ABSTRACT Morphological matching between pollinators and flowers is often proposed as a key mechanism structuring plant–pollinator interactions. Hermit hummingbirds (Phaethornithinae) are frequently considered specialized pollinators due to their diversity of bill morphologies and their association with tubular flowers. However, whether these traits actually structure interaction patterns at the community level remains unclear. We investigated hummingbird–plant interactions in a tropical rainforest of the Colombian Pacific by integrating morphometric measurements of hummingbirds and flowers with field observations of floral visitation and pollen load analyses collected between May and November 2011 in the Microcuenca Quebrada Pericos conservation area. Despite pronounced morphological variation among both hummingbirds and plants, interaction frequencies were not related to bill–corolla length or curvature mismatches. Likewise, hummingbird bill traits were not associated with the floral traits of visited plants, and body mass did not explain differences in resource breadth. In contrast, pollen loads revealed additional plant–hummingbird interactions not detected through field observations, indicating that direct observations underestimate the realized interaction network. Overall, hermit hummingbirds interacted with a wide range of floral morphologies, showing substantial overlap in resource use among species. These results indicate that interactions in this community are not structured by strict morphological matching, but instead reflect flexible foraging behaviour and variation in resource availability.
ABSTRACT Resource availability and predictability can shape trophic organization in ecological communities. In livestock pastures, cattle dung represents a highly abundant and predictable trophic subsidy for dung beetles, potentially promoting generalist foraging strategies. Here, we test how cattle exclusion affects trophic organization in dung beetle assemblages in the Brazilian Pantanal. We compared dung beetle richness, abundance, assemblage composition, and trophic classification between cattle‐grazed and ungrazed pastures (< 20 years of cattle exclusion) using carrion and cattle dung as bait resources. Species richness and abundance did not differ between bait types in either system. However, dung beetle assemblages differed significantly between carrion and dung baits only in ungrazed pastures. In grazed pastures, assemblages were dominated by trophic generalists, whereas ungrazed pastures showed increased trophic specialization, including shifts of four species from generalist to specialist classifications following cattle exclusion. These findings indicate that predictable trophic subsidies homogenize trophic structure by promoting broad resource use, whereas resource limitation restores trophic differentiation and niche partitioning. Our results demonstrate how changes in resource availability can reorganize trophic interactions in decomposer communities and potentially alter patterns of functional complementarity in ecosystems.
ABSTRACT Baseline data are critical to understanding the impacts of climatic change on the distribution of animals and plants. Here we present the results of elevational surveys for rainforest lizards along two routes in Lamington National Park in subtropical eastern Australia. Surveys were particularly focused on two threatened montane species: Harrisoniascincus zia and Silvascincus tryoni . Survey results were numerically dominated by four abundant taxa (including the two threatened montane specialists), although 10 species were recorded in total. Silvascincus tryoni was found to have a very narrow elevational distribution, with a considerably lower probability of occupancy at lower elevations where the congener S. murrayi dominated. The two focal montane specialists extended to significantly lower elevations along a deep gully and creekline when compared to a geographically proximate and broadly parallel ridgeline. Species in another genus of lizards— Saproscincus —were also far more abundant along the creekline. These data emphasise the potential importance of landscape heterogeneity in enabling both the elevational distribution of species in this community and their potential resilience to rising temperatures under climate change. These detailed data on lizard species that are relatively easy to survey and identify, and show contrasting distributions closely associated with elevation and temperature, provide a baseline for detecting future changes in Australia's subtropical montane rainforests.
ABSTRACT The breeding systems of Lutruwita/Tasmania's threatened Epacris taxa are poorly known. Our main objective was to determine the pollinators of several endemic species and explore for relationships between pollinators, floral morphology, flowering time and habitat. The Epacris have limited variation in floral traits and exhibit generalist floral visitor profiles. No significant relationships were found between the floral visitor profiles and floral attributes, flowering times or habitats. Visitor exclusion trials in three of the Epacris spp. suggest they may be near obligate out‐crossers. In open pollination, up to 30% of capsules had numerous viable seeds. No Epacris were exclusively bee‐, fly‐ or butterfly‐pollinated and for each species, pollen was dispersed by more than one functional group of insects. There was considerable overlap in visitor profiles with flies having the greatest diversity. Reed bees ( Exoneura sp.) and blow flies ( Calliphora spp.) visited all plant species, followed by tachinid flies. Butterflies were recorded from all except E. glabella and E. virgata . The introduced honeybee accounted for over half of all observed visits, while bumblebees were occasional. The fact that rare Epacris use common native insects is arguably positive for their conservation as it buffers against pollinator decline. However, the presence of exotic visitors at their flowers underscores the need to consider the ecological impact of non‐native pollinators in conservation planning. The invasion of Epacris breeding systems by the large super‐generalist social bees is likely to be detrimental in the long term due not only to their efficiency in rapidly depleting nectar and pollen resources but also in their potential to irreversibly alter gene flow in small scattered and rare plant populations.
