Climate change disrupts food resource availability and alters the foraging ecology of many animals, and species with specialised dietary niches may be particularly vulnerable. The long-footed potoroo (Potorous longipes) is an endangered digging marsupial that consumes most of its food as truffle-like ectomycorrhizal (ECM) fungi. Their reliance on these ephemeral and cryptic fungi shapes their home range, population size, and microhabitat use, while potoroos play a vital role in dispersing fungal spores and supporting ECM symbioses. However, the spatial and temporal patterns of potoroo diets are not well-understood, posing risks for their conservation. We characterised ECM fungi in potoroo scats, including truffle-like species, in correlation with spatial factors, sex, body mass, climate, and season, using ITS2 metabarcoding of 364 scats sampled over 23 years from their two remaining and disjunct sub-populations. Fungal communities in potoroo scats varied across their distributional range, and our findings suggest that potoroos forage and disperse ECM fungal spores widely across microhabitats at fine scales. Differences in fungal composition in scats according to potoroo sex and body mass indicate potential differences in foraging behaviour and dispersal abilities across individuals. Season most strongly explained variation in the relative abundance of fungal communities, and the interaction with site highlights the need for future exploration of how climate change may differentially influence fungal resources across the long-footed potoroo’s range. Our results suggest that management should incorporate a multi-scale and cross-kingdom approach to conserve these specialised mutualisms, identify climate-resilient habitats, and support forest ecosystem functioning under global change.
Mediterranean Quercus woodlands are socio-ecological systems where biodiversity associated with tree-related microhabitats remains poorly known despite its potential importance for ecosystem functioning and conservation. Tree cavities, in particular, provide buffered microclimates and key nesting and shelter resources for numerous taxa, yet the diversity of organisms associated with these microhabitats remains incompletely documented across multiple trophic groups in Mediterranean woodlands. Here we compile an integrative inventory of cavity-dwelling biota and their ecological roles by combining high-throughput sequencing of fungal communities in holm oak (Quercus ilex) cavities with long-term data on saproxylic beetles and vertebrates across Mediterranean Quercus forests in Spain. Fungal communities are taxonomically diverse (> 2,000 OTUs) and functionally heterogeneous, dominated by saprotrophic Ascomycota but including plant pathogens, endophytes, and ligninolytic Basidiomycota, indicating multi-stage decay processes. Cavities also hosted a diverse saproxylic beetle communities (> 200 species, > 40 families), rich in wood-dependent, mycophagous, and predatory taxa, including numerous EU- and regionally threatened hollow specialists. Vertebrate inventories documented 67 cavity-using species (birds, mammals, reptiles, amphibians), largely secondary cavity users spanning broad dietary and foraging guilds, with woodpeckers representing a small excavator guild and several threatened mammals and reptiles depending on cavity-bearing trees. Taken together, these inventories document substantial taxonomic and functional diversity associated with tree cavities across fungi, saproxylic beetles, and vertebrates, highlighting their relevance as microhabitats for a wide range of organisms. Conserving cavity-bearing trees and the processes that generate them can therefore contribute to maintaining habitat heterogeneity and biodiversity associated with mature trees under ongoing global change in the Mediterranean region.
Grasslands are one of the most threatened ecological communities globally and are under increased risk from extreme compound events, such as those experienced during heatwaves. Arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi can facilitate plants during environmental stress and may help grasses mitigate climate stressors. When stressors occur simultaneously, it is particularly stressful for plants, and the role of AM fungi in ameliorating this stress in grassland species is poorly understood. This study investigated the role of AM fungi in facilitating growth and fitness responses of temperate grassland species to heat stress, water stress and their combination. Additionally, this study explores the influence of C3/C4 photosynthetic pathways and seasonal factors in influencing grass responses. AM fungi had variable effects on plant performance under ecologically relevant heat and water stress events. While the influence of AM fungi showed some positive influence on plant performance under stress, overall biomass was reduced in the presence of AM fungi. C3 species had increased fitness when grown with AM fungi in warmer seasons but were sensitive to heat and water stress in winter, suggesting seasonal acclimation of C3 grasses. No such trends were shown for C4 grasses, which were resilient across all stressors and unaffected by the presence of AM fungi. Colonisation levels of AM fungi were variable, with no patterns associated with photosynthetic pathway, and colonisation tending to be lower with higher stress. The results highlight the risk of community scale shifts in temperate grassland communities, informing restoration and management of grasslands under the global increase of extreme compound events.
