Conservation Science and Practice

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.

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.

O_LIIndigenous peoples play a central role in biodiversity knowledge and conservation, yet their participation in scientific research remains underrepresented. Understanding how Indigenous peoples, traditional knowledge, and Indigenous territories are portrayed in the scientific literature is essential for developing more equitable and culturally grounded conservation strategies. C_LIO_LIWe conducted a bibliometric analysis of 94 articles on biodiversity conservation in the Amazon, published between 1997 and 2025, indexed in Scopus and Web of Science. We examined temporal trends, geographic distribution, institutional leadership, Indigenous co-authorship, focal ecosystems and taxa, and the main contributions attributed to Indigenous peoples. Indigenous perspectives were integrated into this analysis through a participatory approach. C_LIO_LIScientific production increased after 2010. Research leadership remains concentrated in institutions from the Global North, even though Brazil, Ecuador, and Peru were the most frequently studied countries. Indigenous co-authorship was identified in only 6.4 % of the studies. Most studies focused on plants, mammals, and birds, whereas aquatic environments and groups such as insects, amphibians, and reptiles received comparatively less attention. The main contributions attributed to Indigenous peoples were related to community-based monitoring and management (41.48%) and cultural practices and traditional ecological knowledge (38.19%). C_LIO_LIThese findings show that Indigenous peoples are widely recognized as knowledge holders and conservation actors, but are still rarely included as authors or research partners. Our study highlights persistent geographic, epistemic, and collaborative asymmetries in Amazonian biodiversity research. Conservation science and policy will be stronger, fairer, and more effective when they move beyond documenting Indigenous knowledge towards supporting Indigenous leadership, equitable partnerships, and inclusive co-production of knowledge. C_LI

AimFreshwater species face significant challenges from direct and indirect anthropogenic impacts, leading to a global decline in freshwater biodiversity. Protected areas are a key tool for conservation, but their effectiveness in covering freshwater biodiversity remains uncertain. This study assesses the protection coverage of freshwater macroinvertebrates, vertebrates, and macrophytes in Cuba against the 17% and 30% conservation targets set by the Convention on Biological Diversity. LocationCaribbean biodiversity hotspot, including freshwater ecosystems across the Cuban archipelago. MethodsWe analyzed the distribution of 182 freshwater macroinvertebrates, 26 vertebrates, and 19 macrophyte species using an ensemble of four species distribution modeling techniques: Maxent, Boosted Regression Trees (BRT), Random Forest (RF), and Spatial Stream Network (SSN). We evaluated species overlap with Cubas current protected areas and conducted spatial conservation prioritization exercises that (i) included (lock-in) and (ii) excluded (free-choice) existing protected areas. ResultsOur analysis revealed that 41% (90 species) and 71% (161 species) failed to meet the 17% and 30% conservation targets, respectively. Many of the insufficiently protected species are globally threatened or endemic to the Cuban archipelago, heightening their extinction risk. Conservation planning that includes current protected areas requires significantly larger areas to meet the 30% representation target due to redundancy in existing protections. Conversely, excluding current protected areas achieves conservation goals more efficiently with fewer resources. Both approaches highlight the need to improve connectivity, particularly in upstream regions that are often neglected under the current protected area configuration. Main conclusionsFreshwater biodiversity in Cuba is poorly represented within existing protected areas. Meeting the 30% conservation target would require protecting an additional 30-70% of area, with a focus on headwaters and underrepresented taxa. Expanding Cubas National System of Protected Areas (SNAP) to prioritize fresh-water species, particularly endemics, is essential. A spatial conservation planning approach that integrates both lock-in and free-choice strategies can optimize resource use while enhancing connectivity across key rivers and tributaries.

