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Marine chondrichthyans are experiencing a global decline, but identifying appropriate conservation actions is challenging due to the lack of basic biological information, such as growth parameters and reproduction. In this study, we identify biological and ecological attributes that can be both easily obtainable and are effective predictors of extinction threat.A bioecological attribute database was constructed for marine chondrichthyan species, including information on maximum length, habitat, reproductive mode, trophic level and conservation status, among others. Data sources included the Shark‐References, IUCN and FishBase databases. Following this, a generalized linear model was built with conservation status as the response variable and bioecological attributes as explanatory variables, and the model's accuracy was tested for each group. Then, the model was applied to species not yet classified (data deficient [DD] or not evaluated [NE]) to determine their probability of extinction risk.In total, data were compiled for 1225 species of marine Chondrichthyes (537 sharks, 636 rays and 52 chimaeras); approximately 20% of these species are classified as DD or NE. The model demonstrated high accuracy overall: 95% for chimaeras, 77% for rays and 72% for sharks. Our analysis indicates that, among the species that are classified as DD or NE, 58% of rays, 44% of sharks and 66% of chimaeras may be at risk of extinction.These results clearly demonstrate how bioecological attributes can serve as proxies of extinction risk in Chondrichthyes and provide a solid foundation for conservation planning and prioritization for this ecologically important yet data poor taxon. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Diversity & Distributions is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Journal of Biogeography is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Aim: Insects are one of the least studied taxa, with most species lacking basic ecological and biogeographical information. This problem is particularly acute in the tropics, where low sampling effort hampers accurate estimates of species richness at scale and potentially confounds efforts to identify the drivers of biogeographical gradients. Here, we evaluate the quality of the data on the distribution and diversity of odonate species in the Neotropics, while also examining the influence of sampling completeness on climate–richness relationships using a comprehensive database of odonates. Location: The Neotropics. Taxon: Odonata. Methods: Using 56,535 records collected from 1970 to 2021, we assess whether climate–species richness models vary under different scenarios of survey completeness. Results: Our survey compilation revealed that most Neotropical diversity of Odonata likely remains unknown. Only 1% of the one‐degree cells covering the Neotropics held reliable information on odonate species richness, with particularly severe gaps in the Caribbean, Central America, northeastern Brazil and northern Chile. Temperature, precipitation and potential evapotranspiration exert consistent effects on Odonata richness across the entire Neotropics, regardless the level of survey completeness. Whereas seasonality‐related variables are less important predictors of species richness at the biogeographical scale. Main Conclusions: By highlighting areas where inventories are more reliable and identifying regions that require increased data collection efforts and mobilization, our assessment offers a roadmap for improving the reliability of odonate inventories in the Neotropics. Furthermore, our findings underscore the importance of accounting for varying levels of survey completeness in macroecological models to reveal robust climate–species richness relationships. Simultaneously, they highlight strong climatic predictors of species richness, irrespective of survey effort intensity. These predictors provide a solid foundation for modelling and predicting odonate species richness in the Neotropics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Antillean manatees (Trichechus manatus manatus) are endangered coastal, marine, and riverine megaherbivores with high environmental plasticity, constrained by tidal and seasonal water level cycles that affect access to food and fresh water. Accurate quantification of the species' habitat requirements, typically achieved through home range (HR) estimation, is required to implement area‐based conservation initiatives. In this study, we used GPS tracking data from 38 wild and captive‐rehabilitated released manatees to estimate HR using autocorrelated kernel density estimators (AKDE) and average time speed. We investigated whether body size, habitat type, sex and behavioural group influence home range size due to energy requirements, resources availability, a scramble‐competitive polygyny mating system, and adaptation to the wild. Eighteen manatees exhibited range‐resident behaviour, with a mean 95% home range of 72.96 km2 (± 218.52) and a median of 10.69 km2. The mean daily speed was estimated to be 13.47 km/day (± 4.16). Home range and body size were positively correlated, consistent with HR allometry theory. Long‐term tracked individuals showed a trend of increasing HR over time. Only four released animals (17.4%) were range‐resident, suggesting that they may need additional time to establish a home range. Individuals using only the marine environment had larger home ranges compared to mixed (marine and estuarine) and estuarine environments, probably due to freshwater availability. Our study contributes to the understanding of the factors driving manatee movement and provides more accurate estimates of area requirements, which can inform the establishment and zoning of marine protected areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Islands are biodiversity hotspots that host unique assemblages. However, a substantial proportion of island species are threatened and their long‐term survival is uncertain. Identifying and preserving vulnerable species has become a priority, but it is also essential to combine this information with other facets of biodiversity like functional diversity, to understand how future extinctions might affect ecosystem stability and functioning. Focusing on mammals, we (i) assessed how much functional space would be lost if threatened species