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Population density is fundamental information for assessing the conservation status of species and support management and conservation actions for in situ populations, but is unknown for many forest species due to their difficulty in detection. The Faecal Standing Crop (FSC) method using detection dogs is an alternative for cryptic or elusive species. An intrinsic difficulty of FSC is the ability to find faecal samples in the field and to estimate the probability of which faeces detection is influenced by degradation due to climatic conditions. Our goal was to propose a concurrent FSC parameter estimation using a scat detection dog under different climatic conditions and apply those parameters in a wild deer population.Ten faecal samples of grey brocket deer (Subulo gouazoubira) were placed weekly in a transect (24 × 1440 m) in both dry and wet seasons (12 weeks each). A scat detection dog was then employed to find experimental faecal samples to determine the FSC parameters that were subsequently used with naturally occurring faecal samples (also dog‐detected) to estimate population density.The oldest dog found samples were 21 (Dry) and seven (Wet) days after placement, resulting in dog efficiency of 22.5% (Dry) and 30% (Wet). Adjusting the model to account for efficiency and scat durability, we estimated similar, seasonal, densities of 4.51 individuals km−2 (SD = 2.21, Dry) and 5.37 individuals km−2 (SD = 3.71, Wet).Synthesis and applications: Our results demonstrate that our concurrent methodology corrected the effects of weather and habitat on FSC parameters thereby allowing for accurate population density estimation. Additionally, this method can provide reasonably precise density estimates with a logistically feasible sample size, as demonstrated by simulation. Following our recommendations, this method allows a reliable estimate of population density because it incorporates any influence of study area, dog ability and climate in faecal sample detection, providing fundamental information for the conservation of many cryptic and elusive species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Implementing effective, affordable and ethical conservation management will be crucial for minimising future biodiversity losses. Such management requires reliable foundational evidence to help managers make informed choices about how to address the needs of their target species. Unfortunately, such evidence is still lacking for many species and management scenarios.One major global challenge is improving the reproductive success of threatened species in the context of predation. We conducted a systematic review and meta‐analysis of in situ experiments that used non‐lethal methods to protect bird nests against predators, with the aims of summarising global trends in nest protection efforts, comparing the effectiveness of different protection measures and informing future research and management. We considered peer‐reviewed studies in English.We detected a large geographic and taxonomic bias in the evidence base with 58% of articles conducted in North America and 76% on ground‐nesting birds. Less than 3% of articles involved taxa listed as Endangered or Critically Endangered and 51% of study units lasted just a single breeding season.Nests protected with exclosures, fences and guards were more likely to be successful than their unprotected controls. Interventions involving deterrents, conditioned taste aversion, chemical camouflage and diversionary feeding did not have a significant positive effect on nest success, but the interventions in these categories were less common and more diverse in nature.Synthesis and applications. To increase their conservation value, future non‐lethal nest protection experiments should whenever possible clearly state overall aims, take place over multiple seasons, use a comparable control and test non‐lethal protection methods independently of lethal predator control. Greater focus is required on under‐studied taxa such as cup‐nesting songbirds and birds in South America, Africa and Asia, and novel protection techniques such as deterrents and chemical camouflage. Practitioners should consider the evidence we synthesise here when deciding whether non‐lethal nest protection approaches are optimal for their study system, to increase conservation success and reduce ethical and financial costs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The widespread eradication of large carnivores and subsequent expansion of top mesopredators has the potential to impact species and community interactions with ecosystem‐wide implications. An example of these trophic dynamics is the widespread establishment of coyotes following extirpation of wolves and mountain lions in eastern North America. Here, we examined occupancy of three carnivores in northern New York considering both environmental/habitat factors and interspecific interactions. We estimated the co‐occurrence of coyotes, fishers, and martens from a landscape‐scale winter camera trap survey repeated annually for three years. Martens occurred independently of both coyotes and fishers, while fishers and coyotes displayed positive intraguild interactions that were constant across the landscape. Both marten and fisher first‐order occupancy were driven by a combination of biotic and abiotic factors, with both species displaying positive associations with forest cover but antithetical responses to average snow depth. The integral and antithetical role of snow depth in driving the occurrence of martens (positive) and fishers (negative) in the landscape indicates that future climatic warming could reduce the availability of current spatial refuges for martens created by severe winter conditions. Climate‐driven alterations to established competitive interactions and co‐existence patterns between marten and fisher have critical implications for the species survival and conservation. We provide correlational evidence consistent with the potential for positive top–down effects of dominant mesocarnivores on subordinate species, with fisher occupancy increasing conditional on the presence of coyotes across the landscape. These findings align with the hypothesis that under certain conditions, coyotes may facilitate certain subordinate carnivores. The evidence produced here is consistent with hypotheses on the dynamic nature of trophic niches. We demonstrate the need to consider the interplay between climate, habitat, and interspecific interactions to understand wildlife occupancy patterns and inform wildlife management in a rapidly changing world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Humans are perceived as predators by many species and may generate landscapes of fear, influencing spatiotemporal activity of wildlife. Additionally, wildlife might seek out human activity when faced with predation risks (human shield hypothesis). We used the anthropause, a decrease in human activity resulting from the COVID‐19 pandemic, to test ecology of fear and human shield hypotheses and quantify the effects of bear‐viewing ecotourism on grizzly bear (Ursus arctos) activity. We deployed camera traps in the Khutze watershed in Kitasoo Xai'xais Territory in the absence of humans in 2020 and with experimental treatments of variable human activity when ecotourism resumed in 2021. Daily bear detection rates decreased with more people present and increased with days since people were present. Human activity was also associated with more bear detections at forested sheltered sites and less at exposed sites, likely due to the influence of habitat on bear perception of safety. The number of people negatively influenced adult male detection rates, but we found no influence on female with young detections, providing no evidence that females responded behaviorally to a human shield effect from reduced male activity. We also observed apparent trade‐offs of risk avoidance and foraging. When salmon levels were moderate to high, detected bears were more likely to be females with young than adult males on days with more people present. Should managers want to minimize human impacts on bear activity and maintain baseline age–sex class composition at ecotourism sites, multiday closures and daily occupancy limits may be effective. More broadly, this work revealed that antipredator responses can vary with intensity of risk cues, habitat structure, and forage trade‐offs and manifest as altered age–sex class composition of individuals using human‐influenced areas, highlighting that wildlife avoid people across multiple spatiotemporal scales. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Natura 2000 (N2K) protected area (PA) network is a crucial tool to limit biodiversity loss in Europe. Despite covering 18% of the European Union's (EU) land area, its effectiveness at conserving biodiversity across taxa and biogeographic regions remains uncertain. Testing this effectiveness is, however, difficult because it requires considering the nonrandom location of PAs, and many possible confounding factors. We used propensity score matching and accounted for the confounding effects of biogeographic regions, terrain ruggedness, and land cover to assess the effectiveness of N2K PAs on the distribution of 1769 species of conservation priority in the EU's Birds and Habitats Directives, including mammals, birds, amphibians, reptiles, arthropods, fishes, mollusks, and vascular and nonvascular plants. We compared alpha, beta, and gamma diversity between matched selections of protected and unprotected areas across EU's biogeographic regions with generalized linear models, generalized mixed models, and nonparametric tests for paired samples, respectively, for each taxonomic group and for the entire set of species. PAs in N2K hosted significantly more priority species than unprotected land, but this difference was not consistent across biogeographic regions or taxa. Total alpha diversity and alpha diversity of amphibians, arthropods, birds, mammals, and vascular plants were significantly higher inside PAs than outside, except in the Boreal biogeographical region. Beta diversity was in general significantly higher inside N2K PAs than outside. Similarly, gamma diversity had the highest values inside PAs, with some exceptions in Boreal and Atlantic regions. The planned expansion of the N2K network, as dictated by the European Biodiversity Strategy for 2030, should therefore target areas in the southern part of the Boreal region where species diversity of amphibians, arthropods, birds, mammals, and vascular plants is high and species are currently underrepresented in N2K. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Promoting human contact with wildlife can be harmful to animal conservation and welfare by exposing animals to unsafe situations and driving demand for wildlife tourism and exotic pets. Conservationists and researchers justifiably use social media to raise awareness, but professionals posting pictures of themselves with animals can have unintended negative consequences for conservation. Though the International Union for Conservation of Nature Best Practice Guidelines for Responsible Images of Non‐Human Primates suggests researchers and animal professionals provide context in captions of images of humans interacting with primates, there is little research investigating whether this approach is effective. We investigated whether informative captions affect viewers' desires to have primates as pets and attitudes toward wildlife conservation. Using 4 mock Instagram posts depicting human−gorilla and human−slender loris interactions, we surveyed 2977 respondents to assess the effect of captions on viewers' perceptions of the images and primate conservation. Likert scale response data were analyzed with ordered probit regression models. Captions clearly contextualizing an image as research resulted in a significantly higher agreement that posts depicted wildlife research (gorilla β = 0.28 [SE 0.06], p < 0.001; loris β = 0.18 [0.06], p = 0.002), but such captions resulted in no significant difference in responses regarding viewers' desires to own primates as pets or questions regarding the primates' conservation statuses. Although most participants agreed the primates were endangered, more than 56% and 59%, respectively, stated they would have a gorilla or loris as a pet, that they would make good pets, or both, further supporting the conclusion that captions do not minimize harmful impacts of images of human−primate interactions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Social norms – rules governing which behaviours are deemed appropriate or inappropriate within a given community – are typically taken to be uniquely human. Recently, this position has been challenged by a number of philosophers, cognitive scientists, and ethologists, who have suggested that social norms may also be found in certain non‐human animal communities. Such claims have elicited considerable scepticism from norm cognition researchers, who doubt that any non‐human animals possess the psychological capacities necessary for normative cognition. However, there is little agreement among these researchers about what these psychological prerequisites are. This makes empirical study of animal social norms difficult, since it is not clear what we are looking for and thus what should count as behavioural evidence for the presence (or absence) of social norms in animals. To break this impasse, we offer an approach that moves beyond contested psychological criteria for social norms. This approach is inspired by the animal culture research program, which has made a similar shift away from heavily psychological definitions of 'culture' to become organised around a cluster of more empirically tractable concepts of culture. Here, we propose an analogous set of constructs built around the core notion of a normative regularity, which we define as a socially maintained pattern of behavioural conformity within a community. We suggest methods for studying potential normative regularities in wild and captive primates. We also discuss the broader scientific and philosophical implications of this research program with respect to questions of human uniqueness, animal welfare and conservation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pesticides, which are vital for agriculture, pose a significant threat to wildlife in transformed Japanese landscapes. Despite global reports of pesticide poisoning in animals, limited studies have examined current wildlife exposure in croplands or metropolitan areas in the region. Using liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry (LC–MS/MS) and gas chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry (GC–MS/MS), our study aimed to assess the contamination status of 368 commonly used pesticides. The stomach contents of raccoons living in croplands contained 13 pesticides, including six herbicides and 11 fungicides. Neonicotinoid insecticides, some fungicides, and previously banned insecticides (benzene hexachloride and dichlofenthion) were most frequently detected and found at the highest concentrations, suggesting direct soil–plant transfer and direct consumption by crop‐eating species. In masked palm civets living in metropolitan areas, four insecticides and six fungicides were detected, indicating urban wildlife exposure from raided dustbins, urban gardens, and lumber from houses. Although the maximum measured concentrations of all pesticides were lower than the acceptable daily intake for humans, it remains unclear whether these concentrations may have toxic or adverse health effects on the species evaluated in these transformed landscapes. Our study is the first to examine recent pesticide exposures in wild mammals in Japan. Application of the method we developed will lay the foundation for the examination of pesticides in other wildlife species to assist conservation management efforts in the region. Environ Toxicol Chem 2024;43:943–951. © 2024 SETAC [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Identifying the most important factors affecting population growth in animal life cycles is an important tool of species conservation. Delta Smelt (Hypomesus transpacificus), an annual fish endemic to the San Francisco Estuary in California (USA), has been provided legal protection since 1993 but 30 years later exists in a conservation‐reliant state on the brink of extinction. Despite considerable controversies about what factors are most responsible for the species' decline, no population growth rate sensitivity comparisons between the most important factors regulating growth have been done. Nor has anyone attempted to quantitatively identify habitat conditions needed to support positive population growth. We developed a set of stage‐structured population models to link habitat indices regulating recruitment of new generations of fish as