Biodiversity education is essential for addressing global biodiversity loss, yet its implementation varies widely among teachers. Formal education provides a key opportunity to foster long-term environmental awareness and shape attitudes toward nature, but the implementation and effectiveness of biodiversity education are likely to vary depending on teachers’ individual characteristics, including their knowledge, attitudes, and commitment to environmental issues. This study examines how teachers’ personal experiences and psychological connectedness to nature influence biodiversity education practices. Responses from elementary and junior high school teachers in Japan were analyzed using structural equation modeling. The results showed a consistent pattern: childhood nature experiences (CNE) were positively associated with nature relatedness (NR), which in turn was positively associated with the number of biodiversity education practices. Age had no direct effect on practice implementation. Elementary school and science teachers reported more practices than junior high school and non-science teachers. Teachers also identified key challenges, including limited time, insufficient knowledge, and lack of teaching materials. These findings highlight the importance of experiential and psychological factors, alongside institutional constraints, in shaping biodiversity education practices.
Palm Oil Mill Effluent (POME) stabilization ponds represent nutrient-rich anthropogenic aquatic ecosystems that can support diverse communities of microalgae. However, the biodiversity and ecological characteristics of indigenous microalgae inhabiting these wastewater environments remain poorly documented. This study investigated the diversity, molecular identification, and ecological potential of indigenous microalgae isolated from POME treatment ponds. Microalgal strains were isolated from several stabilization ponds and characterized through morphological observation and 18S rRNA gene sequencing. The results revealed a diverse assemblage of Chlorophyta dominated by the genera Chlorella, Scenedesmus, Desmodesmus, Ankistrodesmus, and Haematococcus. Phylogenetic analysis confirmed the taxonomic affiliation of these isolates and indicated the presence of microalgal lineages adapted to highly enriched wastewater habitats. To further examine their ecological performance, selected indigenous microalgal consortia were cultivated under controlled laboratory conditions using different nutrient media and illumination regimes. Mixed microalgae 4 under L2 achieved the highest observed µ value of 0.245 day⁻1, and rapid growth rates, reflecting strong physiological adaptation to the POME environment. The coexistence of multiple taxa with distinct morphological and physiological traits suggests the formation of resilient microalgal communities capable of thriving under fluctuating environmental conditions. These findings highlight POME stabilization ponds as previously underexplored reservoirs of microalgal biodiversity and contribute to a better understanding of microalgal adaptation in human-modified aquatic ecosystems.
Human activities threaten marine mammal populations, with bycatch in gillnet fisheries being a major concern. To investigate interactions between fisheries and cetaceans and guide effective management, integrative approaches combining spatial and ecological information are essential. Recent long-term monitoring programs in Brazilian waters have generated extensive datasets on cetacean occurrence and fisheries activities, providing new opportunities to assess potential bycatch exposure and interaction risk. Using these data, we evaluated spatial overlap between cetaceans and gillnet fisheries in the Santos Basin (Brazil), a region of high marine biodiversity and intense anthropogenic pressures. We mapped core areas used by cetacean species and gillnet fisheries to identify spatial co-occurrence and infer species more exposed to bycatch. Our findings revealed that gillnet fisheries concentrate primarily along the continental shelf. Among the 13 cetacean species analysed, Guiana dolphin (Sotalia guianensis), Franciscana (Pontoporia blainvillei), and bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) showed the highest spatial overlap and may be particularly exposed to bycatch. The Guiana dolphin and the Franciscana, which inhabit coastal and inner-shelf waters, appear particularly vulnerable due to their conservation status and habitat use. We also identified priority areas for bycatch risk assessment and management, including a region of high cetacean diversity. While bycatch risk is influenced by multiple factors, including seasonal variations and fishing effort, our results provide a first-order approximation of exposure based on spatial overlap, and are consistent with mortality information from beach monitoring. These findings can help prioritize monitoring efforts and support mitigation strategies aimed at reducing negative interactions between fisheries and cetaceans.