go extinct, (ii) determined the minimum number of extinctions that would cause a significant functional loss, (iii) identified the characteristics (e.g., biotic, climatic, geographic, or orographic) of the islands most vulnerable to future changes in the functional space, and (iv) quantified how much of that potential functional loss would be offset by introduced species. Using trait information for 1474 mammal species occurring in 318 islands worldwide, we built trait probability density functions to quantify changes in functional richness and functional redundancy in each island if the mammals categorized by IUCN as threatened disappeared. We found that the extinction of threatened mammals would reduce the functional space in 63% of the assessed islands, although these extinctions in general would cause a reduction of less than 15% of their overall functional space. Also, on most islands, the extinction of just a few species would be sufficient to cause a significant loss of functional diversity. The potential functional loss would be higher on small, isolated, and/or species‐rich islands, and, in general, the functional space lost would not be offset by introduced species. Our results show that the preservation of native species and their ecological roles remains crucial for maintaining the current functioning of island ecosystems. Therefore, conservation measures considering functional diversity are imperative to safeguard the unique functional roles of threatened mammal species on islands. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Flagship species are an important tool for mobilizing support for conservation. Here, we extend this concept to include individual organisms, whose characteristics, fates, and connections to people can garner public attention, attract conservation support, and spur activism. Flagship individuals typically share a similar suite of characteristics, including (1) species‐level traits associated with charisma; (2) individual traits that are unique or distinctive; (3) a high degree of exposure to humans; and (4) a known, noteworthy life history or fate. The interplay between these characteristics and human agency establishes unique connections between flagship individuals and people, and generates widespread media attention. We discuss how the selection and promotion of flagship individuals can inspire empathy and, ultimately, conservation action. Finally, we identify the limitations of the flagship individual approach, while arguing that, if carefully and strategically implemented, it has the potential to produce substantial benefits for conservation policy and practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Conservation Biology is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Societal awareness of, and engagement with, environmental problems is a critical prerequisite for effective conservation programs. Research has revealed a strong general pattern whereby public attention received by cultural products diminishes over time. If transposed to conservation, this transience of societal attention is likely to be of major importance because it can limit motivation to support conservation efforts. We address the concept of attention transience applied to conservation, discuss its major drivers and mechanisms, and provide a short overview of conservation issues for which this phenomenon is expected to be particularly relevant. Attention transience leaves a brief window of opportunity for conservationists to focus public awareness and to mobilize necessary support. In this context, it is critical to maximize the conservation benefits generated during these short bursts of attention, especially through tailored conservation marketing campaigns with targeted message framing and regular efforts to refocus attention on key issues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Species distribution models (SDMs) are subject to many sources of uncertainty, limiting their application in research and practice. One of their main limitations is the quality of the distributional data used to calibrate them, which directly influences the accuracy of model predictions. We propose a standardized methodology to create maps, describing the limitations of occurrence data for covering the distribution of a species. We develop a set of tools based on the general framework of Maps of Biogeographical Ignorance to describe the main sources of data‐driven uncertainty: taxonomic stability, environmental similarity, geographical proximity and temporal decay of the underlying biodiversity data. The so‐derived indicators of data‐driven uncertainty account for inventory completeness, taxonomic quality, time since the surveys and geographical (and environmental) distance to localities with information. These indicators form the basis of ignorance maps, which can be used to visualize the reliability of SDM projections in geographical space, to estimate the uncertainty of these predictions and to identify target survey areas. To demonstrate the application of our approach, we use data on fourteen Iberian species of Scarabaeidae dung beetles. Data‐driven uncertainty is widespread even for this well‐surveyed group; more than 60% of the region has distributional uncertainty values higher than 0.6, and 30% higher than 0.7. Ignorance maps can be jointly evaluated with SDM predictions to generate spatially explicit maps of uncertainty, identifying where predictions are reliable/unreliable. Neglecting such uncertainty can severely affect SDM effectiveness, as it can introduce biases and inaccuracies into the measured species–environment relationships. These errors could result in incorrect theoretical or practical applications, including ill‐advised conservation actions. We therefore advocate for the routine use of ignorance maps or similar techniques as supporting information in SDM applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Global species richness, macroecology, species identification, taxonomic uncertainty, taxonomy, tree species Keywords: global species richness; macroecology; species identification; taxonomic uncertainty; taxonomy; tree species EN global species richness macroecology species identification taxonomic uncertainty taxonomy tree species 1654 1656 3 08/29/22 20220901 NES 220901 It is a biogeographical trope that after several centuries of exploration, our knowledge of the world's biodiversity is still staggeringly incomplete (Meyer et al., 2016), even for well-studied groups such as trees (Keppel et al., 2021). Given the different stages of taxonomic knowledge for the various plant families, it is difficult to establish robust estimates of species richness, especially when such estimates are based on asymptotic values of extrapolated species accumulation curves or non-parametric species richness estimators (as e.g. in Gatti et al., 2022). [Extracted from the article]

