Fire is an essential tool enabling tropical subsistence agriculture, but can escape beyond its intended borders when not adequately controlled. Indeed this risk may be increasing under changing ecological and climatic shifts with implications for what constitutes adequate fire management. Understanding the perceptions of key actors about the role of fire and effective management is a crucial step in fire governance because it exposes views and can facilitate transparent decision-making and conflict management. Drawing on frameworks of wellbeing and ecosystem services, we conducted Q methodology with 56 fire users and managers, including subsistence-based Quechua farmers, firefighters, researchers, nonprofit staff, and government agents. Factor analysis revealed three distinct viewpoints on the role of fire, ranging from emphasizing the negative impacts of escaped fires on ecosystem services (e.g., on biodiversity and climate change impacts) to acknowledging benefits of intentional fires for rural wellbeing (e.g., that agricultural burns open new farmland or fire as the most accessible way to work the farm). We also found three viewpoints regarding fire management deemed effective: top-down fire suppression, community-based fire suppression, and community-based fire management. Integrating these diverse perspectives, actionable insights for decision making should include: legal recognition of traditional controlled burns, training programs that support volunteer community fire brigades, and integrated fire management solutions at multiple scales (community, district, regional, and national). Our analysis, grounded in the Peruvian Andes, suggests pathways for effective fire governance that can reconcile the different needs, uses, and types of fire.

The robust estimation of local extinction risk is central to inform management and conservation efforts. Still, estimating this key demographic parameter requires standardized monitoring data that are lacking for most species and systems. The analysis of community science data is emerging as a promising alternative. These expansive datasets leverage observations from multiple volunteers that provide higher temporal and spatial resolution. Nevertheless, the proper analysis of community science data is challenging because it requires accounting for additional complexities in the intrinsic ecological and observational processes. To address this issue, we describe and test a quantitative approach that fits continuous state‐space models iteratively to eBird data with the ultimate goal of estimating local persistence probability through time. We evaluated model accuracy by comparing estimates and trends from eBird with those from the endangered Everglades' snail kite long‐term, standardized monitoring project. We also performed two separate sensitivity analyses (temporal and sampling thinning) to assess how robust the persistence estimates are to a reduction in the number of eBird observations available. Our results showed that the temporal trend trajectory of local population persistence estimated from eBird closely matched that from standardized monitoring. Moreover, the trend remained similar even when reducing the amount of eBird data available to 5% of the original dataset—a reduction from 258 to 13 weeks or from 7714 to 385 lists of observations across 5 years of monitoring. Synthesis and applications . Our modelling framework provides a robust, computationally efficient and easy‐to‐apply tool for monitoring local persistence probability that can support global conservation efforts. This will complement the monitoring of species population viability in places where standardized monitoring is still lacking, but community science observations are common.

Introduction: Jaguars (Panthera onca) and pumas (Puma concolor) are the two largest terrestrial predators in lowland Neotropical forests and as such, are important contributors to the ecosystem. Yet, long-term studies on their temporal and spatial patterns of occurrence are not common. Objectives: To update a previous eight year (2005-2012) camera-trap study on jaguars at Tiputini Biodiversity Station, Yasuní Biosphere Reserve, with data from 2014 through 2023; and to add complementary information on pumas. Methods: We used camera traps set along trails or at mineral licks to document the occurrence of jaguars and pumas. Individual jaguars were identified by their distinctive coat patterns. Results: Capture rates from 2014 to 2023 varied from 0 to 2.94 images/100 trap days for jaguars and from 0.46 to 4.88 for pumas. These rates were similar or increased across all years for both species. We identified 28 individual jaguars during the second sample period, including 18 males and seven females. Periods between captures ranged from 1 to 84 months, with eight individuals recorded over at least 36 months. Including images from the first period (2005-2012), when 21 individuals were identified, it is likely that ~50 individual jaguars have occurred in or close to the research station over 19 years. Jaguars were primarily active during daylight hours, while pumas were more active at night. Conclusions: TBS is embedded within a large biosphere reserve but is too small (~670 ha) to cover the home range of either species. Nonetheless, given the number of records and the fact that capture rates have not declined in the past two decades, this region is important for the conservation of these two species and the many prey they depend on.