they metamorphosed into juveniles and the subsequent survival of those fish over several seasons until they reached adulthood. These models are used to quantify drivers of growth rate variation over 30 years. Several complimentary sensitivity analyses indicated freshwater outflow to the estuary during summer had the largest potential to change population growth. Multiple habitat metrics (e.g., food availability, temperature) influencing recruitment and life stage specific survival rates across different seasons interacted in nonlinear ways to determine habitat conditions and water management targets associated with positive population growth. We discuss the implications for freshwater management, Delta Smelt conservation, and the challenges climate change poses for co‐implementation of these two societal priorities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The population size and conservation status of wildlife in post‐conflict areas is often uncertain. In Mozambique, decades of armed conflict resulted in large‐scale wildlife population depletion with limited conservation and research opportunities. The African leopard (Panthera pardus) is a large carnivore with great ecological and economic significance, yet their population status is largely unknown within Mozambique. Using camera trapping in conjunction with robust spatially explicit capture‐recapture modeling, we estimated leopard density in 2021 for Coutada 11, a wildlife management area in the postwar Zambezi Delta landscape of central Mozambique. Leopard density was relatively low (1.57 ± 0.37 SE [latent‐mixture‐model] and 1.84 ± 0.41 [sex‐mixture‐model] leopards/100 km2), occurring in the bottom fourth of 161 range‐wide leopard densities, and similar to those from semiarid and human‐dominated landscapes. Prey‐based carrying capacity estimates suggested that leopard density should be at least twice as large. Despite a recent and substantial reduction in poaching activity, evidence of snared leopards indicates that sustained bushmeat poaching, combined with sustainable, but additional legal offtake is suppressing leopard population recovery. This study provides important baseline insight into leopard population density in Mozambique and joins mounting evidence indicating that anthropogenic pressures limit large carnivore populations which is of major national and global concern. We suggest long‐term monitoring of this leopard population to determine trends over time and implement effective conservation interventions in response to population changes. This population clearly has the capacity to recover if hunting quotas are reduced to account for illegal offtake and, more importantly, if anti‐poaching efforts are redoubled to reduce unsustainable anthropogenic mortality of leopards. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Accurate information on wildlife occurrence in anthropogenic landscapes is essential to develop effective conservation measures. Monitoring multiple mammal species in heterogeneous landscapes can be challenging because of the diversity of land‐uses and species behaviors. Therefore, different monitoring methods are better adapted to different contexts. We compared data obtained from camera traps with data gathered through an online survey to document the presence of mammal species in mosaic landscapes of the Garden Route Biosphere Reserve in South Africa. The survey detected the same 15 species as the camera traps as well as the additional common duiker. Both methods effectively detected most large mammal species, whereas results were less consistent for smaller species and carnivores. Combining the two methods enabled us to produce more robust estimates of species absence and confirm species presence reported by survey respondents. In less disturbed areas, respondents with good ecological knowledge were effective at monitoring mammal species, while extending the spatial coverage of the study. Bearing in mind the limitations of each method, camera traps and an online survey could complement each other if combined. Together, they can provide a more comprehensive understanding of mammal communities in anthropogenic landscapes, increasing both spatial coverage and the number of species sightings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Brushlands support a diverse suite of bird species, including species of conservation concern in the western Great Lakes region of central North America. Information on how to effectively manage lowland brushlands for birds and associations between breeding birds and local‐scale vegetation structure and composition is lacking. We surveyed lowland brushlands from 2016–2018 in Minnesota, USA, to assess bird‐habitat associations using avian point‐count surveys and fixed‐radius vegetation plots. We used Poisson regression models to assess the associations between breeding bird species richness, total abundance, and abundance of frequently detected species (using counts as an index for abundance) to woody stem density and height, patchiness of woody stem density, variation of woody stem height, and number of woody plant species. Sedge wrens (Cistothorus stellaris), the most abundant species, were negatively associated with multiple woody plant metrics and positively associated with patchiness. Common yellowthroats (Geothlypis trichas) were the second‐most abundant species and associated with low‐stature woody plants (<1 m based on average heights in study sites). Bird species richness, alder flycatchers (Empidonax alnorum), chestnut‐sided warblers (Setophaga pensylvanica), swamp sparrows (Melospiza georgiana), veeries (Catharus fuscescens), and yellow warblers (Setophaga petechia) increased with woody vegetation height. Chestnut‐sided warbler and Nashville warbler (Leiothlypis ruficapilla) abundances also increased with woody stem density. We suggest that managing lowland brushlands to promote diverse woody plant structure, including tall shrubs and areas with patchy, open herbaceous cover, by implementing temporally and spatially variable disturbance regimes, may benefit bird species that rely on lowland brushlands with a range of vegetation structure requirements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: The 'concept of relative constancy of habitats' assumes that species differ in their habitat preferences depending on the regional temperature so that all populations experience similar microclimatic conditions. Our aim was to assess the relevance of this concept by disentangling the effects of shade level and regional temperature on southern and northern distributed saproxylic (=dead wood dependent) beetle species. Location: Sweden. Methods: We established a field experiment by placing 435 logs of Norway spruce (Picea abies) along shade gradients in six regions differing in regional temperature (along a 1200 km latitudinal gradient). For each log, we sampled the saproxylic beetle community and calculated the Community Temperature Index (CTI), indicating to what extent the community is dominated by southern or northern species. Results: Species richness and total abundance were better explained by shade level, whereas species composition was better explained by study region. In colder regions, CTI varied along the shade gradient, whereas in warmer regions, CTI was more similar along the shade gradient. Moreover, in colder regions, the number of southern species was higher in sun‐exposed logs, whereas in warmer regions, the number of southern species was higher in shaded logs. This supports the concept of relative constancy of habitats. In contrast, northern species preferred shaded conditions regardless of the regional temperature. Main Conclusions: Regional temperature, shade level and resulting microclimate are important drivers of species richness, total abundance and composition. Occurrence patterns of saproxylic beetle species follow to some extent the concept of relative constancy of habitats since their habitat preferences vary with regional temperature. Northern species are of conservation concern due to disadvantages by climate warming and clear‐cutting. They are favoured by preserving forests with rarely disturbed canopies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cryopreservation is a valuable technique used to assist in the genetic improvement of cultured stocks and provide a continuous supply of good‐quality semen for artificial insemination. Conserving semen by cryopreservation serves several purposes (e.g. artificial reproductive technologies and species conservation) and is also used in the clinical treatment of human infertility. However, the lifespan of cryopreserved semen is influenced by a range of factors, including storage temperature, cooling rate, chemical composition of the extender, the concentration of cryoprotectant, reactive oxygen species, seminal plasma composition and hygienic control. The choice of cryoprotectant is a vital factor underlying the success of animal semen cryopreservation. In this regard, extensive research has been carried out on various cryoprotectants, such as egg yolk, dimethyl sulfoxide, methanol, ethylene glycol and dimethylacetamide. Recent studies have also described the use of a range of new cryoprotectants for cryopreservation, including compounds of plant origin (soy), amino acids, antifreeze proteins, carbohydrates and cyclodextrins. Moreover, semen cryopreservation and storage require the use of liquid nitrogen or ultralow refrigeration methods for both long‐ and short‐term storage. This review summarizes the general methods used for freezing semen and discusses the use of traditional and newly emerging cryoprotectants (permeable and non‐permeable) for the cryopreservation of semen in selected fish and mammalian species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Asian paper wasp (Polistes chinensis) is an invasive species in New Zealand and a voracious arthropod predator, incorporating a wide range of prey into its diet. We examined the colony survival and prey community composition of these wasps in a protected coastal habitat in New Zealand. Paper wasp colonies at this site were surveyed and monitored weekly over two summers. Our data showed that only ~20% of the monitored colonies each year survived until late summer, with high rates of colony mortality in late spring and early summer. We collected samples of wasp larval guts over a temporal gradient in one nesting season, and via DNA metabarcoding analysis, we identified the prey species consumed. The prey species most frequently identified in larval samples were endemic cicadas and several lepidopteran species. No native arthropod species of known conservation concern were identified in the analysis. However, 63% of the unique taxon sequences retrieved could not be identified by genus or species level, likely due to the absence of reference barcodes. These taxa may represent a group of understudied species, potentially highly endemic or localised. Our analysis indicates that these invasive wasps are opportunistic‐generalist predators with the potential to exert high predation pressure on native arthropods. P. chinensis may be preying on a range of understudied species, especially in remote, natural habitats across New Zealand. We recommend future studies continue to barcode native New Zealand arthropods in order to improve the taxonomic assignments of dietary studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Age is a key demographic in conservation where age classes show differences in important population metrics such as morbidity and mortality. Several traits, including reproductive potential, also show senescence with ageing. Thus, the ability to estimate age of individuals in a population is critical in understanding the current structure as well as their future fitness. Many methods exist to determine age in wildlife, with most using morphological features that show inherent variability with age. These methods require significant expertise and become less accurate in adult age classes, often the most critical groups to model. Molecular methods have been applied to measuring key population attributes, and more recently epigenetic attributes such as methylation have been explored as biomarkers for age. There are, however, several factors such as permits, sample sovereignty, and costs that may preclude the use of extant methods in a conservation context. This study explored the utility of measuring age‐related changes in methylation in candidate genes using mass array technology. Novel methods are described for using gene orthologues to identify and assay regions for differential methylation. To illustrate the potential application, African cheetah was used as a case study. Correlation analyses identified six methylation sites with an age relationship, used to develop a model with sufficient predictive power for most conservation contexts. This model was more accurate than previous attempts using PCR and performed similarly to candidate gene studies in other mammal species. Mass array presents an accurate and cost‐effective method for age estimation in wildlife of conservation concern. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Round rays (family: Urotrygonidae) are commonly caught as by‐catch by shrimp trawl fisheries in the tropical eastern Pacific (TEP). However, little information on their life history and catch species composition exists for most round ray species, preventing the evaluation of the impact of fishing on their populations. The mean size at sexual maturity (DW50), seasonal variation by maturity stages, and fecundity for two round ray species caught during shrimp trawl research cruises in the south‐eastern Gulf of California (northern TEP) were estimated using a multi‐model approach and inference for the first time, to determine the part of the population of each species that is being affected by shrimp trawling. Disc width (DW) ranged from 7.0 to 30.9 cm for the spotted round ray (Urobatis maculatus), and 7.2–33.5 cm for the thorny stingray (Urotrygon rogersi), with females reaching larger sizes than males in both species. The DW50 was estimated at 12.8 and 11.8 cm DW for the males and females of U. maculatus, respectively, whereas for U.rogersi, it was 15.0 and 18.4 cm DW for males and females, respectively. Embryos were found in females ≥14.5 cm DW in both species. The maximum fecundity was five embryos for U. maculatus (mean = 3.1 ± 0.2 S.E., mode = 4), and six embryos for U. rogersi (mean = 3.0 ± 0.3 S.E., mode = 2). Fecundity and embryo size did not vary with maternal size. Male and female immature and mature individuals for both species, including pregnant females, were found in the catches in all seasons of the year. Our results can help determine the vulnerability of the studied species populations to fishing pressure from shrimp trawling in the northern TEP and guide the development of future monitoring strategies and conservation actions for these species, if necessary. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Threatened species monitoring is challenging for small, cryptic endotherms that are most effectively detected at night. Low detectability is a challenge for monitoring programmes, resulting in low statistical power and sparse or zero‐inflated datasets. To advance conservation management programmes, efforts to address this are required. In recent years thermal scanners have emerged as an effective tool for detecting small endotherms, but the diversity of available thermal tools, focal habitats and target species mean that their applicability in many key scenarios remain untested. We directly compared vehicle‐mounted thermal surveys with vehicle‐based spotlighting targeting small endotherms in Australian native grasslands. Our targets included both common species that occur at high densities, and species that are notoriously difficult to detect with spotlights, which may occur at very low densities. We completed paired surveys of roosting grassland birds, and nocturnally active small mammals at 22 sites, once using thermal scanners and once using spotlights. Ultimately, distance sampling was conducted across 136 km of transects. Thermal scanners facilitated greater detection distances and higher total detections for small endotherms when compared with spotlighting. Species of greatest conservation concern, the Plains‐wanderer (Pedionomus torquatus—Pedionomidae) and Fat‐tailed Dunnart (Sminthopsis crassicaudata—Dasyuridae) were only detected using thermal scanners. Detection distances generated for thermal scanners were reduced by higher vegetation density; however, thermal scanners continued to outperform spotlights under this scenario. Observers also detected more stationary animals and fewer birds were flushed upon detection using thermal scanners when compared with spotlighting. Thermal scanners have the potential to improve the quality of monitoring datasets by increasing detection probabilities for small endotherms. We recommend the adoption of thermal scanners as a best‐practice tool for monitoring small endotherms in open grassland habitats at night, offering new opportunities to monitor endotherms where monitoring has historically been challenging, inadequate or impossible. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Advancing transformative change for sustainability requires population‐wide behavior change. Yet, many behavioral interventions tackling environmental problems only examine average effects on the aggregate, overlooking the heterogeneous effects in a population. We developed and preregistered a novel audience segmentation approach to test the diverse impact of conservation messaging on reducing demand for exotic pets (private action ‐ i.e., desire to own exotic pets or visit wildlife entertainment places) and fostering citizen engagement for system‐wide change (civic action ‐ e.g., signing a petition or participating in a protest against the exotic pet trade). Through an online survey with US participants (n = 2953), we identified 4 population segments (early adopters, early majority, late majority, and laggards), representing varying levels of commitment to wildlife conservation and then randomly assigned each segment to one of 3 messaging conditions. Messages highlighting negative consequences of the exotic pet trade and the power of collective action for system change effectively promoted private action among all segments except early adopters (ηp2 = 0.005). Among civic actions, only the collective action message motivated early adopters and the early majority to sign petitions (φC = 0.193 and φC = 0.097, respectively). Furthermore, the 4 segments showed distinct reasoning for action and inaction on wildlife conservation, with certain relational values, such as care, serving as both motivations and barriers to action. These findings highlight the need for targeted behavioral interventions across diverse populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The fungal infection causing white‐nose disease in hibernating bats in North America has resulted in dramatic population declines of affected species, since the introduction of the causative agent Pseudogymnoascus destructans. The fungus is native to the Palearctic, where it also infects several bat species, yet rarely causes severe pathology or the death of the host. Pseudogymnoascus destructans infects bats during hibernation by invading and digesting the skin tissue, resulting in the disruption of torpor patterns and consequent emaciation. Relations among pathogen, host, and environment are complex, and individuals, populations, and species respond to the fungal pathogen in different ways. For example, the Nearctic Myotis lucifugus responds to infection by mounting a robust immune response, leading to immunopathology often contributing to mortality. In contrast, the Palearctic M. myotis shows no significant immunological response to infection. This lack of a strong response, resulting from the long coevolution between the hosts and the pathogen in the pathogen's native range, likely contributes to survival in tolerant species. After more than 15 years since the initial introduction of the fungus to North America, some of the affected populations are showing signs of recovery, suggesting that the fungus, hosts, or both are undergoing processes that may eventually lead to coexistence. The suggested or implemented management methods of the disease in North America have encompassed, for example, the use of probiotics and fungicides, vaccinations, and modifying the environmental conditions of the hibernation sites to limit the growth of the pathogen, intensity of infection, or the hosts’ responses to it. Based on current knowledge from Eurasia, policy makers and conservation managers should refrain from disrupting the ongoing evolutionary processes and adopt a holistic approach to managing the epizootic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Brazilian primates differ regarding landscape characteristics within their ranges (e.g. habitat availability) and life‐history traits (e.g. body size). These landscape and life history attributes may be related to extinction risk. Here, we verified how such attributes correlate with primate threat categories. We considered 124 Brazilian primates based on the 2014 Brazilian list of threatened (Critically Endangered, Endangered and Vulnerable) and non‐threatened (Least Concern and Near Threatened) species. We then characterized their landscape (i.e. habitat availability, habitat loss and fragmentation, indigenous lands, roads, urban areas, deforestation arch) and life‐history attributes (i.e. body weight, gestation length and generation time), which together make up the threat context for each threat category. We compared threat categories to identify differences in such attributes, considering biome (Atlantic Forest, Amazon, Caatinga and Cerrado) as a factor and testing for phylogenetic effect. We investigated the attributes responsible for group characterization for specific threats and binary threatened/non‐threatened categories. We show that life history and landscape attributes differ in the biomes. However, only landscape features varied across biomes. In the Amazon, the threatened categories reached the highest level of habitat loss in the last 30 years, while in the Atlantic Forest, the landscape of threatened species had the highest proportions of roads and urban areas. Most threatened species landscapes in the Caatinga and Cerrado were highly fragmented. We found a positive link between human impacts and extinction risk in the Amazon. In the other biomes, anthropogenic landscape characteristics were associated with threatened and non‐threatened species. Threatened species tended to have large bodies and a slow life history, regardless of the biome. The more closely related the species, the more similar the traits. We suggest considering biomes and threat categories together with specific landscape and life history attributes to distinguish primate threat context for species conservation priority‐setting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Umbrella species and other surrogate species approaches to conservation provide an appealing framework to extend the reach of conservation efforts beyond single species. For the umbrella species concept to be effective, populations of multiple species of concern must persist in areas protected on behalf of the umbrella species. Most assessments of the concept, however, focus exclusively on geographic overlap among umbrella and background species, and not measures that affect population persistence (e.g. habitat quality or fitness). We quantified the congruence between the habitat preferences and nesting success of a high‐profile umbrella species (greater sage‐grouse, Centrocercus urophasianus, hereafter 'sage‐grouse'), and three sympatric species of declining songbirds (Brewer's sparrow Spizella breweri, sage thrasher Oreoscoptes montanus and vesper sparrow Pooecetes gramineus) in central Wyoming, USA during 2012–2013. We used machine‐learning methods to create data‐driven predictions of sage‐grouse nest‐site selection and nest survival probabilities by modeling field‐collected sage‐grouse data relative to habitat attributes. We then used field‐collected songbird data to assess whether high‐quality sites for songbirds aligned with those of sage‐grouse. Nest sites selected by songbirds did not coincide with sage‐grouse nesting preferences, with the exception that Brewer's sparrows preferred similar nest sites to sage‐grouse in 2012. Moreover, the areas that produced higher rates of songbird nest survival were unrelated to those for sage‐grouse. Our findings suggest that management actions at local scales that prioritize sage‐grouse nesting habitat will not necessarily enhance the reproductive success of sagebrush‐associated songbirds. Measures implemented to conserve sage‐grouse and other purported umbrella species at broad spatial scales likely overlap the distribution of many species, however, broad‐scale overlap may not translate to fine‐scale conservation benefit beyond the umbrella species itself. The maintenance of microhabitat heterogeneity important for a diversity of species of concern will be critical for a more holistic application of the umbrella species concept. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The conservation of threatened and rare species in remote areas often presents two challenges: there may be unknown populations that have not yet been documented and there is a need to identify suitable habitat to translocate individuals and help populations recover. This is the case of the reticulated giraffe (Giraffa reticulata), a species of high conservation priority for which: (a) there may be unknown populations in remote areas, and (b) detailed maps of suitable habitat available within its range are lacking. We implemented a species distribution modeling (SDM) workflow in Google Earth Engine, combining GPS telemetry data of 31 reticulated giraffe with Landsat 8 OLI, Advanced Land Observing Satellite Phased Arrayed L‐band Synthetic Aperture Radar, and surface ruggedness layers to predict suitable habitat at 30‐m spatial resolution across the potential range of the species. Models had high predictive power, with a mean AUC‐PR of 0.88 (SD: 0.02; range: 0.86–0.91), mean sensitivity of 0.85 (SD: 0.04; range: 0.80–0.91), and mean precision was 0.81 (SD: 0.02; range: 0.79–0.83). Model predictions were also consistent with two independent validation datasets, with higher predicted suitable habitat values at known occurrence locations than at a random set of locations (P < 0.01). Our model predicted a total of 5519 km2 of potentially suitable habitat in Kenya, 963 km2 in Ethiopia, and 147 km2 in Somalia. Our results indicate that is possible to combine moderate spatial resolution imagery with telemetry data to guide conservation programs of threatened terrestrial species. We provide a free web app where managers can visualize and interact with the 30 m resolution map to help guide future surveys to search for existing populations and to inform future reintroduction assessments. We present all analysis code as a framework that could be adapted for other species across the globe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ex situ threatened species management has both conservation and welfare objectives and these objectives often align, but can diverge. Areas of agreement can present win‐wins for achieving welfare and conservation objectives, while identifying areas of divergence is important to ensure management strategies achieve balance across objectives. We examined welfare and conservation objectives in the ex situ population of Extinct in the Wild sihek (Guam kingfisher, Todiramphus cinnamominus) by quantifying mortality rates, determining sex‐ and age‐specific causes of mortality and identifying associated welfare domains, as well as quantifying sex‐ and age‐specific differences in reproductive value and contributions to variation in population growth rate (λ). Females had significantly higher mortality rates than males, potentially impacting population viability and suggesting females may be more vulnerable to experiencing lower welfare than males. Mitigating causes of female mortality would therefore present a clear win‐win for both welfare and conservation objectives. Both causes of mortality and contributions to variation in λ were found to differ across sex‐ and age‐classes. In particular, nutritional and metabolic diseases tended to impact younger age‐classes and these age‐classes had large contributions to variation in λ. Mitigation of these diseases could therefore also present a win‐win for welfare and conservation objectives. However, we also identified a potential divergence between objectives: a major cause of female mortality was reproductive disease with older aged females primarily affected, but older aged females contributed little to variation in λ and had low reproductive value. Developing mitigation strategies for reproductive disease could therefore aid welfare objectives but have little benefit for conservation objectives, suggesting careful balancing across objectives is required. Our results highlight the need to explicitly consider conservation and welfare objectives in threatened species management, in particular in the context of an increasing conservation need for ex situ population management, coupled with increasing social concern for animal welfare. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nearly one in five reptile species is at risk of extinction. Changes in habitat area, its configuration, and vegetation diversity could affect habitat use, but their relative importance is understudied. We assessed how these factors affected reptile presence in agricultural landscapes figure in Iowa, United States, using 695 cover boards visited 16,441 times in 2015–2020. Species‐wise encounter rates ranged 0.0001–0.012. Eight of 11 species and 54.2% of individuals were species of greatest conservation need. Habitat area, configuration, and vegetation diversity influenced reptile presence similarly. Mean patch occupancy was 0.18 for common garter snake (CG, Thamnophis sirtalis) and 0.45 for all snakes (AS). Naïve presence was explained by effort (odds ratio [OR]AS = 1.83, ORCG = 1.79), vegetation diversity (ORAS = 1.28, ORCG = 1.28), woody cover (ORAS = 1.24, ORCG = 1.41), and patch size (ORAS = 1.30). Large patch prairies were more likely to contain snakes than other conservation practices (r̂encounter = 0.291), and more likely to contain CG (0.098) than prairie contour strips (0.031), waterways (0.018), grass contour strips (0.016), or terraces (0.015). While we documented low overall reptile presence, their higher presence in large prairie patches underscores the importance of core nature reserves for reptile conservation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Species Distribution Models have emerged in recent decades as a powerful tool for biodiversity research, as they allow, for example, assessing the status of species in their whole distributions. These models have been particularly helpful in demonstrating that amphibian populations are at high risk, with many declining and others already extinct. Here, we assessed the potential distribution of the helmeted water toad (Calyptocephalella gayi), an endemic Chilean amphibian considered a living fossil and cataloged as vulnerable, which requires significant conservation efforts. We modeled the species' potential distribution using the Maximum Entropy (Maxent) approach and determined the overlap with national protected areas. In addition, we conducted a geospatial risk analysis to estimate the threat level to which this toad is being subjected. The potential distribution of C. gayi ranges from 28°S to 44°S, mainly explained by altitude, mean diurnal temperature range, slope, and distance to water bodies. Protected areas only cover 3.55% of the species' potential geographic distribution, which is of concern, considering that the geospatial risk analysis showed that 60.61% of C. gayi's distribution is subjected to extreme and high risks. We discuss how these results are relevant to focusing and directing efficient protection and conservation efforts for this species shortly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present the first estimate of population dynamics parameters for critically endangered Galápagos pink land iguanas, Conolophus marthae, leveraging mark‐recapture data collected between 2006 and 2021. Demographic parameters were estimated using the POPAN formulation of the Jolly–Seber model. This approach provided a solid and robust estimate, consolidating the results obtained from previous estimates based on the Lincoln–Petersen method evaluating only two sampling occasions. Our results suggest that the abundance of males was higher than that of females at each sampling occasion, probably due to differences in sex‐specific behavior during the reproductive season. Our analyses also provide no evidence of a change in population size during the sampling period, estimated at 150–270 adult individuals, while suggesting positive entry rates. Finally, by comparing the biometric features of first‐captured versus recaptured iguanas, we found that the former have more juvenile‐like characteristics (i.e., they are, on average, smaller) than the latter. Although juvenile pink iguanas have rarely been recorded (only four sampled juvenile‐like individuals in over 16 years of field work), our combined results provide the first clear indication that the only known C. marthae population actively recruits new members from younger age classes. Such recruitment may have prevented any measurable population decline in the last 16 years, but it was also not sufficient to clearly increase the population size. These results are