Aim: We examine latitudinal effects of breeding bird taxonomic, phylogenetic and functional β‐diversity (Tβ, Pβ and Fβ, respectively) along elevational gradients to test predictions derived from Janzen's (The American Naturalist101:233–249, 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 Tβ, Pβ and Fβ, and their components: βrich and βrepl. For each mountain and each dimension of diversity, we calculated (a) total β‐diversity, (b) the steepness of distance decay patterns and (c) within‐mountain variability in pairwise β‐diversity and regressed each one of these response variables against absolute latitude. We predicted that tropical montane biotas would have (a) overall higher Tβ, Pβ and Fβ, (b) faster distance decay patterns and (c) higher within‐mountain variability in pairwise β‐diversity. Furthermore, we expected the richness component βrich to be more important in temperate mountains, and the replacement component βrepl in tropical mountains. Results: Latitude had a negative effect on total β‐diversity for all dimensions of diversity. Similarly, metrics of Tβ and Pβ mostly agree with our expectations, whereas Fβ showed contrasting results with steeper distance decay curves and higher within‐mountain variability in temperate mountains. Overall, βrich was a more important component at high elevations in the tropics and across elevations in temperate mountains, and βrepl 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 β‐diversity across elevations. Contrasting results for Fβ indicate high niche packing in tropical assemblages, with most changes in functional diversity among assemblages involving species redundant in trait space. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ongoing loss of biological diversity is primarily the result of unsustainable human behavior. Thus, the long‐term success of biodiversity conservation depends on a thorough understanding of human–nature interactions. Such interactions are ubiquitous but vary greatly in time and space and are difficult to monitor efficiently at large spatial scales. However, the Information Age also provides new opportunities to better understand human–nature interactions because many aspects of daily life are recorded in a variety of digital formats. The emerging field of conservation culturomics aims to take advantage of digital data sources and methods to study human–nature interactions and thus to provide new tools for studying conservation at relevant temporal and spatial scales. Nevertheless, technical challenges associated with the identification, access, and analysis of relevant data hamper the wider adoption of culturomics methods. To help overcome these barriers, we propose a conservation culturomics research framework that addresses data acquisition, analysis, and inherent biases. The main sources of culturomic data include web pages, social media, and other digital platforms from which metrics of content and engagement can be obtained. Obtaining raw data from these platforms is usually desirable but requires careful consideration of how to access, store, and prepare the data for analysis. Methods for data analysis include network approaches to explore connections between topics, time‐series analysis for temporal data, and spatial modeling to highlight spatial patterns. Outstanding challenges associated with culturomics research include issues of interdisciplinarity, ethics, data biases, and validation. The practical guidance we offer will help conservation researchers and practitioners identify and obtain the necessary data and carry out appropriate analyses for their specific questions, thus facilitating the wider adoption of culturomics approaches for conservation applications. Article impact statement: Guidelines for overcoming challenges associated with digital data collection and analysis can advance conservation culturomics applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of People & Nature is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Globally there is a need for protected areas to conserve both biodiversity and heritage. Historic specimen localities, although significant to botanists, are not known or recognized under the global heritage umbrella; yet they form an important component of the protected area landscape.We aimed to articulate the conservation and heritage value of herbarium specimens, and make the links between people, botanical culture and nature explicit in order to argue the case that historic specimens and their associated in situ plant populations are biocultural heritage assets.This paper bridges the gap between biodiversity conservation and culture by confirming the presence of historic plant localities in the Cape Floristic Region of South Africa, from collections made prior to 1914.Once confirmed, present historic plant localities can be included into protected area conservation management and heritage portfolios and ensure a continued contribution to knowledge generation through conservation of these historic sites.Historic specimens and their associated in situ localities are valuable to both ecological study and conservation around the world and this paper highlights an emerging facet to science of the influence of people on the natural landscape.We found this to be the case not only in an ecologically transformative way, but from a heritage aspect regarding the social nature of botanizing and discovering.Historic specimen localities thus link the past with the current and future management of a protected area. A free Plain Language Summary can be found within the Supporting Information of this article. A free Plain Language Summary can be found within the Supporting Information of this article [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cultural Ecosystem Services (CES) encompass a range of social, cultural and health benefits to local communities, for example