Reliable population estimates are essential for wildlife management, yet monitoring schemes often do not match the administrative scale at which decisions are made. We illustrate this challenge using the Eurasian lynx in the canton of Valais, Switzerland, where official state monitoring is fragmented across three reference areas surveyed in different years. We analyzed three winters (2023-2026) of independent, canton-wide camera trap data, recording 899 independent lynx captures (27, 31 and 34 adults per winter). Lynx distribution and reproduction concentrated in the Northwest and connected to the thriving Pre-alpine populations. Density modelling for 2025/2026 estimated 37 independent lynx (95% CI: 26-52) on the whole cantonal territory, corresponding to a density of 1.09 (0.77-1.56) individuals per 100 km2. These estimates are substantially below the figures improperly extrapolated from a cross-cantonal reference area and conveyed by political authorities. Future lynx management decisions should be rooted in scientifically sound, scale-relevant information.

ABSTRACT Montane species are predicted to respond to climate change by moving upslope, particularly high elevation specialists with thermal niches adapted to cold environments. Unfortunately, the accuracy of predictive species distribution models is often reduced by (1) the challenge of accounting for changes in habitat and resource availability and (2) the inability to account for complex life history strategies. Here we use the Wallcreeper (Tichodroma muraria) as a model species for predicting the response of high elevation specialists to climate change, leveraging unique aspects of its ecology as an obligate cliff specialist and altitudinal migrant. Using species distribution models based on citizen science data collected across Switzerland and intensive field surveys of abundance within its core range, we predict future range shifts and overlap among life cycle periods under different climate change scenarios. Principal environmental predictors varied among seasons, with temperature being more important during the winter. While the breeding range was predicted to shift upwards with little change in overall spatial extent, the overwintering range was predicted to expand upslope by up to 244%, leading to a 123% increase in seasonal overlap. Abundance models showed similar results while also providing the first robust density estimates for the species in Switzerland. In contrast to past studies of alpine biota that predict severe range contractions due to climate change, sufficient high elevation habitat exists in Switzerland to allow the Wallcreeper to shift and expand its range upslope, especially in the overwintering period when cold thermal constraints are relaxed. However, most of the current Wallcreeper distribution in Europe lies in mountain ranges likely to be outside of its breeding thermal range in the future, stressing the importance of the Swiss Alps as a stronghold for this species and alpine diversity in an era of rapidly warming temperatures.

Aim: Biodiversity is increasingly threatened by human impacts. While abiotic conditions are well known to shape species richness, the role of human activities remains less clear. We examined how abiotic and human factors influence terrestrial and limnic species richness in a densely populated region with a long land-use history. Location: Germany. Time Period: 1900-2023 (varies by taxonomic group). Major Taxa Studied: Mammals, breeding birds, fishes, amphibians, reptiles, butterflies, dragonflies, fungi, vascular plants. Methods: Species richness data were aggregated in 11 & times; 11 km grid cells and related to abiotic (climate, soil) and human drivers (land use, protection status). We applied a two-step approach: (1) Boosted Regression Trees (BRTs) to select relevant predictor variables and (2) Generalised Additive Models (GAMs) to test their effects, accounting for spatial autocorrelation. Results: Land-use and climate were similarly important for species richness (26% vs. 21% in BRTs), while protection status and soil contributed less (8% and 9%). GAMs showed positive effects of temperature across many groups. Among land-use factors, human footprint, urban open spaces and water bodies consistently enhanced richness. Protected areas were positively related to richness, whereas soil variables had mixed effects. Main Conclusions: In Germany, species richness peaks not only in semi-natural, protected areas but also along water bodies and within settlement open spaces. These results suggest that conservation strategies should integrate both traditional protected areas and human-modified habitats that sustain high biodiversity.