Plant invasions can form unique plant communities that are sometimes thought to be so different from native-dominated communities that restoration is either not possible or not logistically feasible. However, few invader removal studies have been conducted in these "novel" ecosystems on islands. To test the potential for restoration of a highly invaded ecosystem in Gal & aacute;pagos, we mechanically removed the canopy-dominant tree (Cedrela odorata) from 48 replicate plots (of 4 m x 4 m each and spread in three separated sites) and evaluated responses of seeds and seedlings, including germination, establishment, and growth, of eight total endemic, native, and invasive plant species compared to control plots where C. odorata was not removed. Invasive tree removal resulted in approximately 30% greater canopy openness compared to control plots, but did not affect the emergence of any species. However, invader removal significantly promoted seedling establishment and growth of the threatened endemic tree Scalesia pedunculata that historically occupied the site. Around 40% of S. pedunculata individuals established under the invader removal treatment while only 5% established in intact control plots. Moreover, S. pedunculata growth was, on average, 65% greater in plots where the invader was removed. Recruitment of S. pedunculata was inhibited by seedling predators (particularly invasive rats) and coverage by fast-growing secondary invaders that also benefited from C. odorata removal. Resolving both native and invasive plant species responses to invasive species removal is an important step in understanding and predicting ecosystem dynamics that determine whether restoration goals in "novel" ecosystems are achievable.

Across the globe, unprecedented declines have been reported across a range of taxa. Among the most well documented are declines in bird populations, with most declines attributable to human activities such as deforestation and other alterations to habitats. There is increasing evidence that bird populations also have declined at sites within large expanses of relatively undisturbed lowland tropical forest, such as in Amazonia. Causes of such declines likely are varied and may be related to direct or indirect effects of climate change. Here, we use mist-net data and direct observations to examine changes in bird numbers over a 22-yr period on two 100-ha study plots in an Amazonian lowland forest of eastern Ecuador. As previously reported, capture rates experienced large declines from 2009 on; observation rates also showed large declines through 2013 but subsequently have shown no consistent trend up or down. Overall capture rates and observation rates are now approximately half the rates during the first decade. Most foraging guilds also declined over time, with declines particularly pronounced among insectivorous groups. With few exceptions, patterns of change were similar between plots suggesting a more general response rather than responses to local factors on each plot. Capture rates and observation rates of -90% of the most common species in both understory and canopy were lower during the latter part of the study, with only a few species (-10%) showing increases. Similarly, large declines were seen in both canopy and understory mixed-species flocks. Large declines in bird numbers have been noted in other tropical sites that have conducted long-term population studies, including Panama and Brazil, suggesting a response to large-scale factors, such as climate change. While not yet documented, the consequences of losing approximately 50% of population abundance are likely substantial and could result in local extinction of rare species, altered species interactions and social organization, as well as declining ecological function and biotic integrity of these tropical forest ecosystems.

Aim: Avian elevational migration is a common, but less studied form of short-distance migration. Numerous hypotheses have been proposed to explain this behavior, yet few studies have tested those comprehensively. We examine four non mutually exclusive hypotheses - climatic constraint, limited foraging opportunities, body size, and dispersal ability - using a comparative framework to evaluate their support in explaining avian elevational migration in the monsoon-dominant Western Ghats. Location: Western Ghats. Time period: 2013 - 2023. Major taxa studied: Birds. Methods: We used citizen science data from eBird to quantify elevational migration patterns of resident birds of the Western Ghats. Using robust data curation and new bias correction methods, we modeled migration patterns of 164 species across summer, monsoon and winter seasons. We built seasonal phylogenetic logistic regression models to test the effect of a species' environmental tolerances, diet, body-size and dispersal ability on elevational migration likelihood. Results: 43% of resident birds exhibited elevational migration in at least one season. Most species migrated between winter and summer (57), followed by migrations between summer and monsoon (39) and then monsoon and winter (38). Species predominantly moved upslope in summer (82%) and downslope in monsoon (87%), with no discernible pattern in winter. Species with broader temperature tolerances were more likely to migrate across all seasons. Additionally, species associated with wetter environments were more likely to migrate in summer and winter. Lastly, species with narrower precipitation tolerances were more likely to migrate during the monsoon, influenced by diet. Main conclusions: We find support for the climatic constraint and limited foraging opportunities hypotheses in explaining both the direction and likelihood of elevational migration. Precipitation is a particularly strong climatic driver for elevational migrants, especially under monsoon conditions. This suggests a complex relationship between precipitation tracking and the associated changes in resource availability determining elevational migration strategies in the region. ### Competing Interest Statement The authors have declared no competing interest.