Forest structural complexity is widely assumed to enhance biodiversity, yet its effects on the physiological condition and health of individual organisms remain poorly understood. We examined how forest structural complexity relates to individual condition and, in turn, to ectoparasite and pathogen occurrence in free-living vertebrates. Across 19 temperate forest plots in Flanders (northern Belgium), spanning a gradient of structural complexity, we sampled birds and small mammals and quantified individual condition using scaled mass index, fluctuating asymmetry, and relative telomere length. Larval ticks were collected from hosts and screened for a broad panel of tick-borne pathogens. Relative telomere length tended to be lower in more structurally complex forests, whereas body condition and fluctuating asymmetry showed no consistent relationship with forest structure. Individuals in better body condition were less likely to carry larval ticks. In contrast, hosts with shorter telomeres were more likely to carry pathogen-infected larvae, consistent with links between cumulative physiological stress and infection susceptibility. No evidence was found for systematic co-occurrence among pathogens within larval ticks. Together, our results indicate that individuals interact with forest structure through multiple, potentially independent physiological pathways, shaping observed patterns of parasite load and tick-borne pathogen prevalence.
The conversion of natural habitats into agricultural and urban areas has led to habitat loss and respective fragmentation as well as decline in habitat quality within the remaining natural habitat patches. Today, this negative trend is particularly pronounced in tropical forest ecosystems. For instance, the formerly continuous East African coastal forest has shrunk over time to relatively few, mostly small forest patches of varying size, isolation, and habitat quality. In this study, we analyse butterfly responses to environmental change and habitat disturbance across selected coastal forest patches in southern Kenya, including protected forest and sacred Kaya forests. We surveyed butterflies in nine forest remnants along the Kenyan coast from the years 2022 to 2025 based on transect counts and bait traps. We recorded a total of 4,893 butterflies representing 187 species. Species richness differed significantly among forests. Butterfly diversity, but not abundance, was highest in the largest forest area, i.e. the Arabuko Sokoke forest (107 species), while seven small Kaya fragments exhibited reduced species numbers (max. 70 species), with lowest number in Kaya Kambe and Shimba Hills. However, total Kaya richness was considerably higher (167 species) than that of the much larger and largely intact Arabuko Sokoke and Shimba Hills forests combined (111 species). Species turnover was high, with 12.4
A central quest in conservation biology is to understand how wildlife responds to human-modified landscapes. Yet assessing features of transformed landscapes is non-trivial because categorical maps obscure ecologically meaningful transitions that organisms perceive continuously. We overcame this limitation by using satellite-based fine-scale continuous measures of landscape structure to examine how the cover, complexity, distribution and isolation of exposed and forested areas influence the composition of two guild of aerial insectivorous bats across multiple spatial scales. Although insectivorous bats provide key ecosystem services, it is still unclear which landscape features favor or reduce their abundance, and at what scales these effects occur. Our study was conducted in a heterogeneous agricultural mosaic in the central Andes of Colombia, ranging from well-preserved forests to open-pit mines. Bats that forage within forests or along edges were more abundant at sites with more forest cover but also where vegetation was more complex in terms of roughness and the presence of edges across all spatial scales. Contrary to our predictions, bats that forage in open spaces decreased in areas where exposed lands and fragments were dispersed and isolated at small spatial scales. At large spatial scales, open-space bats required abundant forest cover. These results show that insectivorous bats respond differently to landscape change depending on their ecology and movement behavior, and that these responses vary with spatial scale. Our findings highlight the value of using continuous landscape measures to better understand, manage, and conserve insectivorous bats in regions undergoing rapid land-use change.