Pollinators are important to humans and nature due to their role in ecosystem functioning and services. Research on the effects of pollinator management in protected areas is insufficient compared with that on farmlands and urban areas, potentially hindering appropriate policy implementation. We addressed this knowledge gap by conducting a data-based synthesis on measures to promote pollinators (especially bees, butterflies, and flies) across European protected areas. To compare the effects of management practices that enhance pollinators (pollinator-friendly; treatment) and those not focused on pollinators (conventional; control) in protected areas, we used vegetation, floral resource, and pollinator datasets. Our synthesis involved 10 countries, 34 datasets, and 639 sampling sites with different management activities (land abandonment, mowing, grazing, mulching, flower sowing, gap creation, and uprooting and girdling trees) and habitats (grasslands, forests, reed beds, and sandpits). Pooled analysis indicated that pollinator-friendly management had mainly neutral effects on floral resources and pollinators, with some positive effects but no negative effects. Dataset-level details revealed mostly neutral effects from pollinator-friendly management with some positive (15%) and fewer negative (3%) effects. Management slightly improved pollinator overall abundance and species richness, particularly for butterflies and wild bees (excluding bumblebees). Comparing our synthesis with previous studies suggests that implementing management practices for pollinators in protected areas is more challenging than in farmlands and cities, possibly because protected areas already host higher quality habitats. Alternatively, pollinator-friendly approaches commonly implemented in protected areas may be insufficient. Although the Nature Restoration Regulation provides new opportunities for pollinator conservation, implementation will require careful planning for target areas, as effective management, including pollinator requirements, requires more focused and context-specific measures than those applied in cities and farmlands. Although focused on Europe, our synthesis provides broadly applicable lessons for pollinator conservation in other highly modified landscapes but with adaptation to local ecological and socioeconomic conditions.

Structural changes in Central European forests have recently accelerated, with uncertain impacts on biodiversity. Using remote-sensing data, this study investigates changes in multiple structural attributes of a temperate mountain forest in Germany between 2015 and 2021, a period characterised by two droughts, increased tree mortality, and adaptive management. To evaluate retention measures under these conditions, which aim to provide old-growth structures, structural changes were analysed in relation to retention management and forest ownership type. In addition, changes in habitat suitability (HS) were assessed for nine bat species(-groups). Following drought years, canopy height heterogeneity and forest gaps increased while tree volume decreased, particularly in coniferous forests (-41.7 m(3)/ha). Standing deadwood cover tripled but remained low (0.1 % vs. 0.3 %) and showed a limited persistence. Height heterogeneity remained highest in state forests with retention measures, compared to those without, and to corporate or private forests. Private forests - and in mixed or deciduous forests, also state forests with retention measures - maintained higher average tree volumes. However, forest structure development was broadly similar among ownership and management types, particularly within coniferous forests most affected by drought and adaptive management practices. While open forest structures were previously lacking, recent changes have improved habitats for bats adapted to edge and open environments. In contrast, species adapted to high tree volumes, such as Myotis and Plecotus bats, may experience adverse effects. Thus, maintaining mature forest habitats is becoming increasingly critical, and retention levels should be enhanced and refined to preserve disturbance legacies.