ABSTRACT Plant–soil relationships are the foundation of terrestrial life, sustaining global ecosystems through biomass and food production, nutrient cycling and microbial activity, and ecosystem regulation. To better understand plant–soil relationships in a changing world, we investigated mesoscale covariation in the plant–soil neighbourhood of a South African flammable montane grassland. In a randomized block experiment of 30 plots, we assessed variation in plant species composition and cover, and on three occasions within a single growing season (spring–summer–autumn), we determined above‐ground plant biomass and nutrient concentrations by plant functional type (PFT). We also assessed variation in soil depth, and soil chemical and physical properties. Some 10% of the variation in plant species composition was explained by plot identity. Forbs accounted for 68% of species richness, whereas graminoids (almost exclusively grasses) contributed 93% of biomass. The C 4 grasses Themeda triandra , Tristachya leucothrix , Heteropogon contortus and Harpochloa falx, and the C 3 grass Koeleria capensis , dominated cover and biomass. Graminoid biomass was positively correlated with soil depth, whereas forb biomass was negatively correlated with soil total carbon and nitrogen. Plant diversity (using Shannon‐Weiner and Simpson's Indices of Diversity) did not share a significant relationship with biomass. PFT, season, and their interaction influenced biomass. Results suggest that graminoids and forbs exhibit highly divergent resource strategies presumably as an adaptation to fire and grazing. Graminoids appeared to show a trade‐off prioritizing biomass over nutrients to minimize nutrient losses in flammable biomass. Forbs, by contrast, invested more heavily in nutrients. Mobile macronutrient concentrations decreased in autumn due to translocation to below‐ground storage organs prior to senescence. Additionally, microbially mediated soil mineralization, activated by warming and precipitation, resulted in higher N and P herbage concentrations in spring. Although soil variables contributed to biotic variation, we speculate that historical land management legacies have had a confounding influence on site variation. Our study showed that the plant–soil neighbourhood of a montane grassland is tightly coupled at a small spatial scale. Such focused studies are essential for understanding how plant–soil relationships may be affected by a changing world. This has implications for the management and conservation of montane grasslands.
ABSTRACT Periodic flooding is an intrinsic feature of floodplain ecosystems. The 2022–23 Murray River flood, the largest flood event in almost 70 years, inundated extensive floodplain areas on Calperum Station, South Australia. This depauperate vertebrate fauna community is the focus of restoration activities, including woody debris addition to rehabilitate degraded soils, vegetation and fauna. This study investigated the effects of woody debris addition and subsequent major flooding on the small mammals and reptiles by surveying terrestrial fauna, vegetation and groundcover before and two years after flood, with and without pre‐flood woody debris. Two years post‐flood, terrestrial fauna abundance and diversity had not recovered, and woody debris did not influence recovery. The two most common species in pre‐flood surveys, the fat‐tailed dunnart ( Sminthopsis crassicaudata ) and tessellated gecko ( Diplodactylus tessellatus ) declined markedly post‐flood, with no dunnarts detected. Pre‐flood, dunnarts were associated with areas of less bare ground; post‐flood, bare ground increased across all sites, likely reducing habitat suitability. Camera trapping in adjacent habitats recorded fat‐tailed dunnarts on dune tops. The mechanisms of flood avoidance or survival remain unknown, raising questions about the capacity of small terrestrial fauna to escape major floods and recolonise formerly suitable habitat. With larger, less predictable flood events predicted and ongoing habitat degradation, understanding the vulnerability of threatened floodplain communities to such disturbances is critical.
