Roadless areas in forested and rugged mountains pose unavoidable challenges to field surveys, often leading to wildlife sampling bias in terms of population, behaviour, and response to human interference. Using the endangered Fran & ccedil;ois's langur (Trachypithecus francoisi) as a model species, we aimed to compare the impacts of different survey methods, with varying levels of road accessibility on the evaluation of population size, the response of species to human disturbance, and the habitat distribution prediction by an ensemble species distribution model in the Dashahe National Nature Reserve, Guizhou, China. Fran & ccedil;ois's langurs live in some of the most inaccessible habitat among primates. To date, the best methods of survey have been interviews with locals and line transects along existing roadways. These methods may be biased by human presence and activities. Drones provide a means by which langur densities can be assessed across an inaccessible landscape, reducing researcher accessibility bias. We found that, compared to the interview survey, which have long been the only survey method in this region, the UAV survey significantly increased the species detection accessibility (SDA) of Fran & ccedil;ois's langur in roadless areas (population size estimation: interview survey recorded 37 individuals at mean SDA of 46.92 +/- 21.06 km vs. UAV survey recorded 62 individuals at mean SDA of 57.96 +/- 15.85 km). The unmanned aerial vehicle -methods vehicle (UAV) survey indicated that the occurrence of Fran & ccedil;ois's langurs decreased when the intensity of human modification exceeded 0.4, whereas the transect method showed a higher modification threshold that reached 0.6. This indicated that UAV survey exhibited a higher degree of sensitivity to human activities. Furthermore, while the suitable area identified by the UAV model (74.8 km(2)) was positively correlated with road accessibility (p < 0.01), the results of the all-survey model (84 km(2)) showed a different pattern (p < 0.001), with larger area identified as suitable habitat compared to those predicted using the other two survey methods. Our results suggest that, compared to other traditional surveys, UAVs increase the probability of detecting Fran & ccedil;ois's langurs in roadless areas (30.1 %), eliminate overestimation of their tolerance to human disturbance, and help refine species distribution modelling. We recommend that UAV surveys be incorporated into routine wildlife surveys and conservation management studies to enhance our understanding of threatened species and reduce underestimation of human disturbance on these species.

The global spread of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) has become a critical challenge to public health. Long-distance migratory waterbirds are recognized as important biological vectors in the transregional spread of ARGs. However, the sharing patterns of ARGs and the horizontal transfer risks between these birds and their habitats during the wintering period remain poorly understood. This limits a comprehensive understanding of their role in ARG transmission. This study investigated a typical wintering wetland in southwestern China along the East Asian-Australasian Flyway, using metagenomic approaches to systematically characterize the distribution patterns, sharing profiles, and horizontal transfer risks of ARGs in the guts of overwintering waterbirds and their associated aquatic and terrestrial habitats. The results show that multidrug resistance genes are the predominant type of resistance observed both in the guts of overwintering waterbirds and in their habitats. Extensive sharing of ARGs occurs between the guts of overwintering waterbirds and their habitats, with approximately 50% of the 1250 identified ARG subtypes shared by both. We detected 55 high-risk ARG subtypes belonging to 10 resistance categories. Among these, β-lactam resistance genes (e.g., blaNDM-5 and blaCTX-M-15) were the predominant types. In addition, the co-localization of ARGs with mobile genetic elements (MGEs) (e.g., transposons and plasmids) suggests that the gut of waterbirds and aquatic environments may represent potential hotspots for horizontal transfer of ARGs. This study highlights the high connectivity of ARGs between overwintering waterbirds and their habitats, offering important insights into ecological and public health risks related to ARG spread.

Our study reports a new distribution record for the recently described species Boulenophrys daxuemontis in Nayong County, Guizhou Province, expanding its known range. Furthermore, we provide the first systematic description and quantification of its advertisement call characteristics. Its advertisement call consists of a series of repeated pulsative calls, with a mean call duration of 144.91 ± 24.55 ms and a mean dominant frequency of 3.56 ± 0.12 kHz. Additionally, a detailed quantitative comparison was conducted between its advertisement calls and those of its sister species, Boulenophrys jiangi. Principal component analysis revealed that parameters such as pulse rate, number of pulses per call, and dominant frequency separated the two species in call space, effectively distinguishing these morphologically similar sister species. These unique acoustic features provide evidence supporting the taxonomic status of B. daxuemontis. While our sample size is limited, these findings provide foundational data for future study. Our study not only enriches the fundamental biological database for the genus Boulenophrys but also offers important reference data for biodiversity assessment, conservation, and acoustic identification of cryptic amphibian species in the region.