BackgroundHuman-Wildlife Conflict is emerging as one of the most critical conservation and socio-economic challenges in the Ecuadorian Andes, where both rural livelihoods and native fauna are under increasing pressure. Small-scale livestock producers in the region depend almost entirely on a limited number of cattle, meaning that the loss of even a single animal can lead to severe economic hardship. In response, antagonistic actions against wildlife are frequent, further threatening vulnerable species. At the same time, the recent proliferation of feral dogs adds a new dimension to conflict, posing risks to both livestock and native fauna. Despite the growing severity of this conflict, little is known of its drivers, spatial patterns, and socio-ecological consequences. This study seeks to fill that gap by generating insights to inform targeted conservation strategies for community-based mitigation of conflict with spectacled bears and feral dogs. MethodsTo assess the drivers and dynamics of HWC in southern Ecuador, we conducted structured interviews with livestock owners, quantifying the frequency and intensity of conflicts across multiple species and evaluating whether farm composition and management practices predict conflict patterns. ResultsOur results reveal that large carnivores cause significantly higher economic losses than smaller predators; furthermore, feral dogs have emerged as the primary source of financial damage over the past five years. Farms with a greater proportion of forest edge were associated with a higher probability of severe conflict, particularly with large carnivores. ConclusionsThese findings underscore the urgent need for proactive strategies to promote coexistence. Identifying predictive variables of conflict risk is crucial for vulnerability assessments and the design of effective mitigation policies. Controlling feral dog populations is likely to be a critical step in safeguarding both rural human livelihoods and native biodiversity in the Andean landscape.

Target 4 of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (KMGBF) calls for urgent management actions to halt humaninduced extinctions and enable species recovery. However, most Parties face substantial challenges in determining which species require urgent management actions. Here, we present a transparent, standardised protocol that identifies and ranks species most likely to need urgent management actions at the national level, using globally available data from the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. The protocol integrates four criteria aligned with Target 4: global extinction risk, rate of decline, population or range restriction, and endemism, to generate a national ranked list of species. Species scoring highly on these four criteria, and therefore most in need of urgent management action, are ranked most highly. We applied this method to all 250 countries and territories listed in the IUCN Red List and pilottested national rankings with participants from eight diverse countries. Across pilots, participants reported that the ranked lists were scientifically robust, timesaving, and valuable starting points for national prioritysetting, while stating the importance of national context, and the need for additional technical and financial support for implementation. Our results demonstrate that a sciencebased approach can meaningfully support Parties in identifying species requiring urgent action under Target 4, in a standardised way. With 2030 approaching rapidly, this protocol provides an immediate, practical tool to accelerate progress toward halting extinctions and advancing species recovery.

Canadas ambition for mineral security and its responsibilities to protect at-risk species and uphold Indigenous rights clash in the case of the Grays Bay Road and Port (GBRP) in Nunavut, an infrastructure project intended to unlock critical mineral deposits. We compiled Indigenous and Western science through a density analysis of caribou harvesting data near the proposed project site. We identified three consistently used harvesting hotspots, with the most significant hotspot lying directly in the path of the proposed GBRP project. These results indicate that the GBRP project will have significant and unmitigable negative effects on caribou conservation, food security, and Inuit harvesting rights. Prime Minister Carney claims that middle power countries must act consistently in this era of geopolitical rupture; this commitment must transfer to natural resource development reviews so that decision-making may be consistent and rooted in cross-legislation responsibilities and values, including the land claims agreements between Indigenous groups and the Government of Canada.

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.

The rising demand for outdoor recreation worldwide may be undermining the conservation objectives of protected areas (PAs). We leveraged a natural experiment, in which two adjacent PAs were closed to the public for different durations during the COVID-19 pandemic. Using detections from 39 camera traps in Joffre Lakes and Garibaldi Parks, Canada, from 2020-2022, we examined how recreation influenced mammal habitat use and diversity. Bayesian regression showed weak evidence that, when recreation was higher, detections declined for black bear, mule deer, and marten, while detections of bobcat and hoary marmot shifted closer to trails. Accumulation curves revealed that species richness and diversity were higher in the closed vs. open PA in 2020 (mean differences of -5.04 for richness and -0.33 for Shannon diversity). However, diversity did not decline consistently despite increases in recreation in 2021 and 2022. Notably, several rare species were only detected in the lower-recreation PA, suggesting they may be filtered out of the higher-recreation PA. This emphasizes the need for long-term monitoring to detect delayed and cumulative effects of recreation on mammal communities. Given growing global pressures on biodiversity, we urge PA managers to prioritize adaptive management to assess and balance outdoor recreation with conservation goals.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARYThe endangered Columbia Basin pygmy rabbit (CBPR) faces multiple threats, particularly increasing risk of larger and more intense wildfires due to climate change, emerging disease, and sagebrush habitat loss due to agriculture and development. Through the use of conservation breeding, the CBPR wild population grew from a low of 16 individuals captured in 2001 to over 100 individuals in two subpopulations in 2024. However, these subpopulations are geographically proximate, with potential risk that both subpopulations could be affected by a single wildfire or disease event. Additionally, a succession of setbacks in the breeding program has prompted a natural re-evaluation point for the CBPR conservation program. We undertook a structured decision-making (SDM) process with participants from both Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) and US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) to develop a strategy that is sustainable and implementable for guiding management in the coming decades across the range of the CBPR, taking into account changing conditions and updated information. A population model that incorporated both demographic and high impact event uncertainties was developed to test how alternative strategies - defined by conservation breeding program, vaccination, and translocation components - affect CBPR population growth and cost objectives. Based on analysis of the model results, we identified the following actions that appear to have the greatest potential to allow WDFW and USFWS to meet their conservation objectives for CBPR: O_LIContinue conservation breeding program, and possibly expand to include an island subpopulation (an isolated, unfenced area that can serve as a source for rabbits while requiring fewer management inputs) C_LIO_LIContinue Rabbit Hemorrhagic Disease Virus (RHDV2) annual vaccinations in both breeding and wild populations C_LIO_LIWhen juveniles are available for translocation, prioritize recovery areas that are in the establishing phase C_LI In addition, while not analyzed explicitly in the model, discussions during the SDM process led to the identification of the following actions, which the group considered to have potential to benefit the CBPR either directly or indirectly: O_LIIncrease the amount of suitable habitat available to pygmy rabbits C_LIO_LIIncrease protections for existing and potential recovery areas C_LIO_LIDesign future monitoring to better estimate survival and reproduction, with an emphasis on understanding how these vital rates vary between wild and semi-captive individuals, between vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals, and as a function of habitat factors C_LI