ABSTRACT Australia has a rich cicada fauna, with over 400 described species including some of the loudest‐calling species in the world. The males of each species produce a unique call for attracting females; these calls are invaluable for informing taxonomy and allowing for species‐level identification. Given the increasingly large volume of audio recordings now available through citizen science, there is considerable potential for these data to be used in ecoacoustics research, however, this potential for both basic and applied research has nonetheless remained untapped. We censused a dataset of more than 11 000 cicada audio recordings from the platform iNaturalist and compared these data to photographic iNaturalist records and digitised museum specimens from the Atlas of Living Australia, characterising the geographic and taxonomic spread of audio data for Australian cicadas and exploring biases and data gaps. Approximately 95% of iNaturalist audio records of cicadas are identified to species, with these records spanning almost half of all described Australian cicada species. Audio records were strongly spatially and taxonomically biased, with 60% of records across the continent made in the Greater Sydney and Blue Mountains region of New South Wales, and almost 40% of records spanning just five common species from southeastern Australia. There are many regions in Australia, especially in Queensland, where cicadas have been photographed or collected but for which no audio recordings have been made by citizen scientists. These biases are shaped by Australia's unique geography and climate, differences in life history, emergence times and call volume across Australian cicada species, and the concentration of cicada ‘super‐observers’ in southeastern Australia. We identify areas of high potential for using cicada audio data in ecoacoustics to monitor restoration and management interventions, drive ecological research, inform conservation, and offer best practice advice for making high quality audio recordings of cicadas.
ABSTRACT Understanding how different biodiversity dimensions recover following disturbance is critical for interpreting forest successional trajectories. We examined this question in a protected remnant of Araucaria Mixed Forest (AMF) in subtropical southern Brazil, a frost‐prone montane system with multiple anthropogenic disturbance legacies. We established 32 permanent plots spanning a 40+ year post‐disturbance chronosequence and assessed taxonomic composition, species richness, functional diversity and functional trait composition across young (< 15 years), intermediate (15–39 years) and old (≥ 40 years) successional stands. Species richness showed no age‐related trend ( p = 0.64), whereas functional diversity increased with stand age ( p = 0.007) and reached its highest values in old stands. Floristic composition differed significantly among successional stages ( p < 0.001), indicating species replacement without corresponding richness gains. Functional composition shifted towards more resource‐conservative trait strategies in older stands, although substantial heterogeneity persisted among old forest plots. These results indicate a decoupling between taxonomic and functional recovery trajectories, cautioning against the use of species richness alone as a recovery indicator. The delayed increase in functional diversity suggests that short monitoring windows may fail to capture important dimensions of forest recovery. Our findings underscore the conservation value of older forest stands and support the inclusion of functional indicators in long‐term assessments of forest recovery.
ABSTRACT In the Gawler Ranges region of South Australia I observed a bicycle dragon ( Ctenophorus cristatus ) in the process of consuming a live Jan's banded snake ( Simoselaps bertholdi ). I found this notable because I understood Ctenophorus dragons to be primarily insectivorous. To clarify my understanding of Ctenophorus diets and to provide context to my observation, I undertook a systematic review of the published literature on the diets of Ctenophorus dragons. The literature confirms that Ctenophorus consume primarily invertebrates, mostly ants and termites, as well as some vegetation. Records of vertebrate consumption are extremely rare in the genus but when a vertebrate is recorded, it is always a lizard. This reinforces the significance of anecdotal observations for adding to our knowledge of animal ecology. I encourage individuals who have data or observations on Ctenophorus diets, or unusual dietary observations of any animal, to publish them.
While exotic forestry plantations fragment natural grasslands, firebreaks may serve as ecological corridors by maintaining environmental conditions like native habitats. However, the effectiveness of these linear features as functional corridors is taxon-specific and poorly understood for ants, which provide important ecosystem functions. This study evaluates whether firebreaks promote connectivity for grassland ants in the Pampa biome by comparing taxonomic and functional diversity across grasslands, firebreaks and Eucalyptus (Myrtaceae) plantations to identify the environmental variables driving these distribution patterns. Ants were collected using pitfall traps and aspirations (G-Vac) in autumn and spring. Ant abundance was significantly lower in E. dunnii plantations compared to both grasslands and firebreaks. Genera richness (Hill numbers: q0) did not differ significantly across environments. However, the diversity of rare and common genera (Hill numbers: q1 and q2) was significantly lower in Eucalyptus plantations compared to grasslands and firebreaks. This divergence was driven by the reduced abundance of Camponotus, Crematogaster and Cyphomyrmex within plantations. About community structure based on functional guilds, comparisons involving Eucalyptus plantations showed the highest levels of dissimilarity (43%), driven by a marked reduction in dominant ground omnivores (DGO), generalist patrolling Camponotini (GPC) and cryptic attine ants (CAA). In contrast, firebreaks and grasslands exhibited more similar functional compositions, with GPC being the most consistent group defining their shared characteristics. In summary, firebreaks maintained ant abundance, diversity and functional guild composition at levels like native grasslands. These findings demonstrate that the strategic integration of firebreaks into plantation design, prioritizing their frequency and maintenance, is fundamental for conserving ant biodiversity.