Timber-oriented forest management profoundly alters forest structure and composition, with complex effects on associated biodiversity. However, while species' responses to forest management and resulting structural characteristics have been the subject of numerous studies, direct and indirect effects that cascade through trophic levels are rarely disentangled. As insectivorous bats are particularly sensitive to changes in forest structure, that shape their available flight space, we investigated how forest structure, composition and management also indirectly modify their habitats, for example, by affecting important insect prey groups. We used structural equation models (SEMs) to test bat responses to forest composition, structure (forest heterogeneity, old-growth attributes) and management intensity, quantifying direct and indirect prey-mediated effects. For that, three bat guilds-short- (SRE), mid- (MRE) and long-range echolocating (LRE) bats-and their prey insects (moths and ground beetles) were analysed from 64 sites in the Black Forest, Germany. We found guild-specific effects on bats: While the structural heterogeneity of forests directly influenced the activity of bat guilds, the main influence of forest management, composition and structure was mediated through their prey-groups. SRE activity responded to moths and LRE activity was associated with ground beetles, with positive effects of the insect groups' abundance, but negative effects of the same group's species richness. In addition, the SEM approach revealed a negative top-down relationship between MRE activities and moths, suggesting predation or avoidance behaviour of moths. While forest management directly or indirectly increased prey insect abundance, it negatively affected the availability of roosting structures for bats. Synthesis and applications. The results highlight the indirect and positive effects of forest management on bats and support the important role of bats in insect regulation within continuous cover forests. Although forest management created small gaps that improved foraging habitats for most bats, it compromised the roosting functionality for bats. The 'close-to-nature forestry' currently prevalent in Europe mainly promotes continuous-cover forests in mid-successional stages. Expanding the forest management portfolio towards open and old-growth forests would increase roosting opportunities and provide complementary foraging habitats for different bat species, while promoting high biodiversity in managed forest landscapes. Die in Europa weit verbreitete Naturnahe Waldwirtschaft verä ndert sowohl die Struktur als auch die Zusammensetzung der Wä lder und hat weitreichende Auswirkungen auf die Biodiversitä t. Wä hrend viele Studien die direkten Auswirkungen der Bewirtschaftung und die daraus resultierenden strukturellen Merkmale von Wä ldern untersuchen, werden die direkten und indirekten Effekte auf Arten, etwa entlang der Nahrungskette, jedoch nur selten differenziert analysiert. Da Fledermä use sehr empfindlich auf Verä nderungen der Waldstruktur reagieren, haben wir untersucht, wie sich die Waldstruktur, -zusammensetzung und -bewirtschaftung indirekt ü ber den Einfluss auf wichtige Insektengruppen auf ihren Lebensraum auswirken. Mit Strukturgleichungsmodellen (SEM) haben wir die Reaktionen von Fledermä usen auf die Waldzusammensetzung, die Struktur (Waldheterogenitä t, Merkmale alter Wä lder) und die Bewirtschaftungsintensitä t untersucht und die direkten sowie indirekten Auswirkungen, die durch Beuteinsekten vermittelt werden, quantifiziert. Dazu wurde die Aktivitä t von drei Fledermausgilden - nah an Waldstrukturen fliegende Fledermä use (short-range echolocators = SRE), in halboffenen Lufträ umen jagende Fledermä use (mid-range echolocators = MRE) und im offenen Luftraum jagende Fledermä use (long-range echolocators = LRE) - sowie die Hä ufigkeit und Vielfalt von Nachtfaltern und Laufkä fern auf 64 Waldstandorten im Schwarzwald untersucht. Die Analysen zeigten gilden-spezifische Auswirkungen der Waldstruktur auf die Fledermausaktivitä t: Wä hrend die strukturelle Heterogenitä t der Waldbestä nde einen direkten Einfluss auf die Aktivitä t der Fledermausgilden hatte, wirkte sich die Waldbewirtschaftung, -zusammensetzung und -struktur vor allem indirekt, ü ber die Verfü gbarkeit von Beuteinsekten, auf diese aus. Die SRE-Aktivitä t reagierte auf Nachtfalter, wä hrend die LRE-Aktivitä t auf Laufkä fer ansprach. Dabei nahm die Fledermausaktivitä t mit der Hä ufigkeit der Insektengruppen zu, jedoch mit deren Artenvielfalt ab. Darü ber hinaus zeigte das SEM einen negativen Einfluss der MRE-Aktivitä t auf Nachtfalter, was auf Prä dation oder Vermeidungsverhalten dieser hindeutet. Die Waldbewirtschaftung erhö hte sowohl direkt oder indirekt die Hä ufigkeit von Beuteinsekten, fü hrte jedoch zu einer Verringerung der Verfü gbarkeit von Baumquartieren fü r Fledermä use. Synthese und Anwendung. Die Ergebnisse unterstreichen die Rolle der Fledermä use bei der Insektenregulierung in Wä ldern und zeigen sowohl indirekte als auch teilweise positive Auswirkungen der Naturnahen Waldwirtschaft auf Fledermä use. Kleine Lü cken, die durch die Waldbewirtschaftung entstehen, kö nnen die Jagdhabitate fü r viele Fledermausarten verbessern. Gleichzeitig fü hrt die Bewirtschaftung zu einer geringeren Verfü gbarkeit von Baumquartieren. Da die Bewirtschaftung Wä lder mit hohem Kronenschluss und mittleren Sukzessionsstadien fö rdert, kö nnte eine Ausweitung dieser hin zu ä lteren, aber auch offeneren Wä ldern sowohl die Verfü gbarkeit von Quartieren erhö hen als auch komplementä re Jagdhabitate fü r verschiedene Fledermausarten schaffen. Eine solche Diversifizierung des Bewirtschaftungsportfolios kö nnte einen bedeutenden Beitrag zum Erhalt der Biodiversitä t in bewirtschafteten Waldlandschaften leisten.