Global land use change has resulted in the loss and fragmentation of habitats and amplified the pace of species extinction. With carnivores being disproportionately at risk of range contraction, restoration is an important strategy to counter the impacts of habitat loss and fragmentation. While protection of public lands has been the cornerstone of conservation, private lands can play an important supplementary role. India harbors 23 % of the global carnivore species, threatened by a rapidly growing economy and high human densities. Using a socialecological systems approach, we prioritized private agricultural lands for agroforestry in the buffer area of Pench Tiger Reserve. We applied systematic conservation planning tools and combined data on (1) habitat use of four carnivores (tiger, leopard, dhole, and sloth bear), (2) landowner willingness to modify land use through enrolment in an incentive-based program, and (3) monetary cost of program implementation, to identify priority areas for agroforestry based on their relative cost-effectiveness. Our integrated approach generated a configuration of priority areas that was markedly different than if we selected areas using ecological data only. Over an 8-year period, restoration of similar to 4900, similar to 8300 and similar to 12,000 acres through agroforestry was estimated to have a cumulative cost of USD 56 million, USD 95 million, and USD 140 million, respectively. Partnering with and incentivizing private landowners can expand the effective size of small and fragmented protected areas. Our approach can be applied to other shared landscapes, dominated by private ownership, to identify areas that deliver a compromise between ecological suitability, social acceptability, and economic viability.

This chapter highlights how graduate students can work with local communities and stakeholders to improve biodiversity conservationBiodiversity conservations and rural development outcomes both in and outside of biodiversity islandsBiodiversity islands with examples from Ecuador, India, and Brazil. In the first case study, Michael Esbach draws on his long-term work with the Indigenous Cofán people in the Ecuadorian Amazon to describe the creation of a biodiversity islandBiodiversity islands within the Cofán territory of Zábalo. In the second case study, Mahi Puri focuses on a human-dominated landscape in India with a high occurrence of carnivores. Finally, Robinson Botero-Arias tells the story of the development of sustainable use plans and conservation Conservations of wildlifeWildlife in an aquatic ecosystem in the Amazon. These case studies demonstrate the “learning and action” platform of the interdisciplinary Tropical Conservation and DevelopmentConservation and development (TCD) program at the University of Florida (UF), which stresses the importance of working with partners and local communities to design problem-oriented research to address challenges at the intersection of conservation and developmentConservation and development. Through formal and informal methods, TCD embodies the lessons learned from the examples presented in this chapter, which include the linkage between biodiversity conservationBiodiversity conservations and human well-being; the necessity of understanding local needs, cultural values, and motivations; and engaging stakeholders in partnershipsPartnerships that center participatory researchParticipatory research targeted at finding solutions that make the goals of local actors and biodiversity conservationBiodiversity conservations more compatible.

Aim Current diversity patterns in local communities result from historical and contemporary events that operate at distinct spatial and temporal scales. However, the contribution of local and large-scale processes in structuring species diversity remain a contentious topic in ecology. We investigated diversity patterns (species richness, composition and number of captures) of understorey bird assemblages in Amazonian unflooded (terra firme) forests. We sought to understand whether understorey bird assemblages in distinct areas of endemism show distinct patterns of diversity, and whether species replacements among areas of endemism occur while the proportion of species within guilds remains stable. Location Amazonia. Taxon Understorey birds. Methods To investigate diversity patterns, we compiled studies that mist-netted birds at 11 regions across seven Amazonian areas of endemism. We used coverage-based rarefaction curves, non-metric multidimensional scaling (NMDS) and created a heatmap based on the proportion of captures in each area of endemism to access patterns of richness, composition and captures of understorey birds, respectively. The relative variance (RVgp index) was calculated to investigate the existence of guild proportionality within each area of endemism. Results Bird assemblages diverged across the seven areas of endemism, in terms of species richness, composition and captures. However, the proportion of species and individuals within guilds was similar among areas of endemism, indicating that species replacements across areas of endemism occur while maintaining the same ecological functions. Guild proportionality suggests that interspecific competition and resource availability are more important than environmental heterogeneity in structuring understorey bird assemblages. Main conclusions The similar proportion of species within guilds suggest that interspecific competition and resource availability are more important than environmental heterogeneity in structuring local assemblages, possibly via a process of limiting similarity in morphological and functional traits. The observed congruent structure in understorey bird assemblages across areas of endemism shows that coupled historical and ecological processes, operating at local to large scales, have led to current patterns of diversity and composition in Amazonian bird communities.