Global land-use changes have driven forest loss and fragmentation, resulting in a drastic decline in biodiversity levels. Understanding how biological communities respond to anthropogenic landscapes is crucial for developing optimal spatial strategies for biodiversity conservation in human-modified landscapes. We used the long-term monitoring camera trap data within human-modified forest landscapes in the northern Guizhou Plateau, southwest China, to investigate the scale of effects of landscape structure on mammal communities through single-species occupancy model, and assessed which spatial factors (landscape and local habitat structure) best predict the species occurrence at multiple scales. We found significant differences of the scale of landscape effect on mammal species, with forest cover tending to have larger scales of effects than edge density and number of forest patches among the landscape variables. In addition, the effects of forest loss and fragmentation on species were distinct. Forest loss negatively affects species at multiple scales, especially at larger scales, whereas forest fragmentation mainly positively or negatively affects species at smaller scales. Mesocarnivores showed greater adaptability in fragmented landscapes with human disturbances, whereas ungulates avoid areas with less forest cover and more fragmentation. Therefore, we stress the importance of maintaining large areas of forest fragments, considering the effects of forest fragmentation within the species' core home ranges on conservation strategies, to ensure a greater persistence of mammal species in the human-modified forest landscapes in southwestern China.

The genus Gracixalus is a group of small and medium-sized rhacophorid frogs for which many new species have been described recently, yet little is known about their biology. Gracixalus weii is a species recently described in Guizhou Province, China, whose acoustic characterization was lacking. The advertisement call has a central role in the reproduction of frogs. We present the first detailed acoustic description for G. weii based on recordings from six individuals obtained at the type locality, Leigongshan Nature Reserve. We collected and analyzed 182 calls, and classified them into two different types (Type A and Type B) based on their call structure and note composition. Type A calls (33 calls from two males) consist of an introductory note followed by two click notes, with a mean total duration of 726.59 ± 119.11 ms and a dominant frequency of 2.46 ± 0.10 kHz. Type B calls (149 calls from all six males) comprise an introductory note and a single click note, mean 481.07 ± 77.03 ms in call duration, with a mean dominant frequency of 2.58 ± 0.15 kHz. Both call types exhibit broad frequency ranges (2.0–21.0 kHz). Among individuals possessing both type A and type B calls, type A calls account for 41.9%–69.0% of the vocalizations, while type B calls comprise 31.0%–58.1%. We found that the type A advertisement call of G. weii is similar to the song structure of the thrush Turdus dissimilis. The complex spectral structure may suggest a case of evolutionary convergence between certain anurans and birds in the use of acoustic signals. The advertisement calls of G. weii are notably distinct from those of other known Gracixalus species. These differences provide acoustic evidence supporting the species taxonomic validity. Our findings underscore the value of bioacoustic data in species identification and contribute basic information for future study on the behavior, ecology, and diversity of the understudied Gracixalus genus.

Antibiotic resistance represents a growing threat to human, animal, and ecosystem health, yet its dynamics in wildlife remain poorly understood. We conducted a systematic analysis of the gut resistomes in non-human primates (NHPs) and environmental soils in Guizhou Province, China, a biodiversity hotspot. Metagenomic analyses reveal that human activities and horizontal gene transfer (HGT) influence primate resistome landscapes and enhance their dissemination potential. A total of 1927 antibiotic resistance ontologies (AROs) distributed across 1477 species-level genome bins (SGBs), providing a comprehensive genomic catalog of the NHPs resistome. Bacterial genera such as Pseudomonas, Stenotrophomonas, and Comamonas drive ARG mobilization, with a core subset of ARGs that reliably predict overall resistance burdens. Notably, widely distributed primate species, with large habitat ranges and frequent interspecies interactions exhibit the most potential for ARG dissemination. Ecological modeling identifies current and future hotspot regions requiring prioritized monitoring amid ongoing human disturbance and climate change. These findings provide a molecular-indicator-based framework for environmental antibiotic resistance (AR) monitoring and conservation strategies for endangered species. Despite limitations in temporal and spatial coverage, our study highlights the need to integrate wildlife, particularly NHPs, as sentinel species into "One Health" AR surveillance and policy. This approach will strengthen our understanding of ARG transmission dynamics and their long-term impacts on host adaptation, ecosystem stability, and public health.

