas urbanisation consistently exerted a negative effect across both spatiotemporal dimensions. Our results highlight the significance of protecting existing heterogeneous and ecotonal habitats, as well as the need to incorporate features that enhance habitat heterogeneity into urban development. Article impact statementPreserving heterogeneous habitats is essential for the conservation of bird populations.

Habitat fragmentation disrupts metapopulation dynamics by altering environmental conditions and constraining demographic processes critical for persistence and recruitment. In the dry Afromontane forests of northern Ethiopia, we investigated how natural and anthropogenic drivers affect seedlings, saplings, and mature tree dynamics of Olea europaea subsp. cuspidata across 34 patches. We used dynamic occurrence models to quantify effects of patch area, altitude, browsing, and disturbance. Our results indicate that high disturbance reduces seedling occurrence probability lower disturbance sites has seedling in 30% of survey plots, high disturbance would bring this down to 10% (median = -1.322, 95% CI: -2.703 to -0.283). Disturbance makes seedling less likely to persist, while large patch size help seedling persists (median = -0.93, 9 5 % CrI -1.87 - -0.02). For mature individuals, disturbance was the only significant predictor of occurrence probability, suggesting greater resistance to environmental and spatial variability compared to earlier life stages. These findings emphasize that while mature trees display resilience, the successful regeneration of Olea europaea is constrained by disturbance, but current level of browsing is not a threat. Management strategies for conservation should prioritise reducing disturbance through community engagement and forest stewardship to enhance regeneration potential and ensure long-term population viability.

Primary and old-growth forests are globally valued for their biodiversity, ecosystem services, and cultural significance. The EU Biodiversity Strategy and EU Forest Strategy for 2030 require strict protection of remaining primary and old-growth forests, yet they cover only about 3% of EU forest area and remain highly threatened. The European Commissions guidelines define old-growth forests using three main indicators--native tree species, deadwood, and large/old trees--supported by five complementary indicators. Implementing these indicators for boreal and hemiboreal old-growth forests in northern Europe currently lack science-based operational criteria that meet EU legal standards. We provide recommendations for implementing European Commissions indicators with science-based operational criteria and thresholds to minimize misclassification and ensure cost-effective conservation. Key thresholds include native species dominance, [&ge;]5% deadwood of the total wood volume, and [&ge;]20 large/old trees per hectare. Additional guidance is offered for regeneration patterns, structural complexity, microhabitats, and indicator species, emphasizing that all indicators should be applied collectively.

The release of tens of millions of common pheasants (Phasianus colchicus) across the UK for shooting may pose an ecological risk to native species and sensitive habitats, particularly if the birds move into protected areas (PAs) such as Special Areas of Conservation (SAC), Special Protection Areas (SPA), and Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI). The extent of this ecological risk depends on the abundance of pheasants in these sensitive sites, especially if they are attracted there after the shooting season when game management efforts to retain the birds cease. We used relative pheasant abundance measures derived from British Trust for Ornithology bird atlas data from 3793 2km tetrads across four English counties (Berkshire, Cornwall, Devon, and Hertfordshire) to determine if pheasants preferentially disperse into or reside in areas with greater PA coverage. We analysed relative abundance in both the winter shooting season and the breeding season using a Bayesian occupancy-abundance model, controlling for habitat type and diversity. Our results showed a strong influence of habitat on pheasant abundance, consistent with known habitat preferences. However, we found no evidence of a relationship between relative pheasant abundance and the proportion of ecologically relevant PA coverage in a tetrad. This lack of a relationship was consistent across all four counties and across both the winter and breeding seasons. Our finding suggests that common pheasants do not preferentially disperse into or reside in protected areas compared to surrounding, unprotected land, suggesting that the ecological impacts caused by released pheasants are no more likely to occur in protected areas than in non-protected areas.