The gut microbiome can play a critical role in humans and wildlife, assisting with digestion, immunity and detoxification. This community is often adapted to the animal's ecosystem and fluctuates with seasonal shifts in diet. The gut microbiome can also be altered by anthropogenic effects such as invasive species creating increasingly homogenous landscapes. This in turn could reduce the overall diversity of the microbiome, which has been hypothesized to hinder adaptive potential. However, despite its probable importance, many species are still data deficient with regards to their specific gut microbiome. One data deficient species is the critically endangered northern hairy-nosed wombat (Lasiorhinus krefftii). Northern hairy-nosed wombats have undergone and slowly recovered from an extreme bottleneck over the last century, and the remaining populations live in increasingly homogeneous habitats dominated by invasive buffel grass (Cenchrus ciliaris). To fill in this gap we characterised the faecal microbiome of the northern-hairy-nosed wombat using 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing. To accomplish this, we collected fresh faecal samples from two populations across two seasons to generate a baseline profile of the microbiome as well as examine the effects of seasonality and geography. Additionally, we compared the faecal microbiome of the northern hairy-nosed wombat to the closest related species, the southern-hairy-nosed wombat (Lasiorhinus latifrons). From our results we determined that the microbiome of the northern hairy-nosed wombat changes from winter to spring and corresponding taxonomic shifts may be assisting the wombats with digestion during the dry months. Between the two wombat species we identified core taxa that are consistent with hindgut fermenting herbivores; however, differentially abundant taxa between the two species may indicate adaptations to the specific ecosystems they each inhabit.
ABSTRACT The Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area (TWWHA) meets seven of the ten criteria for World Heritage listing, an achievement not surpassed by any other property. Here we document how understanding of the values that meet the four natural criteria have changed since the TWWHA was first inscribed in 1982, as well as changes in threats and their management. Since the original nomination, the highly unusual freshwater‐marine ecosystem in Bathurst Channel was revealed, and buttongrass moorland and alpine sclerophyll shrubland were recognised as globally distinctive ecosystems. The main threats have shifted from mining, forestry and hydro‐electric power generation to bushfires, invasive species and climate change. Climate change exacerbates other threats, as evidenced by greater bushfire risk caused by increased lightning ignited fires. The fire management paradigm has shifted from fire exclusion to landscape‐scale planned burning aimed at maintaining fire‐dependent values and vegetation mosaics as well as reducing bushfire risk and implementing cultural landscape management. Increasing visitation and information sharing via social media are placing more pressure on the TWWHA through increasing access to environmentally sensitive sites and unauthorised activities. While the size and integrity of the TWWHA confer a degree of security and resilience to the natural values within it, pressure on its environment from cumulative and compounding threats will escalate. These threats, impacting at both landscape and local scales, require strong management responses. With continued degradation of natural environments globally, the importance of the protection of geodiversity and biodiversity in the TWWHA will increase.
Snakes are experiencing global population decline due to habitat loss, environmental degradation, pollution and climate change, yet effective conservation is often hindered by their cryptic behaviour and low detectability. In this study, we conducted targeted surveys and estimated detection probabilities for the endangered grey snake (Hemiaspis damelii) and two sympatric species, De Vis' banded snake (Denisonia devisi) and curl snake (Suta suta), to inform planning under biodiversity offset schemes, future monitoring and conservation efforts in floodplain ecosystems of the Murray-Darling Basin, Australia. Visual encounter surveys were conducted across 22 transects over 15 consecutive nights, resulting in 140 snake observations, including 15 new H. damelii records. Detection probabilities varied among species, with D. devisi exhibiting the highest detection probability (0.842), followed by H. damelii (0.582) and S. suta (0.430). The mean number of surveys required to detect each species with 95% confidence was two, four and six surveys, respectively. These findings emphasise the need to tailor survey effort to species-specific detection probabilities to avoid false absences and improve the reliability of future surveys and monitoring programmes. We recommend integrating repeat surveys and occupancy modelling into standard monitoring protocols to improve conservation planning and management of threatened snake species. Our approach could be scaled to confirm grey snake presence at proposed development sites under biodiversity offset schemes by trading survey effort with spatial coverage to effectively sample extensive floodplain systems.