1Wilson Center, Washington, District of Columbia, USA 2Department of Anthropology, The George Washington University, Washington, District of Columbia, USA 3School of Life Sciences, University of KwaZuluNatal, Pietermaritzburg, South Africa 4Shaanxi Key Laboratory for Animal Conservation, Northwest University, Xi’an, China 5Department of Wildlife Ecology and Conservation, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, USA 6Center for Latin American Studies, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, USA 7Centre for Ecological Sciences, Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru, India 8Department of Integrative Biology, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, California, USA

Although protected areas (PAs) have long been considered a successful conservation strategy, more recent research has highlighted their ecological and sociological limitations.The extant PA network is constrained by land availability and exacerbates cultural, political, and social conflicts over access to resources.Consequently, the importance of private lands in playing a complementary role in conservation is being widely recognized.Voluntary conservation programs that encourage private landowners to adopt biodiversity-friendly agricultural practices have emerged worldwide.Landowners' willingness to participate in these programs is critical to attaining landscape-level biodiversity conservation.We adopted a multidisciplinary approach, combining economic theory of rational choice and social choice theory to explain decision making.Using a stated preference choice experiment method, we examined the role of program design and influence of demographic, economic, and socio-psychological variables on landowners' willingness to enroll in voluntary, incentive-based agroforestry programs.In 2018-2019, we surveyed 602 landowners in the buffer area of Pench Tiger Reserve, India.Landowners' willingness to engage in agroforestry depended on the amount of land to be enrolled, program duration, and incentive amount.Landowners' socio-economic characteristics, attitudes, self-efficacy, and social norms also influenced their willingness to participate.On average, landowners required Rs. 66,000 (ca.$940 USD) per acre per year to modify their land use and adopt agroforestry.Our study demonstrates that integrating voluntary agroforestry programs into India's rural development policy may allow biodiversity conservation to be balanced with agricultural productivity in buffer areas surrounding PAs.We call for a new approach that recognizes farmers as stakeholders in conservation and in creating resilient landscapes that support biodiversity and preserve livelihoods.

Tropical dry forests (TDF) are highly threatened ecosystems that are often fragmented due to land-cover change. Using plot inventories, we analyzed tree species diversity, community composition and aboveground biomass patterns across mature (MF) and secondary forests of about 25 years since cattle ranching ceased (SF), 10–20-year-old plantations (PL), and pastures in a TDF landscape in Ecuador. Tree diversity was highest in MF followed by SF, pastures and PL, but many endemic and endangered species occurred in both MF and SF, which demonstrates the importance of SF for species conservation. Stem density was higher in PL, followed by SF, MF and pastures. Community composition differed between MF and SF due to the presence of different specialist species. Some SF specialists also occurred in pastures, and all species found in pastures were also recorded in SF indicating a resemblance between these two land-cover types even after 25 years of succession. Aboveground biomass was highest in MF, but SF and Tectona grandis PL exhibited similar numbers followed by Schizolobium parahyba PL, Ochroma pyramidale PL and pastures. These findings indicate that although species-poor, some PL equal or surpass SF in aboveground biomass, which highlights the critical importance of incorporating biodiversity, among other ecosystem services, to carbon sequestration initiatives. This research contributes to understanding biodiversity conservation across a mosaic of land-cover types in a TDF landscape.