1. Understanding how biodiversity varies under different environmental conditions is one of the central aims of ecology. Mean environmental conditions and heterogeneity have an effect on biodiversity. Increased heterogeneity is generally associated with increased diversity, but mean conditions tend to have a stronger influence. Conditions on site are embedded into a landscape context, which adds another layer of complexity to be considered. Due to the rarity of multi-taxon data it remains unclear if resulting patterns are similar across taxa. Most European forests are managed, and management strongly influences both mean conditions and heterogeneity. How different species groups respond to variation in these forest characteristics is therefore crucial for testing ecological theories and designing effective conservation measures for management. 2. We assessed the effects of environmental conditions on biodiversity of seven taxonomic groups in a temperate mountain forest area in Central Europe. We analysed the responses of biodiversity (species richness, Shannon diversity, and $\beta$-diversity) to three groups of environmental variables: local mean conditions, local heterogeneity, and landscape. Our objectives were to determine which group of variables is most important in explaining biodiversity variation, and whether certain environmental conditions have consistent effects on the diversity of multiple taxonomic groups. 3. We found that the effects of environmental conditions varied substantially between taxa and aspects of biodiversity. The proportion of conifers had the largest number of significant effects overall, but the direction varied between taxa. None of the three groups of variables was more relevant in explaining the variation in biodiversity. While an increase in local heterogeneity and higher values in the landscape context were associated with increased diversity, an increase in mean conditions was mainly negatively associated with diversity. 4. Synthesis and applications Our results show that no single factor or group of factors affects biodiversity across different species groups in the same way. For management, this means that stand-level interventions, such as retention of old-growth elements, are likely not sufficient to promote the many aspects of biodiversity. Instead, different types of management are likely needed for objective-specific biodiversity conservation at the landscape scale.

The shift to ‘close to nature forestry' as the dominating forestry regime in western‐European forests has resulted in increasing timber volume and denser forests with negative effects on photophilic species. Hence, there is an increasing focus on active habitat management measures to support these species. To guarantee that the measures prove beneficial to the target species, it is essential to evaluate both their benefits as well as possible negative effects. However, while species' population trends are often well‐studied, rigorous monitoring schemes for management interventions are often lacking. Here we applied a before‐after‐control‐intervention (BACI) study design over multiple years to study the effects of actively creating small clear‐cuts of up to 1 ha on the occurrence of western capercaillie Tetrao urogallus and its mammalian predators. While habitat management measures had immediate positive effects on the probability of capercaillie presence that remained constant during the five years after the intervention, predator presence did not increase in the years after clear‐cutting. Assuming that predator activity density is related to predation risk, this would refute the hypothesis that the intervention created an ecological trap. Our study confirms correlative studies indicating that the creation of small clear‐cuts in a closed forest matrix represents an effective measure for improving capercaillie habitats in Western‐European lower mountain forests, and contributes to a solid basis for science‐based, large‐scale management strategies to comply with international species conservation legislation.

The Convention on Biological Diversity aims to protect 30 % of the Earth’s land and marine surface to promote biodiversity. In the European Union, conservation areas are mainly placed under protection through the Habitats Directive. These so-called Natura 2000 sites currently cover 18.6 % of Europe's land area. Obligatory status reports enable a broad-scale analysis of conservation states to investigate if biodiversity is in the favourable conservation status demanded by the directive and which factors may be inhibiting. With focus on Germany, we evaluated the conservation states of habitat types and species groups as assessed in standard data forms and related it to drivers commonly reported for the sites, e.g., land-use practices, protected area size and time since designation. Our results are based on assessments from 23 % (1049) of Germany’s Natura 2000 sites protected under the Habitats Directive and show that only 6 % of habitats’ and 4 % of species’ assessments report a favourable conservation status. A review of the reported drivers showed that most negative influences on Natura 2000 sites were attributed to agricultural and forestry activities, as well as natural system modifications, while for both land-use types also practices with positive impact were listed. For habitats, conservation status was better in Natura 2000 sites that were established earlier than later. For both habitats and species, more favourable conservation states were overall related to larger area sizes and the absence of direct land use (agriculture, forestry). Our results highlight that a high proportion of protected areas alone does not suffice to infer successes for biodiversity conservation when land-use activities continue to affect target species or their habitats. Increased conversation efforts for Natura 2000 areas will be required to meet the goals of the recently implemented EU Nature Restoration Law.