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.

Giraffes, unlike other large mammals, typically pose minimal risk to humans, their animals, and crops, so they are traditionally not involved in human-wildlife conflict. Tree crops, however, are expanding across Africa, resulting in crop raiding by giraffes and retaliatory snaring, poaching, and killing of giraffes in response. The dynamics of giraffe crop raiding, however, are poorly understood, making effective interventions difficult to implement. To better understand key factors for humans and giraffes that mediate crop raiding, we used a multi-method approach to estimate giraffe abundance and activity, understand farmers perceptions and decisions, and test countermeasures around Garissa Giraffe Sanctuary in eastern Kenya. We hypothesized that 1) giraffe farm invasion would occur in dry seasons, 2) farms growing mangoes would be more likely to be invaded, 3) reducing invasion with only physical barriers would be less effective than adding behavior-based countermeasures, 4) perceptions would match giraffe activity and 5) countermeasure adoption would be driven by cost. We found that invasion and crop raiding primarily occur during the dry season and are associated with mangoes. Farmers are using many countermeasures. Effective countermeasures target giraffe behavior combined with physical barriers. Countermeasures are most effective when negative associations with humans are reinforced. Floodlights and speakers that play predator calls both reduce invasion, but only if used consistently. Overall, farmers perceptions matched giraffe dynamics. Availability was the most important factor in farmers willingness to try a countermeasure. Our results suggest that conflict can be reduced and there is interest from farmers in doing so, but use of countermeasures should be consistently applied and supported by making necessary equipment and instructions available.

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.

BackgroundHuman-wildlife conflict, which motivates retaliatory killings, is a major driver of species decline globally. Addressing an open question in human-wildlife conflict, we test whether evolutionary-rooted human attitudes, independent of economic losses, better predict retaliatory responses. MethodsWe examined human attitudes toward spectacled bears (Tremarctos ornatus) and other wild carnivores in a wildlife conflict-zone in southern Ecuador by conducting interviews in rural communities. We measured both established variables - such as education levels, age, and gender - and novel psychometric variables to identify predictors of human-wildlife conflict responses. ResultsPerceptions of animals emerged as the strongest predictor of conflict responses. Communities exhibiting high levels of vengefulness, particularly within an animal-directed Culture of Honor, where individuals, especially men, are expected to respond strongly or violently to perceived threats, were more likely to support lethal interventions. Conversely, individuals with strong environmental education backgrounds demonstrated more positive perceptions of wildlife, highlighting educations potential role in conflict mitigation. ConclusionEvolutionary-derived attitudes, rather than economic factors, primarily drive human responses to wildlife conflict. Effective strategies to reduce violence against wildlife should incorporate human perceptions and culturally rooted values to address the underlying social and psychological drivers of conflict.