recreation, spirituality, a sense of place and local identity. However, these complex and place‐specific CES are often overlooked in rapid land management decisions and assessed using broad, top–down approaches.We use the Toolkit for Ecosystem Service Site‐based Assessment (TESSA) to examine a novel approach to rapid assessment of local CES provision using inductive, participatory methods. We combined free‐listing and participatory geographic information systems (GIS) techniques to quantify and map perceptions of current CES provision of an urban green space. The results were then statistically compared with those of a proposed alternative scenario with the aim to inform future decision‐making.By identifying changes in the spatial hotspots of CES in our study area, we revealed a spatially specific shift towards positive sentiment regarding several CES under the alternative state with variance across demographic and stakeholder groups. Response aggregations in areas of proposed development reveal previously unknown stakeholder preferences to local decision‐makers and highlight potential trade‐offs for conservation management. Free‐listed responses revealed deeper insight into personal opinion and context.This work serves as a useful case study on how the perceptions and opinions of local people regarding local CES could be accounted for in the future planning of an urban greenspace and how thorough analysis of CES provision is important to fully inform local‐scale conservation and planning for the mutual benefit of local communities and nature. A free Plain Language Summary can be found within the Supporting Information of this article. A free Plain Language Summary can be found within the Supporting Information of this article. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of People & Nature is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Cultural ecosystem services (CES) are some of the most difficult ecosystem services (ES) to characterize and connect to specific ecosystem processes. Given their connections to human emotion, deep meaning, fulfilment and motivation, they are also crucial for human well‐being.Scholars have published hundreds of peer‐reviewed articles addressing CES in myriad ways. In this systematic review, we analyse 232 peer‐reviewed articles on CES and examine how these studies discuss the interaction between CES research and decision‐making.We describe the primary ways that scholars have addressed the relationship between CES and decision‐making, and we characterize each study with respect to how thoroughly its authors attend to the possible applications of their results. We find that 27% of papers discuss connections to decision‐making in general terms, 28% discuss specific connections to decision‐making, and the remainder mention decision‐making links briefly or not at all.We also discuss patterns based on the particular CES studied (e.g. recreation, identity); methods used; change through time; and geographical location of authors and of study sites.We end with reflections on the current state of the interface between CES (and related concepts for approaching the non‐material values associated with ecosystems) and decision‐making, and we discuss future steps to increase connections between CES and decision‐making. A free Plain Language Summary can be found within the Supporting Information of this article. A free Plain Language Summary can be found within the Supporting Information of this article. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Interactions with nature promote key human health benefits and help inform sound conservation actions (Schaefer I et al i . 2015; Schultz 2011). COVID-19 lockdowns increase public interest in urban nature COVID-19 pandemic and associated lockdown as a "global human confinement experiment" to investigate biodiversity conservation. [Extracted from the article]

Discussions of defaunation and taxon substitution have concentrated on megafaunal herbivores and carnivores, but mainly overlooked the particular ecological importance of megafaunal omnivores. In particular, the Homo spp. have been almost completely ignored in this context, despite the extinction of all but one hominin species present since the Plio‐Pleistocene. Large omnivores have a particular set of ecological functions reflecting their foraging flexibility and the varied disturbances they create, functions that may maintain ecosystem stability and resilience. Here, we put the ecology of Homo sapiens in the context of comparative interspecific ecological roles and impacts, focusing on the large omnivore guild, as well as comparative intraspecific variation, focusing on hunter‐gatherers.We provide an overview of the functional traits of H. sapiens, which can be used to spontaneously provide the functions for currently ecologically extinct or endangered ecosystem processes. We consider the negative impacts of variations in H. sapiens phenotypic strategies, its possible status as an invasive species, and the potential to take advantage of its learning capacities to decouple negative and positive impacts.We provide examples of how practices related to foraging, transhumance, and hunting could contribute to rewilding‐inspired programs either drawing on hunter‐gatherer baselines of H. sapiens, or as proxies for extinct or threatened large omnivores. We propose that a greater focus on intraspecific ecological variation and interspecific comparative ecology of H. sapiens can provide new avenues for conservation and ecological research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using social media data and focusing on tiger bone wine, they explore the profile of the people purchasing these products and the factors motivating their consumption. For this, researchers have used data from diverse sources, such as social media platforms, digital encyclopedias, internet web pages, and search engines, and even sports-tracking applications (Fig. How to address data privacy concerns when using social media data in conservation science. [Extracted from the article]