The shift towards “close-to-nature forestry” in Central Europe led to an area-wide decrease of open forest structures and a decline of many photophilous species or taxa. One of them, the endemic taxon Zygaena angelicae elegans, only occurs on the western margin of the Swabian Alb, Germany. Five of only 37 (mostly small) populations became extinct since 2000; hence, this evolutionary significant unit is at the verge of extinction. We assessed landscape-scale drivers of population persistence by comparing contemporary surveys with data from the 1990s and analysed larval microhabitat selection to provide target values for habitat management, which we tested in a case example. While population size was highest in open, south-exposed slopes, population persistence strongly decreased with increasing distance to the next occupied patch, with high extinction risk above 1.3–1.5 km. Occurrence and abundance of larvae was mostly driven by afternoon insolation (> 135 min) and the availability and height of the larval host plant Coronilla coronata (> 15 and > 25 cm for occurrence and abundance, respectively), which in turn depended on low canopy (< 61

The response of species to the environment is scale-dependent and the spatial scale at which this relationships are measured may affect conservation recommendations. Saproxylic beetles depend on decaying- and deadwood which occur in lower quantities in managed compared to natural forests. Most studies have investigated the habitat selection of saproxylic beetles at the stand scale, however depending on the species mobility, the amounts and distribution of forest attributes across the landscape may be equally important, and thus crucial to frame quantitative conservation targets. To address this gap, we evaluated the influence of environmental variables, derived from remote sensing across multiple spatial scales (50, 100, 250, 500 and 1000 m radius), on saproxylic beetles habitat selection. Focusing on four mobile and four flightless species, we hypothesized that mobile species respond to habitat variables at broader scales compared to flightless species, and that variables describing forest structure explain species presence better at smaller scales than variables describing other landscape features. Forest structure variables explained around 40% of the habitat selection, followed by variables describing forest type, topography and climate. Contrary to our expectations, mobile species responded to variables at smaller scales than flightless species. Saproxylic beetle species therefore respond to the availability of habitat features at spatial scales that are inversely related to their dispersal capacities, suggesting that less mobile species require larger areas with suitable habitat characteristics while mobile species can also make use of small, distributed patches with locally concentrated habitat features.

Retention forestry, which retains small set-asides within forests managed for timber production and other services, is an important conservation instrument for enhancing structural complexity and biodiversity in multifunctional forests. However, in contrast to local scale effects, its large-scale effectiveness is largely unknown, as this requires area-wide and sufficiently precise information on key structural elements and associated species' habitats. Bats are particularly sensitive to forest structural characteristics and are target organisms of most retention programs. To assess their response to existing retention efforts, we here compared key habitat structures and overall habitat suitability for bats across forest areas with and without retention, using forest type and structure variables derived from remote sensing along with topographic, climatic and land-cover variables in a multi-scale modelling approach. Based on acoustic data from 135 1-hectare plots across the Black Forest, Germany, we calibrated region-wide species distribution models for 9 bat species or bat species groups thereby identifying the best-performing scale (50 - 1000 m radius) for each predictor and species(-group). Among predictors and species(-groups), forest cover and structural variables explained most (44.0 % and 38.3 %) of bat habitat selection, with forest height heterogeneity (16.4 %) and the percentage area with standing dead trees (11.7 %) performing best, mostly at small scales (50-100 m). Forests with retention showed higher values of these key structural variables, resulting in higher predicted habitat suitability for all species(-groups), highlighting positive effects of retention on structural complexity in forests and on species that benefit thereof.