Despite substantial global commitments to expand protected-area networks, the strategic allocation of limited resources remains challenging. Spatial conservation planning helps identify priority regions that maximise conservation benefits per unit area. Yet, they also tend to neglect two fundamental aspects of conservation: climate-driven range shifts and the representation of environmentally distinct populations within species. Here, we propose a continental-scale conservation planning framework that explicitly accounts for both processes through novel routines implemented in the conservation planning software CAPTAIN. We apply this framework to European crop wild relatives (CWR), for which niche coverage is a focal priority, as it underpins their potential to support agricultural adaptation to future environmental stressors through breeding programs. Comparative analyses on a subset of 186 CWR associated with five focal crops show that accounting for range shifts and niche coverage leads to substantially different conservation priorities from those obtained with a baseline model based on current distributions only. These additions reduced the number of non-protected species by 64%, increased the average protected distribution range by 43%, increased mean niche coverage from 75.8% to 84.5% and reduced the number of species with less than half of their niche protected from 35 to 10. Applied to a more comprehensive checklist of 1,140 European CWRs, the final framework identifies continental-scale priority areas representing 93.5% of these taxa and includes 94.4% of its critically endangered species. Our results highlight the importance of incorporating both temporal dynamics and within-species environmental representation when designing conservation strategies under climate change. RepositoryThe repository will be made publicly accessible after publication at doi: https://10.5281/zenodo.19855597

O_LIFear of humans can drive persistent changes in wildlife behavioural and life-history traits, with cascading effects on entire ecosystems. Human multimodal cues and pet cues may influence impact of such fear, yet no study has tested how wildlife fear responses change when human acoustic cues and pet visual and acoustic cues are added to human visual cues. Filling this gap is important for managing human and pet outdoor activities while conserving wildlife. C_LIO_LIHere, with dogs representing the pet, we tested the effects of human and dog cues on fear responses of wild sika deer (Cervus nippon yesoensis) in approximately 800 km2 area, northern Japan, using alert distance (AD) and flight initiation distance (FID). First, we measured AD/FID with an approaching surveyor alone and with additional cues. Then, we fitted linear mixed-effects models while controlling for key covariates. C_LIO_LIFrom analyses with 266 observations, AD was estimated at 80.0 m with the human visual cue alone, and dog barking increased AD by 18.4m. FID was estimated at 57.1 m with the human visual cue alone, and human voice and the dog decoy increased FID by 11.3m and by 8.5 m, respectively. C_LIO_LIThese results demonstrate that human multimodal cues and pet cues can increase prey fear responses. Our findings also suggest that dog walking may expose wildlife to simultaneous human and pet cues more consistently than predator co-occurrence typically does in nature. The increase in FID with human acoustic cues, in contrast to previous studies, suggests that animals may shift cue weighting depending on predator species, potentially using human voices to help identify the threat as human. C_LIO_LIPrevious studies show that multimodal predator cues increase prey fear responses, and our findings extend this flamework to fear responses towards humans. Our findings can inform more tolerant management of human recreation and pet walking in sensitive areas. Reducing human and pet cues through signage, guidance, and zoning may prevent flight and associated energy expenditure, whereas mitigating vigilance may require behavioural guidance and spacing between pet-walking visitors. Overall, shaping how humans and pets behave may be more practical than blanket restriction. C_LI

AimHuman land-use change contributes to biodiversity declines, but also creates new niches that facilitate novel biotic interactions. These interactions can reshape ecological communities and ecosystem function, yet remain poorly understood. Swiftlets and swallows in Southeast Asia present a classic example: coexistence is facilitated by fine-scale diet partitioning, with population sizes historically limited by available nesting substrates. However, several species now nest on manmade structures, particularly "nest farms" built to harvest edible swiftlet nests. We evaluated whether land-use change, especially the spread of nest farms, is leading to breakdowns in niche partitioning and increased competition among six sympatric swiftlets and swallows. LocationNorthern Borneo MethodsWe calculated geographic niche overlap using species distribution models (SDMs) with different environmental predictors, hypothesizing greater overlap when land-use variables were included. We then implemented joint species distribution models (JSDMs) to partition shared environmental responses from potential biotic interactions, predicting that competition would emerge as negative residual correlations. We used sightings from citizen-science datasets and structured surveys to evaluate the influence of climate, land-use, nest farms, morphology, and foraging behavior on species occurrences. ResultsSDMs that included land-use variables showed high niche overlap, suggesting that human activity homogenizes niches. The optimal JSDM, based on structured survey data, identified distance to nest farms as the strongest predictor of occurrence for all species, with species showing both positive and negative responses. Morphology and behavior had small effects, and residual correlations were weak, indicating limited unexplained biotic interactions. Main conclusionsHuman activity, through the creation of artificial nesting sites, broadly drives co-occurrence of swallows and swiftlets across our study region. These effects appear to operate primarily through environmental filtering rather than direct competition. Our findings reveal substantial and complex impacts of land-use change and anthropogenic nest sites on the distribution and composition of aerial insectivore communities.