Driscoll et al. (Journal of Biogeography, 2019, 46, 2850–2859) provide a critique of 'Countryside Biogeography', but also include 'Conservation Biogeography' and 'Agriculture Biogeography' in their criticisms. Their main thesis is that these new sub‐disciplines offer a 'conceptual wrapper' rather than distinctive frameworks and that the consequent redundancy of terms has the potential to sow confusion among biogeographers and slow progress. Here we argue that, far from sowing confusion Conservation Biogeography, for example, has provided important focal points for emerging scientific discourse, promoting new research, spawning undergraduate and graduate courses, and facilitating the formation of new scientific collaborations. The success or failure of a new sub‐discipline depends on its utility. If new framings sow confusion, introduce redundancy and provide no new insights they will not be widely adopted and cited. The development of new sub‐disciplines is a strong indicator of a vibrant, socially relevant and intellectually adventurous research area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Spatial and/or temporal biases in biodiversity data can directly influence the utility, comparability, and reliability of ecological and evolutionary studies. While the effects of biased spatial coverage of biodiversity data are relatively well known, temporal variation in data quality (i.e., the congruence between recorded and actual information) has received much less attention. Here, we develop a conceptual framework for understanding the influence of time on biodiversity data quality based on three main processes: (1) the natural dynamics of ecological systems-such as species turnover or local extinction; (2) periodic taxonomic revisions, and; (3) the loss of physical and metadata due to inefficient curation, accidents, or funding shortfalls. Temporal decay in data quality driven by these three processes has fundamental consequences for the usage and comparability of data collected in different time periods. Data decay can be partly ameliorated by adopting standard protocols for generation, storage, and sharing data and metadata. However, some data degradation is unavoidable due to natural variations in ecological systems. Consequently, changes in biodiversity data quality over time need be carefully assessed and, if possible, taken into account when analyzing aging datasets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Caatinga is a botanically unique semi-arid ecosystem in northeast Brazil whose vegetation is adapted to the periodic droughts that characterize this region. However, recent extreme droughts events caused by anthropogenic climate change have challenged its ecological resilience. Here, we evaluate how deforestation and protection status affect the response of the Caatinga vegetation to drought. Specifically, we compared vegetation responses to drought in natural and deforested areas as well as inside and outside protected areas, using a time-series of satellite-derived Normalized Difference Vegetation Index ( NDVI) and climatic data for 2008-2013. We observed a strong effect of deforestation and land protection on overall vegetation productivity and in productivity dynamics in response to precipitation. Overall, deforested areas had significantly lower NDVI and delayed greening in response to precipitation. By contrast, strictly protected areas had higher productivity and considerable resilience to low levels of precipitation, when compared to sustainable use or unprotected areas. These results highlight the importance of protected areas in protecting ecosystem processes and native vegetation in the Caatinga against the negative effects of climate change and deforestation. Given the extremely small area of the Caatinga currently under strict protection, the creation of new conservation areas must be a priority to ensure the sustainability of ecological processes and to avoid further desertification. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim Spatial and temporal biases in species-occurrence data can compromise broad-scale biogeographical research and conservation planning. Although spatial biases have been frequently scrutinized, temporal biases and the overall quality of species-occurrence data have received far less attention. This study aims to answer three questions: (1) How reliable are species-occurrence data for flowering plants in Africa? (2) Where and when did botanical sampling occur in the past 300 years? (3) How complete are plant inventories for Africa? Location Africa. Methods By filtering a publicly available dataset containing 3.5 million records of flowering plants, we obtained 934,676 herbarium specimens with complete information regarding species name, date and location of collection. Based on these specimens, we estimated inventory completeness for sampling units (SUs) of 25 km × 25 km. We then tested whether the spatial distribution of well-sampled SUs was correlated with temporal parameters of botanical sampling. Finally, we determined whether inventory completeness in individual countries was related to old or recently collected specimens. Results Thirty-one per cent of SUs contained at least one specimen, whereas only 2.4% of SUs contained a sufficient number of specimens to reliably estimate inventory completeness. We found that the location of poorly sampled areas remained almost unchanged for half a century. Moreover, there was pronounced temporal bias towards old specimens in South Africa, the country that holds half of the available data for the continent. There, high inventory completeness stems from specimens collected several decades ago. Main conclusions Despite the increasing availability of species occurrence data for Africa, broad-scale biogeographical research is still compromised by the uncertain quality and spatial and temporal biases of such data. To avoid erroneous inferences, the quality and biases in species-occurrence data should be critically evaluated and quantified prior to use. To this end, we propose a quantification method based on inventory completeness using easily accessible species-occurrence data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sustainable intensification of agriculture is one of the main strategies to provide global food security. However, its implementation raises enormous political, technological, and social challenges. Meeting these challenges will require, among other things, accurate information on the spatial and temporal patterns of agricultural land use and yield. Here, we investigate historical patterns of agricultural land use (1940-2012) and productivity (1990-2012) in Brazil using a new high-resolution (approximately 1 km²) spatially explicit reconstruction. Although Brazilian agriculture has been historically known for its extensification over natural vegetation (Amazon and Cerrado), data from recent years indicate that extensification has slowed down and was replaced by a strong trend of intensification. Our results provide the first comprehensive historical overview of agricultural land use and productivity in Brazil, providing clear insights to guide future territorial planning, sustainable agriculture, policy, and decision-making. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Culturomics is an emerging field of study that seeks to understand human culture through the quantitative analysis of changes in word frequencies in large bodies of digital texts. Culturomics research can help practitioners in nature conservation respond to cultural trends, building and reinvigorating its societal relevance. We identify five areas where culturomics can be used to advance the practice and science of conservation: (1) recognizing conservation-oriented constituencies and demonstrating public interest in nature, (2) identifying conservation emblems, (3) providing new metrics and tools for near-real-time environmental monitoring and to support conservation decision making, (4) assessing the cultural impact of conservation interventions, and (5) framing conservation issues and promoting public understanding. More generally, culturomics opens up an exciting new area of research, equipping conservationists with novel tools to explore and shape human interactions with the natural world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In a recent editorial, Whittaker (2014, Journal of Biogeography, 41, 1-5) suggested that biogeography is in the process of adopting a 'big science' model, characterized by increasing levels of individual specialization and international collaboration. Using network analysis based on co-authored articles and bibliometrics, we trace this transformation, identifying where biogeographical knowledge is produced and how the global biogeography community is connected. Our data reveal dramatic increases in biogeographical research over the last 30 years, with a trend of increasing diversity of countries and institutions. Moreover, an analysis of keywords suggests that the widening availability of molecular phylogenies and the ubiquitous threat of climate change are increasingly driving biogeographical research agendas. These trends are associated with diverse social and technological forces, notably advances in communication technology and the increasing availability and quality of biogeographical data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Question Do precipitation, temperature and seasonality drive variation in the seed size of Amazonian tree genera? Location Amazonia. Methods We use a combination of global biodiversity information facility ( GBIF) records, climatic data from BIOCLIM and seed size categories derived from the literature. Results Tree genera with very small seeds were associated with lower temperatures and higher seasonality, but not with precipitation; the opposite patterns being observed for trees with large seeds. These correlations remained even when the numerically dominant (and ecologically specialized) Fabaceae were removed from the analysis. Conclusions Our findings indicate that Amazonian tree genera with smaller seeds occur more frequently in transitional or seasonal forests, and genera with large seeds are more associated with climatically stable rain forests (warmer and less seasonality). These results are broadly consistent with the 'recruitment hypothesis', which predicts that large seeds have a competitive advantage in closed canopy forest vegetation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim Allen's rule posits that the appendages of endothermic organisms will be larger in warmer climates to allow for dumping of heat loads. Given a link between appendage size and climate, we tested the prediction that climate change has driven the evolution of larger bills in birds, resulting in measurable changes over the recent past. Location Australia. Methods We explored geographical and temporal variation in bill surface area of five Australian parrot species to determine whether individuals from warmer climates have larger bills, and whether there have been increases in bill surface area over time, consistent with climatic warming. Measurements were obtained from museum specimens dating from 1871 to 2008. These data were then related to geographical location, collection date and locality-specific climate data, in order to construct and compare models of spatio-temporal and climate-related variation in bill morphology. Results There have been increases in bill surface area in mulga parrots ( Psephotus varius), gang-gang cockatoos ( Callocephalon fimbriatum), red-rumped parrots ( Psephotus haematonotus) and male crimson rosellas ( Platycercus elegans), equating to a c. 4-10% increase in bill surface area since 1871. Average maximum summer temperature in the 5 years prior to specimen collection also positively predicted bill surface area in mulga parrots, red-rumped parrots and crimson rosellas, consistent with Allen's rule. With the exception of red-rumped parrots, however, models with geographical location and year of collection were still better predictors of bill surface area than local climate at the date of collection. Main conclusions Our analysis provides evidence that four species of parrot have exhibited adaptive change in bills over the past century potentially mitigating the thermal stress caused by climatic warming. Although consistent with the predicted effects of climate change, the temporal patterns we observe may have additional causes, however, such as changes in primary productivity, habitat or food availability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim Using survey data for North American birds, we assess how well historical patterns of species richness are explained by stacked species distribution models and macroecological models. We then describe the degree to which projections of future species richness differ, employing both modelling approaches across multiple emissions scenarios. Location USA and Canada. Methods We use Audubon Christmas Bird Count and North American Breeding Bird Survey data to estimate current and future species richness of