Forests in Germany are occupied with roads, paths, and trails with a density of 5.03 km/km². Their construction and maintenance create a network of verges promoting flowering plants. Whether these verges are visited by bees, which factors are determining their abundance, diversity, and composition, and which flowering resources are used is unknown. We selected 13 verges in the Black Forest (Germany), sweep-netted wild bees along transects, calculated the flowering area of all herbs, and measured the area (hectares) of grassland within 1 km around the transects. To evaluate the resource use of a common bumblebee species, we analyzed the pollen load of common carder bees (Bombus pascuorum) using microscopes. The abundance and diversity of wild bees was positively related to flowering area. With an increasing area of grassland, the abundance of ubiquitous species increased. Wild bee community composition was driven by flowering area. Common carder bees collected pollen from several flower resources but mainly used few species, such as the common hemp nettle (Galeopsis tetrahit L.). As the flowering area influenced wild bee abundance, diversity, and composition, we suggest creating road verges that favor the occurrence of native flowering plants to support wild bees in forest ecosystems. Study Implications: Forest road verges generally have higher light availability than the forest interior and therefore have higher availability of flowering plants. Although the importance of verges for wild bee conservation in agricultural landscapes is known, forest road verges are understudied. Our study demonstrates that forest road verges are important habitats for many ubiquitous bees and that the flowering area on these verges is the key determinant for the abundance and diversity of wild bees. Therefore, creating road verges that favor the occurrence of native flowering plants is key to support bees on these verges.

Most forests in Europe are managed but differ in their management intensity. This has different implications for structural- and environmental conditions and subsequently for the conservation of ecological communities, their interactions and functional consequences. Differences in silvicultural treatments, especially those promoting rare habitat structures, could foster trap-nesting bees, wasps and their parasitoids. We therefore tested how forest management and associated vegetation characteristics influence their abundance, richness, parasitism rates and the structure of the bee/wasp-parasitoid networks. Using 180 standardised trap nests on 45 forest plots (1 ha) in the Black Forest, Germany, we compared three management types representing a management intensity gradient: 'unmanaged', 'close-to-nature', and small 'clear-cuts'. Host and parasitoid abundance were highest on clear-cut plots and parasitoids were positively influenced by vegetation diversity, whereas bee and wasp richness were highest on clear-cut and close-to-nature plots. The wasp genus Trypoxylon had the highest abundance on clear-cut plots whereas abundance of Deuteragenia was highest on the other management types. Unmanaged plots supported the lowest abundance and richness of the community. Whilst parasitism rate was not directly influenced by management, networks on clear-cut plots were less specialised and more linked. Our results highlight the importance of early successional habitats for trap-nesting bees, wasps and their parasitoids and the subsequent effect on the size and speciality of their networks. We demonstrate that different forest management types lead to changes in habitat suitability for some species, which translates to changes in host-parasitoid networks. Small-scale forest openings such as those created naturally by windthrows, and those created anthropogenically such as small-scale clear-cuts promote forest biodiversity and functions associated to Hymenoptera such as bees and wasps.

Deployment of wind energy is proposed as a mechanism to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Yet, wind energy and large birds, notably soaring raptors, both depend on suitable wind conditions. Conflicts in airspace use may thus arise due to the risks of collisions of birds with the blades of wind turbines. Using locations of GPS-tagged bearded vultures, a rare scavenging raptor reintroduced into the Alps, we built a spatially explicit model to predict potential areas of conflict with future wind turbine deployments in the Swiss Alps. We modelled the probability of bearded vultures flying within or below the rotor-swept zone of wind turbines as a function of wind and environmental conditions, including food supply. Seventy-four per cent of the GPS positions were collected below 200 m above ground level, i.e. where collisions could occur if wind turbines were present. Flight activity at potential risk of collision is concentrated on south-exposed mountainsides, especially in areas where ibex carcasses have a high occurrence probability, with critical areas covering vast expanses throughout the Swiss Alps. Our model provides a spatially explicit decision tool that will guide authorities and energy companies for planning the deployment of wind farms in a proactive manner to reduce risk to emblematic Alpine wildlife.