Global conservation agreements emphasize protected area coverage targets, such as the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Frameworks 30x30 target, yet their effectiveness in safeguarding biodiversity remains uncertain. We measure the intersection between marine protected area (MPAs) coverage and the distribution of sharks and rays. Using global range maps and MPA boundaries within national Exclusive Economic Zones, we calculate the percent of species ranges within MPAs, focusing on no-take areas. We reveal significant shortfalls in species-level protection. Within national waters, no Critically Endangered species has more than 5% of its range in no-take MPAs, and 79% of threatened species have less than 1%. We also find the WDPA contains major gaps in take-status reporting, only one third of countries (34%) report take-status of any MPAs to the WDPA, further limiting estimates of meaningful protection. These results highlight the implementation gap between global coverage targets and biodiversity outcomes, reinforcing the need for species-focused protection.

Romania represents one of the few European Union member states in which all four Old World vulture species historically maintained breeding populations: the Griffon Vulture (Gyps fulvus), Cinereous Vulture (Aegypius monachus), Egyptian Vulture (Neophron percnopterus) and Bearded Vulture (Gypaetus barbatus). Until the 2026 reintroduction efforts initiated by Foundation Conservation Carpathia and Rewilding Romania, Romania remained the last EU country whose former vulture guild had not been targeted for active recovery. Despite this exceptional significance in a European conservation context, no comprehensive synthesis of the historical and contemporary distribution of these species in Romania has been undertaken. We conducted a comprehensive review to gather all available vulture occurrence data and present a fully georeferenced database of 1,170 occurrence records spanning 1818-2025. We systematically searched museum collections, historical ornithological literature, modern field surveys and citizen-science platforms. The database documents substantial breeding populations across the Carpathian arc and Dobrogea until the early twentieth century, followed by near-total breeding collapse between the 1920s and 1960s driven by persecution, secondary poisoning and agrarian transformation. In total, 149 confirmed or probable breeding records have been documented for the four species combined, with the most recent confirmed breeding records dating to 1929 (Gyps fulvus), 1929 (Gypaetus barbatus), 1942 (Aegypius monachus) and 1966 (Neophron percnopterus). Non-breeding occurrences increase markedly after 2010, consistent with dispersal from expanding Balkan source populations. The F[a]g[a]ra {square} and Retezat Mountains emerge as the historically most important breeding strongholds for all four species. Our dataset constitutes the most detailed historical baseline currently available for vulture conservation in Romania and is intended to identify key historical sites with high potential for future reintroduction and recovery. Our results show that Romania historically supported the full guild of European obligate scavengers, and that its collapse occurred within barely four decades (1920s-1960s). The dataset highlights the value of reconstructing historical baselines in regions where functional extinction preceded the onset of modern monitoring, and provides an empirical foundation for reassembling a keystone scavenger guild at a continental scale.

Animal population control is widely used to mitigate conflicts between wildlife and agriculture worldwide. Structured, monitored removals are rare in South America, however, and their consequences for wildlife populations as well as their effectiveness in reducing crop damage are little understood. Using eight years of data from an experimental white-lipped peccary management program in an agricultural mosaic in the Brazilian Cerrado biome, we assess how structured, non-lethal removals affect both peccary demography and second-crop corn damage. Leslie removal models based on 6,619 captured individuals indicated that cumulative removals to approximately 85% of the initial population strongly reduced peccary abundance, with limited demographic compensation despite fluctuations in reproductive output. Corn crop damage, quantified with satellite imagery, declined over time and was correlated with peccary population size. Interannual variation in population growth and juvenile recruitment was poorly explained by climate, fire, or landscape composition. Source-sink dynamics likely play a role in maintaining healthy populations at the regional scale. Together, these results demonstrate that sustained and monitored ungulate removals can reliably reduce population size and agricultural damage, supporting coexistence between wildlife and food crop production in human-dominated tropical landscapes.