birds using two distinct approaches. In the first, we model richness by stacking predictions from individual species distribution models. In the second, we model richness directly, ignoring the contributions of specific taxa to richness estimates. Results The two modelling approaches show similar accuracies when validated with historical observations, particularly winter observations, and result in similar patterns of richness when projected onto current and future climate spaces. Patterns of projected change in species richness differed markedly between winter and summer seasons regardless of modelling approach. Our models suggest that bird species richness in winter will increase or remain stable across much of North America. In contrast, species richness in summer is projected to decrease over much of North America, except part of northern Canada, suggesting that climate may constrain many breeding bird species and communities in the future. Main conclusions Stacked species distribution models and macroecological models produce similar estimates of current and future species richness for each of two seasons despite being built on different concepts of community assembly. Our results suggest that, although the mechanisms that shape geographical variation in biodiversity remain uncertain, these limitations do not impede our ability to predict patterns of species richness at broad scales. Congruence of species richness projections across modelling approaches is encouraging for conservation planning efforts that focus on retaining biodiversity into the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim Meta-community structure is a function of both local (site-specific) and regional (landscape-level) ecological factors, and the relative importance of each may be mediated by the dispersal ability of organisms. Here, we used aquatic invertebrate communities to investigate the relationship between local and regional factors in explaining distance decay relationships ( DDRs) in fragmented dendritic stream networks. Location Dryland streams distributed within a 400-km2 section of the San Pedro River basin, south-eastern Arizona, USA. Methods We combined fine-scale local information (flow and habitat characteristics) with regional-scale information to explain DDR patterns in community composition of aquatic invertebrate species with a wide range of dispersal abilities. We used a novel application of a landscape resistance modelling approach (originally developed for landscape genetic studies) that simultaneously assessed the importance of local and regional ecological factors as well as dispersal ability of organisms. Results We found evidence that both local and regional factors influenced aquatic invertebrate DDRs in dryland stream networks, and the importance of each factor depended on the dispersal capacities of the organisms. Local and weak dispersers were more affected by site-specific factors, intermediate dispersers by landscape-level factors, and strong dispersers showed no discernable pattern. This resulted in a strongly hump-shaped relationship between dispersal ability and landscape-level factors, where only moderate dispersers showed evidence of DDRs. Unlike most other studies of dendritic networks, our results suggest that overland pathways, using perennial refugia as stepping-stones, might be the main dispersal route in fragmented stream networks. Main conclusions We suggest that using a combination of landscape and local distance measures can help to unravel meta-community patterns in dendritic systems. Our findings have important conservation implications, such as the need to manage river systems for organisms that span a wide variety of dispersal abilities and local ecological requirements. Our results also highlight the need to preserve perennial refugia in fragmented networks, as they may ensure the viability of aquatic meta-communities by facilitating dispersal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim Using pine trees as a long-lived woody plant model, we analysed the extent to which constitutive and induced allocation to chemical defences were conserved across the phylogeny, and tested the hypothesis that patterns of defensive allocation and defensive strategies differ between Palaearctic and Nearctic pines. Location Common-environment study with Palaearctic and Nearctic pine species. Methods We grew 17 pine species (eight Palaearctic and nine Nearctic) in a common environment and measured the stem and needle concentrations of phenolics and non-volatile resin, two major quantitative chemical defences in pines. In particular, we studied the constitutive allocation to chemical defences (in control plants) and the potential inducibility of those traits in response to elicitation with hormonal analogues of the jasmonic acid (methyl jasmonate) and salicylic acid (benzothiadiazole) pathways of plant defence against herbivorous insects and pathogens. Results We found a strong phylogenetic signal in the constitutive concentration of phenolics in the needles and resin in the stem, but not elsewhere. We found that Nearctic pines showed 70% greater concentration of constitutive needle phenolics than Palaearctic species. In contrast, the inducibility potential of defences did not differ between Nearctic and Palaearctic pine species. Main conclusions Our findings suggest that macroevolutionary history (phylogeny and biogeographical origin combined) has played an important role in the evolution of needle constitutive defences among pine species, but not in that of induced defences. Specifically, constitutive allocation to pine chemical defences seems to be well preserved across the phylogeny. In contrast, the inducibility of chemical defensive traits was evolutionarily labile and may depend more on the particular climate, biotic interactions and resource availability in each species' range. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim We analyse the taxonomic status, phylogenetic relationships, distribution and age of a newly discovered ant taxon found in the mountaintops of the island of Mallorca (Spain). We also consider the potential impact of short-term climate change on the survival of this ant and make proposals on its conservation status, risks and management. Location Balearic Islands (Spain). Methods We used morphological, molecular and ecological evidence to assess the specific status of the potential new species. We gathered distribution data to conduct climate-based distribution modelling of present and future occupancy under several SRES emission scenarios. Results The existence of a new non-cryptic species of ant (Lasius balearicus Talavera, Espadaler & Vila, sp. nov.) is described from the island of Mallorca. Its distribution was found to be extremely restricted (Serra de Tramuntana) and elevationally constrained to island summits (between 800 and 1400 m a.s.l.). Molecular dating indicated that this species diverged about 1.51 million years ago from its nearest relatives, from which it can be distinguished based on several morphological traits. Ecological niche modelling shows a dramatic reduction of areas with suitable climatic conditions under the different scenarios studied. Main conclusions Lasius balearicus represents the first endemic ant to be described in the Balearic Islands, as well as the first endemic Lasius species in the Mediterranean islands. Distribution modelling predictions, the low intraspecific genetic diversity observed, and the geographical and elevational isolation of the populations indicated a low probability for the survival of the species in the short term, thus making it a potential model to study real-time climate-based biodiversity loss. As a consequence, we strongly recommend including L. balearicus in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species under the category 'Endangered'. This case illustrates that a fraction of biodiversity remains unexplored even within Europe, arguably the best-studied region of the planet, and that the available time-window for us to study and protect it may be in some instances notably narrow. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim Biogeographical patterns in metacommunities are still poorly understood, and different processes are expected to occur in different habitats. We analysed the regional plant metacommunities of coastal habitats to test whether (1) the influence of space and climate differs between two habitats differentiated along the seashore-inland gradient, and (2) regional variation in species composition of these habitats can be ascribed to different metacommunity paradigms. Location The entire coast of the Iberian Peninsula, south-western Europe. Methods We collected data on the plant species composition of coastal sites on sand dunes across 3000 km of coastline. The sites were classified into two habitats corresponding to shifting and stable sand dunes, and divided into three distinct geographical regions: Cantabrian, Atlantic and Mediterranean. We assessed the geographical structure of the species composition using ordination, estimates of species turnover and spatial autocorrelation. We then used multivariate models and variation partitioning to test the influence of climatic and spatial effects. Analyses were conducted for the whole data set and the geographical subsets. Results Metacommunities from shifting and stable dunes showed similar spatial patterns, with the highest species turnover occurring in the Mediterranean region. Similarities between communities that were nearer each other (typically < 100 km) were weaker in shifting than in stable dunes, although the distance decay for sites that were further apart was similar in both habitats. Variation in species composition in shifting dunes was mainly explained by distance and climate, while in stable dunes the effect of climate was clearly dominant. The observed differences were relatively consistent across geographical regions. Main conclusions Distinct processes structure the metacommunities in two dune habitats differentiated along the seashore-inland gradient. Communities of shifting dunes seem to be structured by an interplay of neutral or patch-dynamic processes and to a lesser degree by species sorting. In contrast, communities of stable dunes are mainly governed by species sorting in response to climatic gradients. These results highlight the importance of differentiating habitats according to local ecological factors when analysing regional patterns in metacommunities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim We examined patterns of rarity in the flora of a semi-arid mountain range with a high concentration of rare species and 150 years of elevated grazing pressure, to establish the influences of habitat specialization, species biology, biogeography and grazing pressure in determining the distributions and abundances of species. Location Grey Range and associated Tertiary sandstone ranges, eastern semi-arid Australia. Methods We characterized the major habitats by soil and vegetation parameters, and surveyed 647 sites across seven habitat units to determine the probability of occurrence of 19 rare species. We then analysed the occurrence of rare plants in relation to species biology (dispersal characteristics, flowering, fruiting and recruitment frequency), grazing pressure and, for the barren plateaux, their size and isolation. Results Rare species were found to be concentrated in three restricted habitat types - barren plateaux, gidgee toeslopes and sheltered habitats - which are clearly separated from other habitats in land-form, soil properties and floristics. Larger barren plateaux were more likely to harbour rare species, but there was no correlation between plateau isolation and the incidence of rare plants. No species seemed to be limited by low seed production, but barren-plateau shrubs recruited only infrequently. Only two species were adapted to long-distance dispersal, meaning that most are effectively stranded in their insular habitats. Although five perennial shrub species were heavily grazed, there were no significant relationships between the distance to water and the occurrence of rare plants. Main conclusions Habitat specialization, reproductive biology and biogeographical history interact to create the observed patterns of rarity in this semi-arid mountain range. There is no evidence that any species have become rare or restricted as a result of grazing pressure. Species confined to plateaux, sheltered habitats and gidgee toeslopes represent relictual populations, and the association of rare plants with larger plateaux suggests that local extinctions were more likely on smaller plateaux during Pleistocene climatic fluctuations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]