Habitat loss, climate change, and disease are driving global amphibian declines, making amphibians valuable indicators for conservation assessment. We integrated field surveys (2013–2025) covering 120 amphibian species in Guizhou, a karst biodiversity hotspot, with species distribution models, spatial prioritization, and functional trait analysis. Amphibian richness is higher in eastern Guizhou and lower in the west, with isothermality (bio03) and precipitation of coldest quarter (bio17) as primary climatic correlates, while road distance was the strongest anthropogenic correlate. Protected areas cover only 36.5% of suitable habitat for 79 SDM-modelled species, and 63.4% of Amphibian Conservation Priority Areas (ACPAs) remain unprotected. Gaps differed markedly between taxa: for 11 Caudata, gaps were larger under provincial-level and above protected areas than under the full network, indicating local reserves complement dispersal-limited species; for 68 Anura, higher dispersal scores correlated with larger gaps, suggesting breeding wetlands and overwintering caves are overlooked. Despite these gaps, ACPAs showed high conservation efficiency. Protecting 17% of Guizhou's land covered ≥17% habitat for 97.5% of SDM-modelled species and provided umbrella benefits for 88.5% of protected mammals and 60.9% of protected birds. The same areas captured 38.7% of natural vegetation carbon storage, 42.2% of soil retention, and 36.8% of water yield at 17% target; at 50% target, all three services exceeded the natural vegetation baseline. Our findings show amphibian-centered planning can achieve biodiversity conservation and ecosystem service maintenance, and integrating dispersal traits clarifies gap differentiation across taxa and PA levels, offering a transferable framework supporting the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework.

Infrared camera trapping technology has been widely employed to monitor bird diversity. However, little is currently known about the extent to which this technique contributes to regional bird distribution and abundance, the nature of the sampling biases inherent in such monitoring, and the functional traits that give rise to these biases. We utilised monitoring data from 91 nature reserves across China and integrated avian taxonomy, functional traits, and phylogeny. Bayesian and random forest models were employed to investigate detection bias and identify the key traits influencing the detection of birds by camera trapping. The results show that: (1) camera trapping recorded approximately 42% of China’s forest bird species, with variations in detection frequency across different orders and families; specifically, the families Phasianidae, Muscicapidae, Corvidae and Leiothrichidae were detected more frequently than all other families; (2) the avian community detected by camera traps showed clear functional trait divergence, yet remained predominantly assembled by stochastic processes; (3) Bayesian and random forest models identified tarsometatarsal length and feeding behaviour were key predictors of the probability of being detected by the camera, and there was a significant interaction between the them. In particular, tarsometatarsal length (β = 0.04, 95% CI [0.02, 0.06]) and herbivory behaviour (β = 0.03, 95% CI [0.01, 0.04]) showed a positive effect, whereas vertebrate behaviour (β = −0.04, 95% CI [−0.07, −0.02]) had a negative effect, while other traits played only a minor role. These findings highlight the inherent detection biases associated with birds monitoring using camera trapping, providing a useful theoretical foundation and methodological guidance for targeted bias correction and the optimized application of camera trapping technology in bird diversity assessment.