Sea level rise (SLR) poses a significant threat to coastal ecosystems worldwide. Migratory shorebirds rely heavily on nearshore and intertidal ecosystems throughout the annual cycle and are currently undergoing global declines due to the loss of coastal habitat, suggesting that these species may be highly susceptible to future SLR. However, the effects of SLR on shorebird habitat—and, by extension, populations—remain poorly understood. Herein, we conduct the first systematic review of SLR impacts on the world’s shorebirds. The effects of SLR across all stages of the annual cycle are expected to be predominantly negative, with 78
Arctic fjords are sentinel systems for climate change, yet recent interannual benthic community dynamics remain poorly understood. This study investigated the response of polychaete communities in Grønfjorden (Svalbard) to interannual climatic fluctuations across three sampling years (2002, 2015, and 2021). We combined traditional benthic sampling with analysis of satellite-derived climate trend indices to test the hypothesis that climatic variability drives changes in diversity, abundance, and biomass. A total of 112 polychaete taxa were identified, which is consistent with previous Svalbard records. Community structure was spatially consistent but varied significantly among years, associated with changing climatic conditions. A warmer, low-sea-ice period (2015) triggered high total abundance and biomass at 7,250 ind. m–2 and 115.9 g m–2, respectively, driven by large-bodied taxa like Maldane sarsi. A cooler period (2021) resulted in decreased values (3,380 ind. m–2 and 86.5 g m–2) but with increased species evenness. Redundancy Analysis revealed that trends in sea surface temperature and net primary production were major environmental variables associated with community variation, explaining 33
Climate change poses a significant threat to the Afrotemperate flora of the Eastern Afromontane Biodiversity Hotspot, particularly to species confined to high-elevation ecosystems such as those found on the African sky islands. This study evaluates the vulnerability of tropical Afroalpine and Afromontane Helichrysum taxa (Compositae) by assessing their climatic niches and predicting future shifts in distribution, range fragmentation, and altitudinal limits under climate change scenarios. Occurrence records for 14 taxa (eight Afroalpine and six Afromontane) were obtained from recent field campaigns, biodiversity databases and herbaria. Ensemble ecological niche models were developed combining Generalized Linear Models, Generalized Boosting Models, and Random Forest. Taxon-specific bioclimatic variables were selected after correlation analyses. The models were calibrated using current climate data and projected using the PSL-CM6A-LR and MRI-ESM2.0 climate models with both low- and high-emission scenarios. The results show that most Afrotemperate taxa currently occupy only a portion of their climatically suitable habitat, often in geographically distant areas. Future projections indicate significant range contractions and increased fragmentation. Afroalpine taxa could lose 50–66
As an invasive species, domestic dogs can impact wildlife both directly (through predation and disease transmission) and indirectly (by altering species behavior). In this study, we analyzed camera trap data from Cerrado and Atlantic Forest areas to examine the interactions between prey species, natural predators, and domestic dogs to understand whether prey temporally avoid dogs. We used approaches to assess how dogs affect prey activities by comparing activity patterns with kernel density estimates and calculating attraction-avoidance ratios. Giant anteaters exhibited a clear temporal shift towards more nocturnal activity in areas with consistent presence of dogs, likely as an avoidance strategy, although this change may impose additional energetic costs due to their imperfect homeothermy. Agoutis showed subtle adjustments, whereas armadillos and pacas maintained consistent activity patterns regardless of dog presence. This absence of avoidance suggests either low perceived predation risk or limited behavioral flexibility, which may increase their vulnerability. Prey species also showed no avoidance toward dogs when compared to natural predators or non-predatory species. This lack of response may result from (1) the high energy costs of altering activity patterns for homeotherms; (2) effective anti-predation strategies already used against native predators; and (3) prey avoiding dogs spatially rather than temporally. Overall, our findings reinforce the negative impacts of domestic dogs on wildlife and underscore the need for more effective management strategies to control dog populations in and around protected areas.