Abstract Recent studies have emphasized forests as crucial habitat for wild bees. In Europe, most forests are managed following the principles of close‐to‐nature silviculture, which combine timber production and nature conservation. However, open late and early successional stages within these forests are largely missing, which could be important for wild bees. This highlights that close‐to‐nature silviculture alone might not be sufficient to conserve bees within temperate forests. Open structures such as canopy gaps and road verges in forests could improve habitat for bees. To provide management recommendations for wild bee conservation in temperate forests, we analyzed how components of bee beta diversity varied between forest management types and tested how open structures, namely clear‐cuts, canopy gaps, and forest road verges influenced bee abundance, richness, and diversity. In addition, we analyzed the abundance and percent of red‐listed bee species at different scales. Bees were sampled using 90 pan traps on 45 (1 ha) plots in 2019 and 2020 in the Black Forest, Germany. Plots were selected in 15 triplets each consisting of three management types related to different successional stages: unmanaged, close‐to‐nature, and small clear‐cut. Beta diversity was not consistently nested highlighting the importance of different management and successional stages within the landscape to support bees in forests. Abundance, species richness, and Shannon diversity of bees were highest on clear‐cuts, compared to unmanaged‐ and close‐to‐nature plots. At landscape scale, wild bee abundance increased with canopy openness while wild bee diversity increased with landscape heterogeneity. Abundance‐ and percent of red‐listed bee species increased with the length of forest road verges. We advocate creating habitats at local scales which offer flowering and nesting resources by providing canopy gaps. At landscape scale, heterogeneity created through different forest successional stages is needed to conserve the entire community of wild bees.

Climate change and associated changes in weather patterns have globally widespread effects on natural systems. Shifts in phenology can affect the reproductive success of birds by causing a mismatch between the onset of breeding and favourable conditions for reproduction, such as a peak in food availability. Weather conditions and their changes have also long been discussed as affecting the reproductive success of grouse (Tetraoninae) and contributing to rapid declines in many central European populations. We monitored the reproductive success of Western Capercaillie Tetrao urogallus in the Black Forest, Germany, over a 14‐year period to study how weather conditions correlated to reproductive success and to assess whether changing environmental conditions were related to a seasonal shift in reproduction. We observed a temporal shift in peak lekking activity from late to mid‐April, which corresponds to an advance of 0.65 days/year. Furthermore, we show that warm conditions during the reproductive season were positively associated with reproductive success (i.e. larger brood size, more hens with chicks and more chicks per hen) and that precipitation volume during the early weeks after hatching was negatively correlated with brood size. Precipitation before copulation (i.e. peak of lekking) affected the proportion of hens with chicks and the number of chicks per hen. Sex ratio in broods was also affected by weather conditions, with more female than male chicks in years with low temperatures and high precipitation. By analysing spring weather predictions for the period 2020–2039, we found that weather conditions during the reproductive period remained constant when assuming a continued advancement of reproduction onset, although annual variation was high. We show the importance of weather conditions in influencing Western Capercaillie reproductive success. Western Capercaillie in the Black Forest seem to adjust the timing of reproduction according to changes in weather conditions, but this advancement is unlikely to be limitless, making the future impact of climate change on the species uncertain.

The absence of a species in apparently suitable regions is often attributed to habitat deterioration, which, according to the IUCN‐guidelines, would preclude reintroduction unless the habitat is sufficiently restored. The crux is therefore to determine species' key habitat requisites and to localize potentially restorable sites based on the habitat selection of thriving populations in similar environments. The distribution of the red‐billed choughPyrrhocorax pyrrhocoraxin the Alpine arch is currently restricted to its western side. The eastern Alps have only been occupied sporadically during past centuries, which triggered a discussion around reintroduction. The fact that the last confirmed pairs bred at middle elevation, in derelict buildings instead of alpine cliffs, suggested a lack of habitat suitability in the uplands. To test this hypothesis, we modelled seasonal foraging habitat (during winter, breeding and dispersal) and nest site‐selection in the western Swiss Alps using long‐term observation data together with a wide palette of environmental predictors. The models were extrapolated to eastern Switzerland to estimate the quality and extent of the available habitat. Both foraging and nesting habitats were predicted with a high level of accuracy (AUC > 0.8). Despite variation between seasons, south‐exposed dry meadows and extensively‐grazed pastures were always preferred as foraging habitat, while forested and snow‐covered areas were avoided. Availability of, and distance to suitable foraging habitats were the main determinants of nest‐site selection, probably reflecting strong energetic constraints during reproduction. However, the extrapolation to eastern Switzerland revealed an even higher overall amount and relative percentage of all habitat types. One explanation could be that our predictors were too coarse to encapsulate qualitative, structural or compositional differences of the grasslands. However, the results could also point to an alternative hypothesis, namely that post‐glacial recolonization patterns, in particular the absence of nearby source populations, precluded the occupation of the eastern Alps.