The diversity in foraging behavior observed among species is indicative of their ability to adapt to specific environmental conditions, with dietary differences playing a crucial role in shaping the composition of gut microbiota. However, there are limited reports on the dietary habits and gut microbiota of François' langur (Trachypithecus francoisi) across different wild geographical populations. To address this, our study employed DNA metabarcoding and 16S rRNA sequencing to investigate variations in dietary composition and their influence on gut microbiota among distinct wild populations of François' langur, as well as among different groups within the same region. The dietary analysis revealed a broad diet, identifying 134 families and 336 genera of plants. The habitat quadrat survey results indicate significant differences in the habitats of François' langurs across different geographic populations. However, the dietary composition analysis reveals that while the food composition of different groups within the same region is relatively similar, there are notable differences across geographically distinct regions. The microbial community analysis demonstrated distinct compositional and structural divergence in gut microbiota between these populations, whereas no significant microbial differences were detected among groups within the same region. Further correlation analysis between diet and microbiota indicated that dominant plant taxa in the diet exhibited significant associations with Firmicutes, Proteobacteria, and other microbial phyla, displaying varying degrees of positive or negative correlations. This study elucidates how dietary variations among geographically distinct populations of François' langur drive changes in gut microbiota, reflecting their adaptive responses to local habitats. These findings provide valuable insights for the conservation management of François' langur populations and potential applications in health status monitoring.IMPORTANCEUnderstanding the mechanisms by which animals adapt to their environment is essential for effective conservation efforts. This study examines the endangered François' langur, focusing on the largely unexplored relationship between its dietary habits and gut microbiota across various wild populations. Our research indicates that although habitat vegetation varies significantly even among groups within the same region, their diets remain similar. Conversely, langur populations from distinct geographic areas exhibit notable dietary differences. These dietary variations, in turn, lead to distinct compositional differences in their gut bacterial communities. This diet-microbiome interaction serves as a crucial physiological indicator of how these primates adapt to their local forest environments. By illustrating that gut microbiota composition reflects an animal’s ecological response to its environment, this study offers a powerful and non-invasive tool for conservation. These findings are critical for developing targeted strategies, such as habitat restoration, and for monitoring the health of these rare primates through gut microbiome analysis.

The diversification of advertisement calls is largely driven by climatic niche differentiation. Our results provide acoustic evidence for studies on ecological speciation in anurans.

Karst ecosystems support exceptionally high amphibian diversity but are increasingly threatened by the combined pressures of climate change and land-use change. To date, the independent and interactive effects of these two drivers remain poorly quantified in these highly heterogeneous karst landscapes. Focusing on Guizhou Province, a global karst biodiversity hotspot in southwestern China, this study quantifies the relative contributions of climate and land-use change to amphibian richness loss and disentangles their additive versus non-additive interaction patterns. Based on 2636 occurrence records of 112 species compiled from a decade of systematic field surveys and verified literature records, we constructed ensemble species distribution models (biomod2) and phylogenetically constrained ENphylo models. We projected species distributions to the 2070s under low- and strong-emission scenarios, contrasting land-use-only, climate-only, and coupled change scenarios. All scenarios consistently projected net declines in species richness, with losses ranging from 1.15 to 2.88 species per km2. Land-use change alone was associated with larger richness declines than climate change alone, while combined climate-land-use changes resulted in the smallest net losses. The smaller net loss under coupled scenarios reflected antagonistic non-additive patterns, which accounted for 77.7-79.7% of grid cells for species loss; in contrast, species gains were predominantly additive. Our findings highlight that regulating land-use intensity represents a more immediate and effective conservation lever than standalone climate mitigation in karst regions. We recommend that regional land-use planning prioritize habitat connectivity and constrain agricultural expansion, and that adaptive management strategies account for the spatial overlap of both stressors and the higher uncertainty associated with land-use projections to ensure robustness across development pathways.

Understanding primate habitat selection at the micro-scale is crucial for effective conservation, especially for species with specialized habitat requirements and narrow distributions. However, traditional survey methods often struggle to obtain habitat data for target species in complex terrains due to accessibility limitations and insufficient precision. We employed UAV-borne LiDAR technology to investigate the habitat selection patterns of Fran & ccedil;ois' langur (Trachypithe-cus francoisi), an endangered primate that primarily inhabits cliff areas of karst valleys in southwestern China. Based on the location information of Fran & ccedil;ois' langurs recorded by ground transect surveys and UAV observations, we established presence and control quadrats and collected LiDAR point cloud data for these quadrats. We extracted 13 habitat variables covering horizontal structure, vertical structure, and topographic features, and applied Random Forest and Generalized Linear Model combined with SHAP analysis to conduct three-dimensional habitat selection analysis. The results indicate that topographic features (elevation, slope) are the primary variables influencing the distribution of Fran & ccedil;ois' langurs, followed by horizontal and vertical structural features (canopy cover, vegetation vertical distribution). Compared with control quadrats, the quadrats used by Fran & ccedil;ois' langurs are characterized by lower elevation, steeper slope, greater canopy cover, and simpler vegetation vertical distribution. Our study emphasizes that the restoration of Fran & ccedil;ois' langur habitat should not focus exclusively on dense, mature forests with complex vegetation structures on both sides of the valley. Instead, efforts should be made to create and maintain secondary forest composite ecological landscapes with specific structures on both sides of steep cliffs. These findings provide an important scientific basis for habitat management and conservation planning of this endangered species.