In recent years, infrastructure projects have increasingly focused on sustainable development considerations, including hydroelectric projects. Despite this sustainability narrative, dam development often results in substantial forest loss, landscape alteration, and habitat degradation. Although these impacts are recognized, the sequential effects of dam development phases on non-volant small mammals (NVSM) remain poorly studied, despite this group being vulnerable due to their limited dispersal ability and small home ranges. Our study provides a comprehensive assessment of changes in NVSM assemblages across the pre-logging (PL), logging (LG), and construction (CS) phases of a hydrodam development in Peninsular Malaysia, based on multi-year cage-trapping data (2022–2025) collected from the same forest sites. Hill numbers were highest during the PL phase and lowest during the LG phase, with partial recovery during the CS phase. Disturbance-tolerant species, particularly Malayan Field Rat (Rattus tiomanicus), increased markedly during the LG phase. In contrast, forest-associated species such as the Shrew-faced Ground Squirrel (Rhinosciurus laticaudatus), and habitat generalist such as Common Treeshrew (Tupaia glis) declined but persisted at lower abundances within the remaining forest during the CS phase. Insectivore-omnivores, arboreal, terrestrial, and larger body-size species declined during LG, while frugivore-omnivores and scansorial species increased. These patterns indicate that habitat disturbance disproportionately benefits disturbance-tolerant species while negatively affecting insectivorous, large-sized, forest-associated, as well as generalist species during land clearing. Conservation strategies should prioritise the retention of key habitat patches, maintenance of landscape connectivity, and long-term monitoring to minimise biodiversity loss, especially for forest-associated NVSMs during large-scale infrastructure development.
The introduction of fish into originally fishless high-mountain lakes can strongly alter aquatic food webs. Littoral aquatic macroinvertebrates are heavily preyed upon by fish, yet they also represent an important food resource for several terrestrial and semi-aquatic insectivorous species, including the unique diving passerine, the white-throated dipper (Cinclus cinclus). We tested whether competition for this shared resource reduces dipper occurrence, consistent with the competitive exclusion hypothesis. More than 400 visual surveys were conducted to detect dippers across 60 high-mountain lakes in the Alps and Pyrenees. Lakes were categorized as fish-free, undergoing mechanical fish eradication, or hosting established fish populations. Large benthic macroinvertebrates (i.e., the primary prey of dippers) were also assessed to evaluate the likelihood of dipper occurrence across lake categories and along a prey availability gradient influenced by fish predation, as well as other environmental factors (e.g., elevation, hydrological connectivity). Introduced fish negatively affected dipper occurrence, with lakes largely avoided when fish were present, while hydrological connectivity with streams emerged as a key factor facilitating dipper use of high-mountain lakes. This pattern appears to be driven by competitive exclusion via the depletion of large benthic macroinvertebrates. Even though dippers can thrive in areas without high-mountain lakes, relying exclusively on riverine habitats, their association with pristine fishless lakes, together with their recognizability and public appeal, make them effective flagship species to stimulate broader discussion on the impacts of invasive species in mountain freshwater ecosystems and their consequences for native fauna.
The European Biodiversity Strategy for 2030 aims at safeguarding areas that harbour high biodiversity. While such protected areas (PAs) are mainly designated with respect to plants and vertebrates, their ability to conserve invertebrates, in particular insects, is still debated. A central question is, whether PAs can sustain the functionality of insect assemblages, that is to preserve a rich space of functional traits. Here, we use a long-term database (1960–2022) on macro-Lepidoptera from northern Austria in combination with a newly compiled large dataset on species traits to compare temporal trends in the distributions of functional traits of butterflies and macro-moths inside and outside selected larger protected areas. We contrast temporal trajectories in the distributions of species body size, numbers of host plants, and dispersal ability. Mean species body weight significantly increased over time inside PAs, while host plant diversity and mobility increased outside PAs. Particularly monophagous species disappeared outside PAs. Total trait spaces did not significantly change over time. Overall, PAs appeared to be more conservative with respect to trait distributions than the surrounding areas and were able to retain the level of functioning as before designation.