The Amazon region has been viewed as a source of economic growth based on extractive industry and large-scale infrastructure development endeavors, such as roads, dams, oil and gas pipelines and mining. International and national policies advocating for the development of the Amazon often conflict with the environmental sector tasked with conserving its unique ecosystems and peoples through a sustainable development agenda. New practices of environmental governance can help mitigate adverse socio-economic and ecological effects. For example, forming a “community of practice and learning” (CoP-L) is an approach for improving governance via collaboration and knowledge exchange. The Governance and Infrastructure in the Amazon (GIA) project, in which this study is embedded, has proposed that fostering a CoP-L on tools and strategies to improve infrastructure governance can serve as a mechanism to promote learning and action on factors related to governance effectiveness. A particular tool used by the GIA project for generating and sharing knowledge has been participatory mapping (Pmap). This study analyzes Pmap exercises conducted through workshops in four different Amazonian regions. The goal of Pmap was to capture different perspectives from stakeholders based on their experiences and interests to visualize and reflect on (1) areas of value, (2) areas of concern and (3) recommended actions related to reducing impacts of infrastructure development and improvement of governance processes. We used a mixed-methods approach to explore textual analysis, regional multi-iteration discussion with stakeholders, participatory mapping and integration with ancillary geospatial datasets. We believe that by sharing local-knowledge-driven data and strengthening multi-actor dialogue and collaboration, this novel approach can improve day to day practices of CoP-L members and, therefore, the transparency of infrastructure planning and good governance.

AbstractRecent climate projections have shown that the distribution of organisms in island biotas is highly affected by climate change. Here, we present the result of the analysis of niche dynamics of a plant group, Memecylon, in Sri Lanka, an island, using species occurrences and climate data. We aim to determine which climate variables explain current distribution, model how climate change impacts the availability of suitable habitat for Memecylon, and determine conservation priority areas for Sri Lankan Memecylon. We used georeferenced occurrence data of Sri Lankan Memecylon to develop ecological niche models and assess both current and future potential distributions under six climate change scenarios in 2041–2060 and 2061–2080. We also overlaid land cover and protected area maps and performed a gap analysis to understand the impacts of land‐cover changes on Memecylon distributions and propose new areas for conservation. Differences among suitable habitats of Memecylon were found to be related to patterns of endemism. Under varying future climate scenarios, endemic groups were predicted to experience habitat shifts, gains, or losses. The narrow endemic Memecylon restricted to the montane zone were predicted to be the most impacted by climate change. Projections also indicated that changes in species’ habitats can be expected as early as 2041–2060. Gap analysis showed that while narrow endemic categories are considerably protected as demonstrated by their overlap with protected areas, more conservation efforts in Sri Lankan forests containing wide endemic and nonendemic Memecylon are needed. This research helped clarify general patterns of responses of Sri Lankan Memecylon to global climate change. Data from this study are useful for designing measures aimed at filling the gaps in forest conservation on this island.

A Correction to this paper has been published: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-021-03473-8.

Community assembly theory hypothesizes that two main niche‐based processes act to shape composition and organization of biological assemblages: abiotic filtering and biological interactions. Here, we conducted repeated surveys of bird abundance along an undisturbed elevational gradient in the tropical Andes to investigate 1) signals of deterministic processes driving community assembly and 2) potential mechanisms by which these forces operate (temperature, habitat complexity, fruit and insect availability), while correcting for imperfect detection and modeling species abundances with N‐mixture models. We observed strong signals of abiotic filtering driving functionally and phylogenetically clustered assemblages towards higher elevations, and a weaker signal of limiting similarity resulting in few overdispersed assemblages at lower elevations. Whereas the decay in species richness with increasing elevation was explained by temperature, trait and phylogenetic dispersion were explained by both temperature and vegetation structure, implying that an interplay of abiotic and biotic mechanisms determines abundance‐based community structure in our montane assemblages. Interestingly, trait and phylogenetic dispersion consistently decreased until ~3000 m but increased above this elevation, highlighting a potential role of competition in resource‐scarce habitats. Combined, our findings suggest abiotic filters are still the main process shaping montane biotas across elevations, whereas resource availability might act locally upon assemblages further modifying them. Our study challenges recent studies in tropical mountains that suggest that biotic filters are a stronger force than abiotic filters in shaping tropical montane assemblages, and exemplifies how accounting for imperfect detection might overcome potential biases in detecting environmental filtering signals in community assembly studies.