The introduced plant pathogen Phytophthora cinnamomi Rands has caused extensive loss of understorey vegetation cover in native ecosystems globally. Vegetation loss likely has cascading impacts on fauna, but these are largely undocumented. One group of plants notably impacted by the pathogen are Xanthorrhoea grasstrees, which provide important habitat for digging mammals, so-called 'ecosystem engineers', such as bandicoots. We examined whether the quenda, Isoodon fusciventer, a bandicoot species endemic to southwestern Australia and an important ecosystem engineer, alters its foraging behaviour in forest infested by P. cinnamomi. We surveyed quenda digging activities in P. cinnamomi-infested and adjacent non-infested jarrah (Eucalyptus marginata) forest in peri-urban reserves and recorded the availability of plant cover and Xanthorrhoea preissii densities that could be used as refuge habitat, to determine if this was the case. We also recorded the availability of truffle-like fungi, an important food for quenda. Compared to non-infested forest, P. cinnamomi-infested sites had 46% less available quenda habitat in the form of dense, low shrubs. Downturned X. preissii 'skirts' of dead leaves touching the ground provide important quenda habitat. Infested sites had 45% fewer habitable (skirted) X. preissii. Infested sites also had 40% more bare ground. Quenda foraging activity was 33% lower within P. cinnamomi-infested sites and varied among reserves, suggesting the importance of site factors. We located few truffle-like fungi, with no significant difference between infested and non-infested forest, but we did not quantify all food sources used by these omnivores. We interpreted lower foraging in infestations as being due to reduced refuge habitat rather than reduced food availability. Our findings stress the importance of dense-skirted X. preissii and low-shrubs as quenda habitat. Management of pathogen spread is essential to retain quenda habitat. We invite further research into identifying pathogen-resistant shrubs and X. preissii to bolster quenda habitat in P. cinnamomi-infested forest.
ABSTRACT Presently, there are three main hypotheses to explain why the leaves of many Australian mistletoes resemble their hosts. The eco‐physiological convergence hypothesis suggests that mistletoes must manage their physiology, especially their water relations, to match those of the host, to avoid killing themselves or the host branch they have parasitised. This could be achieved by having similar leaves to the host. The anti‐herbivore mimicry hypothesis suggests that when mistletoes are more palatable than their hosts, they may suffer less herbivory if they mimic their host. This would be protective crypsis if the herbivore mistakes the mistletoe leaf for a less palatable host leaf and avoids these leaves. The disperser mimicry hypothesis suggests that host resemblance may increase dispersal to preferred hosts if birds used mistletoe foliage, rather than fruit, to find further mistletoes. Presently, there are both logical and empirical problems with the mimicry hypotheses and some weak support for the convergence hypothesis.
ABSTRACT The northern quoll, Dasyurus hallucatus , is part of a suite of threatened native northern Australian mammals that have inappropriate fire regimes listed as a threatening process. However, fire responses reported for D. hallucatus are inconsistent among different studies. Based on the theory that the fire response of D. hallucatus will depend partially on habitat quality, we postulate that home range in high quality savannas of the north Kimberley will be small, post‐breeding male mortality low and prey resources little affected by fire. Based on previous research we hypothesised that male D. hallucatus would respond to fire more than females. By radio tracking 18 D. hallucatus (9 females and 9 males) for between 23 and 79 days during breeding and non‐breeding seasons we found that D. hallucatus had small home ranges and high male post‐breeding survival, supporting the hypothesis that the north Kimberley provides high quality habitat, consisting of extensive, structurally complex habitats with abundant resources for this species. We assessed prey resources by trapping in burnt and unburnt habitats and confirmed that they were not adversely affected by prescribed burning. However, despite equal prey availability in burnt and unburnt habitats, female D. hallucatus avoided burnt habitat while males did not. We suggest that female avoidance of burnt habitats may be related to increased risk of predation in burnt habitat during the breeding season. Non‐selective movement through burnt habitat to visit multiple females may offset increased predation risk for males. Results suggest that a variegated landscape with both burnt and longer unburnt habitat for hunting and predator avoidance, and which impedes extensive wildfires, is likely to be the most beneficial pyroscape for D. hallucatus .