Human-wildlife conflict (HWC) imposes well-documented visible costs on rural communities, yet its invisible impacts, manifested in psychosocial, economic, and social losses, remain systematically underrepresented in research and policy. We present a multi-site assessment of invisible HWC impacts on livelihood sustainability in Nepal, using the Sustainable Livelihood Framework (SLF). Through household surveys with 641 respondents across 60 settlements in the buffer zones of six lowland protected areas, we documented 16 types of invisible impacts spanning five livelihood capitals: human, social, natural, physical, and financial. Financial capital was most severely affected, with 66
Long-term changes in species distributions provide critical insights into how biodiversity responds to global change. China harbors over 13
Biodiversity is closely linked to rarity. The seven forms of rarity (the interaction of range size, local abundance, and habitat specialization) have informed much work on rarity, and each component is integral to a hypothesized mechanism maintaining or generating diversity. Besides studies of individual components, the seven forms of rarity have typically been considered at large scales, but these forms could also have important implications for differing species richness at local scales. Here, we examined the compositions of the seven forms of rarity across sites in two mountain ranges in Colorado and three taxonomic groups: ants, carrion beetles, and small mammals. We classified species into the seven forms of rarity by mountain range. Then we explored patterns of species counts in each form across sites by species richness, using null models and simulations for comparison. In both mountain ranges, ant species rare or common in all three components were significantly overrepresented, but carrion beetles and small mammals did not differ from expectation. When compared with the mountain range scale, most sites showed significant overrepresentation of common species, and none showed significant overrepresentation of rare species. However, rare species accumulated faster than common species with increasing species richness. Thus, consistently across all three taxa and both mountain ranges, we detected a disproportionate representation of rare species at sites with high richness. This pattern indicates accumulating multi-form rarity as a potential biodiversity mechanism. Whatever the specific role, rarity in multiple forms deserves deeper consideration for conservation prioritization as a potential biodiversity mechanism.
Agroforest perforation is a form of land-use change that introduces small clearings within otherwise continuous forests, often representing the initial stage of habitat fragmentation, and introducing edge effects. Despite its prevalence in protected landscapes, biodiversity responses to perforation remain poorly studied, limiting our understanding of how early structural changes shape species persistence before extensive forest loss. Bats are sensitive indicators of habitat modification and show ensemble and species-specific responses. We investigated how unmodified forest and a gradient of early (agroforest perforations) to advanced (tea plantations) habitat modification shape (1) bat species composition, (2) acoustic activity, and (3) the response of a widespread insectivorous species, Hipposideros lankadiva in three protected areas (PAs) in Northeast Bangladesh. We surveyed bats using mist nets and harp traps at two localities per land-use type and conducted acoustic monitoring along four replicated transects per land-use type in each PA. We captured 712 individuals across 16 species from five families. Mist nets primarily captured frugivorous and nectarivorous bats, whereas harp traps captured insectivorous bats that forage in the forest interior and forest gaps and edges. Recorded acoustic activity was highest in tea plantations, dominated by edge/gap and open space foragers. H. lankadiva exhibited comparable acoustic activity across land-use types, indicating generalist foraging behavior. Overall, perforations supported disturbance-tolerant ensembles and showed early compositional filtering by increased generalist fruit-eating bats and loss of forest interior specialists. These results emphasize that perforations introduce early compositional shifts and that unmodified forest remnants within PAs remain irreplaceable for protecting forest interior bat diversity.