Understanding the synergistic mechanisms through which climate change and anthropogenic activities affect landscape connectivity is crucial for species persistence. While extensive research has documented their effects on habitat loss and fragmentation, how they drive spatio-temporal connectivity dynamics remains poorly understood. This study integrated field surveys and the meta-analytical data to model habitat suitability and quantify spatio-temporal connectivity of minimum area requirement (MAR) habitats for the karst-endemic primate François' langur (Trachypithecus francoisi) from 1987 to 2024. It concurrently evaluated the effectiveness of existing protected areas (PAs) in maintaining connectivity. Results revealed a 48.8% reduction in suitable habitat area, with the distribution pattern shifting from continuous to north-south isolation. Habitat centroids migrated northeastward at 1.2 km/year, exceeding the species' dispersal capacity. The MAR habitats threshold increased from 10.59 to 22.56 km2, indicating intensifying ecological pressures. Average connectivity probability (PCst) decreased by 18.32%, and equivalent connected area (ECAst) declined by 38,130 km2. Crucially, connectivity mechanisms shifted from within-patch persistence toward greater reliance on direct dispersal and stepping-stone pathways. Climate change and anthropogenic activities exhibited significant antagonistic effects on connectivity degradation, independent of species-specific MAR. Existing PAs significantly sustained connectivity, yet static management inadequately protected dynamic priority habitats and dispersal corridors. Through spatially explicit scenario modeling, this study deciphers species connectivity decline mechanisms under multiple stressors. We emphasize optimizing PA networks by reinforcing MAR core patches as ecological stepping stones and constructing climate-adaptive corridors to enhance functional connectivity, thereby improving conservation resilience for endangered karst-endemic species.

Karst in Southwest China, recognized as biodiversity hotspots, exhibits heightened sensitivity to climate change. The effects of climate change on these ecosystems via species distribution and population genetics remain inadequately investigated. This study presents the first genetic analysis of the endemic karst species Odorrana kweichowensis, utilizing mitochondrial gene fragments COI and ND2 to assess genetic structure and historical population dynamics. We further predict habitat suitability and genetic diversity under four climate scenarios for 2050 and 2070. Our findings reveal no significant genetic differentiation among populations, and the rapid expansion experienced in the past may have been driven by climate change. By 2050, except for the RCP8.5 scenario, we anticipate over 50% of haplotypes and sampling localities to persist. However, by 2070, only the RCP2.6 scenario maintains over 20% of haplotypes and nucleotide diversity, with the other scenarios predicting significant losses. Particularly under RCP8.5, all collected sampling localities face habitat loss. Nonetheless, suitable habitats persist near current protected areas. Thus, conservation efforts should prioritize the protection of habitats projected to remain beyond 2050, particularly those yet to be recognized as protected areas.

Based on morphological and molecular phylogenetic analyses, a new species of the genus Boulenophrys is described from Yezhong Nature Reserve, Shuicheng County, Guizhou Province, China. Phylogenetic analyses based on the mitochondrial genes 16S rRNA and COI indicate that this new species represents an independent species-level lineage, closely related to B. fanjingmontis, B. qianbeiensis, B. sangzhiensis, and B. spinata. The new species is distinguished from its congeners by a combination of the following characteristics: (1) body size moderate (SVL 41.2–46.2 mm in adult males and 51.8–58.6 mm in adult females); (2) a single small horn-like tubercle at the edge of each upper eyelid; (3) vomerine teeth absent; (4) tongue not notched posteriorly; (5) tympanum distinctly visible, round; (6) toes with rudimentary webbing and narrow lateral fringes; (7) heels overlapping when thighs are positioned at right angles to the body; (8) tibiotarsal articulation reaching the level of the middle of the eye when the leg is stretched forward; (9) a single internal subgular vocal sac in males; (10) in breeding males, the nuptial pads have black nuptial spines on the bases of the first and second fingers.