AimHuman land-use has dramatically altered the amount, quality, and connectivity of habitat for species worldwide. Understanding how these changes affect individual species is essential for predicting the overall consequences of land-use change for biodiversity. LocationThe Caribbean island of Puerto Rico. Forest cover on the island increased from about 18 to 45% from the late 1940s to the early 2000s. MethodsUsing data on geographic distributions and functional traits for 454 tree species, we evaluated how gain of potential habitat was related to species-specific climatic associations and life-history strategies. We estimated species-specific potential habitat (climatically suitable and forested) with species distribution models and data on forest cover. We characterized each species niche breadth (the range of environmental conditions it occupies) and niche position (the environmental conditions it prefers) to compare with the conditions in reforested areas. ResultsSpecies with relatively more potential habitat in 1951 (climatically suitable and forested) also had relatively larger gains in potential habitat from 1951 to 2000. Species that tend to occupy conditions different from those common in reforested areas (i.e., more marginal habitats) gained relatively less potential habitat and species with broad environmental niches gained more potential habitat. Additionally, species with relatively acquisitive functional traits gained more suitable habitat than those with relatively conservative traits. Main conclusionsOur results show that Puerto Ricos reforestation preferentially increased habitat for species that (1) already had suitable habitat in the landscape, (2) tolerate a wide range of climatic conditions, and (3) exhibit fast, acquisitive functional strategies. These findings illustrate how land-use change in heterogeneous tropical landscapes can generate non-uniform habitat gains across species, potentially favoring generalist over specialist species and reshaping community composition.

The choice of appropriate methods to detect species is crucial for biodiversity monitoring. Camera trapping is currently one of the most widely used methods for characterizing mammal communities, although it requires substantial investment in equipment and personnel. In contrast, questionnaires administered to local populations provide a faster and more cost-effective alternative for assessing community composition, but may be influenced by respondent-related biases that compromise data reliability. This study evaluates the concordance between these approaches for characterizing the carnivore community in the Sierra de Segura (Jaen, southern Spain), using Cohens kappa coefficient, while also examining the individual and social factors shaping Local Ecological Knowledge (LEK). We deployed 24 camera-trap stations (144 trap nights) across a 25 km2 area to record carnivore presence. In parallel, we conducted two types of surveys with local residents (n = 103): (i) free-listing and (ii) image-based species recognition, while recording individual and social characteristics of respondents. Free-listing surveys tended to underreport species, whereas image-based surveys showed higher agreement with camera-trap data, although occasionally overestimating species presence. Higher concordance was associated with social factors indicative of closer and prolonged contact with the environment, such as permanent residence and ownership of agricultural land. Mammal communities differed between methods; however, agreement improved when respondents had higher LEK, while species-specific behavioral traits could also influence perception. Our findings demonstrate that image-based questionnaires can provide results comparable to camera trapping when respondents have strong connections to their natural surroundings. These results highlight the importance of both survey design and respondent selection in improving the accuracy of biodiversity monitoring, offering a transferable framework for integrating LEK into conservation protocols across diverse ecosystems. O_FIG O_LINKSMALLFIG WIDTH=200 HEIGHT=126 SRC="FIGDIR/small/720805v1_ufig1.gif" ALT="Figure 1"> View larger version (35K): org.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@d55c34org.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@1985c66org.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@1da576aorg.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@1a10ccb_HPS_FORMAT_FIGEXP M_FIG C_FIG

Natural forests are increasingly being replaced by plantation forests, highlighting an urgent need to reconcile forest use and biodiversity conservation. Coastal forests serve as refugia for species of conservation concern, but they have been globally replaced by plantations, and conversion remains ongoing. As natural coastal forests become increasingly scarce, opportunities for direct biodiversity comparisons with coastal plantations are also disappearing. This scarcity leads to underestimation of the conservation value of natural coastal forests, while effective management measures to conserve biodiversity within coastal plantations remain poorly developed. By focusing on the largest natural coastal forests in Japan, we assessed whether plantation coastal forests can substitute for natural coastal habitats across multiple taxonomic groups, functional groups, and threatened species. We found that plantations supported bird species richness comparable to natural forests at the community level and for threatened species. Surveyed plantation forests supported 7% of global breeding populations of the endangered Brown Shrike. However, plantations hosted lower forest plant species and higher introduced plant species richness. Plantations also significantly altered coastal zonation patterns in plant communities: forest species distribution shifted seaward, whereas coastal and introduced species shifted landward. Coastal plantations are unlikely to be complete substitutes for natural coastal forests for plant species, yet still have the potential for restoring historically lost coastal forest ecosystems. Confining further plantation activities to landward areas and plantations with low canopy cover will mitigate the negative impacts of plantations and further conserve unique coastal communities where forest and grassland species can coexist. Highlight{checkmark} Coastal forests have been historically disturbed and converted to plantations {checkmark}We test whether coastal plantations can substitute for natural forests across taxa {checkmark}Bird species richness in plantations was comparable to that in natural forests {checkmark}Plant species richness was lower in plantations and zonation patterns were altered {checkmark}Considering zonation patterns can turn plantations into restoration opportunities