Species distribution models are useful for identifying the ecological characteristics that may limit a species’ geographic range and for inferring patterns of speciation. Here, we test a hypothesis of niche conservatism across evolutionary time in a group of manakins (Aves: Pipridae), with a focus on Chiroxiphia boliviana , and examine the degree of ecological differentiation with other Chiroxiphia and Antilophia manakins. We tested whether allopatric sister species were more or less similar in environmental space than expected given their phylogenetic distances, which would suggest, respectively, ecological niche conservatism over time or ecologically mediated selection (i.e. niche divergence). We modeled the distribution of nine manakin taxa ( C . boliviana , C . caudata , C . lanceolata , C . linearis , C . p . pareola , C . p . regina , C . p . napensis , Antilophia galeata and A . bokermanni ) using Maxent. We first performed models for each taxon and compared them. To test our hypothesis we followed three approaches: (1) we tested whether C . boliviana could predict the distribution of the other manakin taxa and vice versa; (2) we compared the ecological niches by using metrics of niche overlap, niche equivalency and niche similarity; and (3) lastly, we tested whether niche differentiation corresponded to phylogenetic distances calculated from two recent phylogenies. All models had high training and test AUC values. Mean AUC ratios were high (>0.8) for most taxa, indicating performance better than random. Results suggested niche conservatism, and high niche overlap and equivalency between C . boliviana and C . caudata , but we found very low values between C . boliviana and the rest of the taxa. We found a negative, but not significant, relationship between niche overlap and phylogenetic distance, suggesting an increase in ecological differentiation and niche divergence over evolutionary time. Overall, we give some insights into the evolution of C . boliviana , proposing that ecological selection may have influenced its speciation.

Aim We examine latitudinal effects of breeding bird taxonomic, phylogenetic and functional beta-diversity (T beta, P beta and F beta, respectively) along elevational gradients to test predictions derived from Janzen's (Integrative and Comparative Biology 101:233-249, 1967) classic ideas that tropical mountains represent stronger dispersal barriers than temperate mountains. Location Global. Taxon Birds. Methods Using a global dataset from 46 mountains, we examine latitudinal patterns of T beta, P beta and F beta, and their components: beta(rich) and beta(repl). For each mountain and each dimension of diversity, we calculated (a) total beta-diversity, (b) the steepness of distance decay patterns and (c) within-mountain variability in pairwise beta-diversity and regressed each one of these response variables against absolute latitude. We predicted that tropical montane biotas would have (a) overall higher T beta, P beta and F beta, (b) faster distance decay patterns and (c) higher within-mountain variability in pairwise beta-diversity. Furthermore, we expected the richness component beta(rich) to be more important in temperate mountains, and the replacement component beta(repl) in tropical mountains. Results Latitude had a negative effect on total beta-diversity for all dimensions of diversity. Similarly, metrics of T beta and P beta mostly agree with our expectations, whereas F beta showed contrasting results with steeper distance decay curves and higher within-mountain variability in temperate mountains. Overall, beta(rich) was a more important component at high elevations in the tropics and across elevations in temperate mountains, and beta(repl) was more important in tropical low and mid-elevations. Main Conclusions Our findings are consistent with tropical mountain assemblages containing species with narrow elevational distributions, low dispersal ability and potentially high allopatric speciation, resulting in high beta-diversity across elevations. Contrasting results for F beta indicate high niche packing in tropical assemblages, with most changes in functional diversity among assemblages involving species redundant in trait space.

A growing number of studies have shown increasing Red-shouldered Hawk ( Buteo lineatus ) populations in urban and suburban landscapes. When not breeding, this predator usually flees from humans when disturbed. Here, we describe a motionless mantling behavior of a Red-shouldered Hawk while feeding on an Eastern Gray Squirrel ( Sciurus carolinensis ) in an urban landscape in Gainesville, FL, USA. The adult hawk spread its wings and tail over the food item, likely as a defensive strategy to guard against loss of its prey, which may occur if the hawk takes flight. The mantling behavior challenges the economic hypothesis of optimal escape theory and suggests that adult hawks identify humans as a threat or even a competitor but not a predator. Also, the use of mantling behavior suggests that individuals adapt foraging behaviors under persistent human disturbances in urban habitats.