ABSTRACT Wildfires are predicted to become more frequent and intense with climate change. In conjunction, the use of fuel reduction burning is increasing to manage and mitigate wildfire risk. For vegetation communities with strong fire‐cued recruitment and regeneration responses, changes to historical fire regimes are anticipated to alter patterns of functional, structural, and floristic diversity, particularly when coupled with sub‐optimal climatic conditions expected under a changed climate. Anticipating more frequent burns in the future, particularly from hazard reduction burning, we aimed to obtain baseline floristic data at 37 sites in a heathy woodland near Anglesea Victoria that have variable time since last fire, intervals between fires and frequency of burn. Particularly in the last ~12 years, since fire management policies have shifted to a risk reduction approach, more frequent fuel reduction burning is applied in the landscape. At our 37 sites we investigated whether there were compositional changes and/or, changes in lifeform or functional diversity with respect to time since last fire, fire interval length and number of times burnt since 1983. We found differences in species composition at sites based on site age (time since last fire) but not with interval, with most difference between vegetation in the juvenile compared to mature growth stage. We detected no change in lifeform richness, cover‐abundance, or species richness. The most notable differences among key fire response species (KFRS) were observed for “highly suitable” indicator species, those species with strong fire‐related recruitment cues, where there was a trend towards lower richness, cover, and abundance at sites burnt four times. Among KFRS that were both suitable and highly suitable indicators, cover was higher at sites burnt less than twice, whereas abundance increased at sites burnt three or more times. There was no detectable change in functional group richness except that there were more species with an unknown response to fire at juvenile sites and sites where the interval between fires was 10–17 years. While we detected only minor shifts in floristic composition and functional characteristics, there is an increased use of planned burning in this landscape to manage fire risk. As more of the landscape transitions to a juvenile growth stage, ongoing monitoring of these sites into the future should include investigation of seedbank/canopy stored seed depletion and how plants respond to increased frequency of burn, particularly for those species with an undocumented response to fire.
ABSTRACT Parasitoid visitation occurs in both natural and artificial Hymenopteran nesting cavities, such as those that occur in bee hotels. Detection of parasitoids emerging from these cavities can provide information on the extent and abundance of their associated hosts. However, adaptive bee hotel management may be required to prevent these structures from becoming a population sink if extensive parasitoid emergence is detected. Detection of the invertebrates that emerge from occupied cavities in bee hotels can be hard to determine. Microwasps, one group of parasitoids, can be even harder to detect due to their small size. In this research, we proposed a non‐destructive, early in the field detection method to estimate microwasp parasitoid abundance and presence from the observation of emergence holes. Bee hotels were deployed in areas subject to ecological restoration within the Cumberland Plain Woodland of the Greater Sydney Region. The emergence of bee hotel occupants was recorded, with target taxa identified to genus. Emergence of the microwasp Eulophidae cf. Beornia in most cases resulted in no emergence of a primary occupant. However, in a few novel cases, Eulophidae cf. Beornia did emerge alongside Pison and Anterhynchium wasps. When Eulophidae cf. Beornia emerged from cavities, while the sealed entrances remained intact, small emergence holes were detected in the front and rear sealed cavities. These emergence holes offer a way for practitioners that use bee hotels to estimate microwasp parasitoid presence and abundance. Understanding this can also provide insights into the presence and abundance of their associated hosts. This method can indicate if the deployed bee hotels are supporting invertebrate populations, or overly facilitating parasitoid numbers, resulting in the bee hotel acting as a sink. Early detection of excessive parasitoid numbers can allow for practitioners to employ adaptive management actions to ensure the bee hotels are supporting local populations.
Forests play a central role in addressing climate change, yet they are also among the most vulnerable ecosystems to its impacts. In this context, identifying native species with adaptive capacity is critical for the long-term success of ecological restoration. Here, we assess the current and future distribution of Bowdichia virgilioides Kunth (Fabaceae), a native species widely distributed across Brazil and recommended for reforestation programs, using Species Distribution Models (SDMs). Models were constructed with the MaxEnt algorithm and projected for the present and the year 2070, using two CMIP6 climate models (MRI-ESM2-0 and MIROC-ES2L) under four Shared Socioeconomic Pathways (SSP126, SSP245, SSP370, SSP585). The model showed good performance (AUC = 0.839; Boyce index = 0.972), and the results confirmed the species' current distribution, with high climatic suitability in the Cerrado and Atlantic Forest biomes. Future projections indicated a potential range expansion toward eastern Amazonia and sustained suitability in northern portions of the Cerrado and Atlantic Forest. These results indicate that B. virgilioides is likely to be resilient to climate change and a promising candidate for restoration initiatives. Its ecological relevance and suitability for multi-use systems further support its inclusion in climate-resilient reforestation strategies across different biomes in Brazil. This case study underscores the utility of predictive modelling in guiding the selection of native species adapted to both current and future climatic conditions.