The ecological drivers of wildlife crop-foraging behavior—whether as a compensatory response to natural resource scarcity or as opportunistic exploitation of anthropogenic food sources—remain poorly understood in human–wildlife conflict research. Traditional methodologies, which primarily rely on direct observation and morphological identification, have limitations in comprehensively quantifying wildlife dietary composition, particularly in accurately distinguishing between morphologically similar plant species and conducting precise quantitative analyses. This study utilized DNA metabarcoding technology (rbcL gene markers) to identify and quantify plant dietary components through fecal sample analysis, systematically investigating the dietary composition and patterns of agricultural resource utilization of wild rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta) in human–wildlife interface zones of southwestern China. A total of 29 rhesus macaque fecal samples were analyzed (15 from spring and 14 from winter), identifying 142 plant genera, comprising 124 wild plant genera, and 18 crop genera. The results revealed distinct seasonal foraging patterns: crops accounted for 32.11% of the diet in winter compared to 7.66% in spring. Notably, rhesus macaques continued to consume crops even during spring when wild resources were relatively abundant, challenging the traditional hypothesis driven by resource scarcity and suggesting that crop-foraging behavior may reflect an opportunistic, facultative resource selection strategy. This study demonstrates the significant value of DNA metabarcoding technology in wildlife foraging behavior research, providing scientific evidence for understanding human–primate conflict ecology and developing effective management strategies.

A specimen of Azemiops feae (Boulenger, 1888) is recorded for the first time in Guizhou Prov- ince, China. The species occurs west of Kunming in Yunnan, southern Sichuan, southeastern Tibet, northern Myanmar, northeastern Laos, and northwestern Vietnam. Morphological data, ecological descriptions, and distribution maps are provided for the species.

In order to further understand the habitat utilization characteristics of in Golden Pheasant (Chrysolo-phus pictus) during the breeding and non-breeding seasons in the Mayanghe National Nature Reserve, Guizhou Province, an occupancy analysis of camera trapping data was conducted from April 2019 to December 2019. We found that the covariables that had important effects on the habitat selection of Golden Pheasant were Herb Coverage and Slope during the breeding period, indicating that the Golden Pheasant tended to use woodland with high herb coverage and more gentle slopes during the breeding period. In the non-breeding period, the covariates that had important effects on the habitat selection of Golden Pheasant include Elevation, Arbor Canopy, Shrub Coverage and Herb Coverage, indicating that the Golden Pheasant tended to inhabit in vegetation communities with low canopy, high elevation and high herb and shrub coverage during the non-breeding period. In general, vegetation structure such as herb coverage was an important factor affecting habitat utilization in Golden Pheasant, but the species was not sensitive to the anthropogenic factors because the Distance from Human Resident areas or Livestock Activity had no significant influence on the occupation rate.

A new species of small tree frog was discovered in southwestern China, exhibiting morphological differences and molecular divergence. The new species, formally described herein as Gracixalus weii sp. nov., is morphologically distinct from other congeners by body size (SVL 30.1–34.0 mm in males and 35.2–36.0 mm in females). In addition, the head width was larger than the head length, with a distinct tympanum, a brown to beige dorsum, and an inversed Y-shaped dark brown marking. The skin of the dorsal and lateral surfaces of the head, body, and limbs was rough and sparsely scattered with tubercles. The toes showed moderately developed webbing, while finger webbing was rudimentary. Nuptial pads were found on the base of finger I; males had a single subgular vocal sac, with heels overlapping when the legs were at a right angle to the body, and the tibiotarsal articulation reached the mid-eye when the legs were stretched forward. Phylogenetic analyses based on DNA sequences of the mitochondrial 16S rRNA supported the new species as a sister species of G. jinxiuensis. Genetically, the new species diverges from its congeners by 3.4%–14.5% (uncorrected p-distance) and is closest to G. jinxiuensis, which is 3.4%.