of the utmost importance for the conservation of this species. They will guide future high‐priority actions: (i) aiming at increasing population size by removing or mitigating threats and (ii) increasing the number of individuals by implementing a headstart program and/or founding a second viable population, as identified in the recently published IUCN Conservation and Management Plan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Predation management is an important component of managing species of conservation concern. The piping plover (Charadrius melodus; plover), a disturbance-dependent and conservation-reliant shorebird that nests on sandy beaches and barrier islands on the Atlantic Coast, was listed under the United States Endangered Species Act in 1986, with habitat loss and predation stated as key causes of its decline. We evaluated the relationship between a suite of predators and plover chick survival from 2015-2018. We used a camera grid to establish indices of the abundance of 3 known chick predators: red fox (Vulpes vulpes), raccoon (Procyon lotor), and domestic cat. We used camera detections in a survival model to assess potential relationships between predator species detection and plover chick survival. Plover chick survival was negatively related with red fox detection, but not with detection of the other 2 predators. In addition to the correlation with red fox detections, chick survival was negatively related to high plover nesting density. Our results suggest that red foxes were predators of piping plover chicks during our study, likely augmented by other density-dependent sources of mortality. Targeted predator management could aid in conservation of piping plovers in this system as a short-term solution, but long-term recovery plans must also address habitat limitation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Phrynosoma mcallii (flat‐tailed horned lizards) is a species of conservation concern in the Colorado Desert of the United States and Mexico. We analysed ddRADseq data from 45 lizards to estimate population structure, infer phylogeny, identify migration barriers, map genetic diversity hotspots, and model demography. We identified the Colorado River as the main geographic feature contributing to population structure, with the populations west of this barrier further subdivided by the Salton Sea. Phylogenetic analysis confirms that northwestern populations are nested within southeastern populations. The best‐fit demographic model indicates Pleistocene divergence across the Colorado River, with significant bidirectional gene flow, and a severe Holocene population bottleneck. These patterns suggest that management strategies should focus on maintaining genetic diversity on both sides of the Colorado River and the Salton Sea. We recommend additional lands in the United States and Mexico that should be considered for similar conservation goals as those in the Rangewide Management Strategy. We also recommend periodic rangewide genomic sampling to monitor ongoing attrition of diversity, hybridization, and changing structure due to habitat fragmentation, climate change, and other long‐term impacts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate change poses a significant threat to endemic and endangered montane bird species with limited elevation and temperature ranges. Understanding their responses to changes in climate is essential for informing conservation actions. This study focused on the montane dwelling Yellow‐throated Apalis (Apalis flavigularis) in Malawi, aiming to identify key factors affecting its distribution and predicting its potential distribution under different climate change scenarios. Using an ensemble species distribution modeling approach, we found that the mean temperature of the driest quarter (Bio9), mean temperature of the wettest quarter (Bio8), and precipitation seasonality (Bio15) were the most important variables that influenced the distribution of this species. Across future climate scenarios, the species' geographic range declined where range losses varied from 57.74% (2050 RCP 6.0) to 82.88% (2070 RCP 6.0). We estimate its current range size to be 549 km2 which is lower than some previous estimates of its spatial distribution. Moreover, our projections indicate that under future climate scenarios, the species will shift to higher elevations with a large proportion of suitable areas located outside forests, posing challenges for adaptation. Our results suggest that the species may be under greater threat than previously thought; hence, urgent conservation actions are required. We recommend reinforcing the protection of areas predicted to remain suitable under future climate scenarios and the development of a species conservation action plan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Habitat suitability models have become a valuable tool for wildlife conservation and management, and are frequently used to better understand the range and habitat requirements of rare and endangered species. In this study, we employed two habitat suitability modeling techniques, namely Boosted Regression Tree (BRT) and Maximum Entropy (Maxent) models, to identify potential suitable habitats for the endangered mountain nyala (Tragelaphus buxtoni) and environmental factors affecting its distribution in the Arsi and Ahmar Mountains of Ethiopia. Presence points, used to develop our habitat suitability models, were recorded from fecal pellet counts (n = 130) encountered along 196 randomly established transects in 2015 and 2016. Predictor variables used in our models included major landcover types, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), greenness and wetness tasseled cap vegetation indices, elevation, and slope. Area Under the Curve model evaluations for BRT and Maxent were 0.96 and 0.95, respectively, demonstrating high performance. Both models were then ensembled into a single binary output highlighting an area of agreement. Our results suggest that 1864 km2 (9.1%) of the 20,567 km2 study area is suitable habitat for the mountain nyala with land cover types, elevation, NDVI, and slope of the terrain being the most important variables for both models. Our results highlight the extent to which habitat loss and fragmentation have disconnected mountain nyala subpopulations. Our models demonstrate the importance of further protecting suitable habitats for mountain nyala to ensure the species' conservation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Urban environments provide opportunities for some species but are inhospitable for others. However, those which thrive can be found at higher densities in human‐dominated landscapes than in more rural habitats. This highlights the importance of understanding species responses to human environments. It is not only important for the conservation of urban wildlife but also may provide fundamental insights into human‐wildlife coexistence globally.Here, we use citizen science data to predict the habitat suitability of Greater London for the West European hedgehog (Erinaceus europaeus), the red fox (Vulpes vulpes), the European badger (Meles meles) and the Eastern grey squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis).Results indicate that the four target species prefer different urban habitats, indicating different levels of urbanisation potential. Foxes and grey squirrels are able to thrive in inner urban areas, with the highest values of habitat suitability for these species found in central London, whereas for hedgehogs and badgers, the highest habitat suitability occurs in suburban and more rural habitats in outer London, respectively.These results highlight a gradient in urban tolerance, from squirrels and foxes to hedgehogs and badgers. This work also shows the importance of urban green spaces as habitats for wildlife. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Unmodified forests are increasingly rare worldwide, with forestry a major contributor to habitat modification. Extending conservation practices beyond protected areas is important to conserve forest ecosystems.We investigate the response of native mammalian carnivores (both Order Carnivora and Family Dasyuridae) to production forests globally, including harvested native forest and timber plantations. We examine how carnivores recorded in production forests use these forests versus other land uses, particularly native and/or unharvested forest; how habitat use relates to threatened status, body size, diet and harvesting method; carnivore responses to habitat features within production forests; and carnivore denning, breeding and predation behaviour in production forests.We review 294 studies recording 132 carnivore species in production forests. Carnivores generally show higher use of unharvested native forests and lower use of agricultural land than production forests. Threatened species and large carnivores respond more negatively to production forests than non‐threatened species and small carnivores respectively. Hypercarnivores respond more negatively than omnivores to plantations compared to native forest, with no difference in the use of harvested and unharvested native forest between these dietary groups.Notably, a high proportion of carnivore species use clearfelled more than unharvested native forest. In forest with partial harvesting or reduced‐impact logging, most species show no difference in use between harvested and unharvested forest.Carnivores generally respond positively to habitat features such as riparian areas and coarse woody debris. Several carnivores were recorded denning and breeding in production forests. Production forests often influence the prey availability, hunting success and diet of carnivores.We show that many carnivores use production forests, and how they respond to production forestry varies with species traits and conservation status. We recommend that production forests are managed as valuable carnivore habitat, and highlight strategies to enhance the use of these forests by carnivores. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Arctic and subarctic ecosystems are rapidly transforming due to global warming, emphasizing the need to understand the genetic diversity and adaptive strategies of northern plant species for effective conservation. This study focuses on Betula glandulosa, a native North American tundra shrub known as dwarf birch, which demonstrates an apparent capacity to adapt to changing climate conditions. To address the taxonomic challenges associated with shrub birches and logistical complexities of sampling in the northernmost areas where species' ranges overlap, we adopted a multicriteria approach. Incorporating molecular data, ploidy level assessment and leaf morphology, we aimed to distinguish B. glandulosa individuals from other shrub birch species sampled. Our results revealed three distinct species and their hybrids within the 537 collected samples, suggesting the existence of a shrub birch syngameon, a reproductive network of interconnected species. Additionally, we identified two discrete genetic clusters within the core species, B. glandulosa, that likely correspond to two different glacial lineages. A comparison between the nuclear and chloroplast SNP data emphasizes a long history of gene exchange between different birch species and genetic clusters. Furthermore, our results highlight the significance of incorporating interfertile congeneric species in conservation strategies and underscores the need for a holistic approach to conservation in the context of climate change, considering the complex dynamics of species interactions. While further research will be needed to describe this shrub birches syngameon and its constituents, this study is a first step in recognizing its existence and disseminating awareness among ecologists and conservation practitioners. This biological phenomenon, which offers evolutionary flexibility and resilience beyond what its constituent species can achieve individually, may have significant ecological implications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Preemptive conservation efforts to reduce threats have been credited with precluding the need to list some imperiled species under the U.S. Endangered Species Act (ESA). Such efforts can result in outcomes where species are conserved and regulatory costs associated with ESA listing are avoided. Yet, the extent and type of conservation effort involved in achieving preclusion from listing are not well understood. We quantified the attributes of conservation efforts identified as important for 43 species whose preclusion from listing was attributed to conservation efforts, as described in U.S. Federal Register documents that report the decisions not to list. We considered 2 features of preemptive conservation: effort applied (measured as the number of conservation initiatives) and number of conservation partners involved. We also quantified the type and location of conservation actions. We found a mean of 4.3 initiatives (range 1–22) and 8.2 partners (range 1–31) documented per precluded species; both measures of conservation effort were significantly and positively associated with the species' range area and the proportion of private land across its range. The number of initiatives was also positively related to the number of threats affecting a species. Locations of conservation actions varied; more species had actions on public land than on private land (p = 0.003). Numbers of species with restorative actions (e.g., invasive species control) were similar to numbers with prohibitive actions. Our findings highlight relationships between species' context and preemptive conservation activities, providing a first cross‐species analysis of conservation efforts for species that were precluded from listing under the ESA due to conservation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China announced the development of its first 5 national parks in 2021, the primary objective of which is to conserve the natural state and integrity of natural ecosystems. As such, ecosystem services and biodiversity levels are crucial assessment factors for the parks. For Giant Panda National Park (GPNP), we evaluated ecological sensitivity based on water and soil erosion and rocky desertification; ecosystem services based on headwater conservation, soil and water conservation, and biodiversity conservation; and presence of giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) and sympatric species (e.g., takin [Budorcas taxicolor], Asiatic black bear [Ursus thibetanus]) habitat suitability derived from niche modeling to identify the ecosystem status and assess ecological problems within the park. From our results, we proposed ecologically critical areas to target to meet the park's goals. The suitable habitat for pandas and sympatric species encompassed 62.98% of the park and occurred mainly in the Minshan Mountains. One quarter of the total area (25.67%) contained areas important for ecosystem services. Ecologically sensitive and extremely sensitive areas covered 88.78% of the park and were distributed mainly in Qionglaishan and Minshan Mountains. This coverage indicated that there was much habitat for pandas and sympatric species but that the ecosystems in GPNP are vulnerable. Therefore, ecologically critical areas encompassed all suitable habitats for all the species examined and areas important and extremely important to ecosystem service provision,ecologically sensitive and extremely sensitive areas, encompassed 15.17% of panda habitat, accounted for 16.37% of the GPNP area, and were distributed mainly in the Minshan Mountains. Our results indicated where conservation efforts should be focused in the park and that by identifying ecologically critical areas managers can provide targeted protection for wildlife habitat and ecosystems and effectively and efficiently protect the composite ecosystem. Additionally, our methods can be used to inform development of new national parks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wildlife mortality due to collisions with vehicles (roadkill) is one of the predominant negative effects exerted by roads on many wildlife species. Reducing roadkill is therefore a major component of wildlife conservation. Roadkill is affected by various factors, including road attributes and traffic volume. It is theorized that the effect of traffic volume on roadkill probability should be unimodal. However, empirical evidence for this theory is lacking. Using a large‐scale roadkill database of 18 wildlife species in Israel, encompassing 2846 km of roads over 10 years, we explored the effects of traffic volume and road attributes (e.g., road lighting, verge vegetation) on roadkill probability with a multivariate generalized linear mixed model. A unimodal effect of traffic volume was identified for the striped hyena (Hyaena hyaena), whereas 5 species demonstrated a novel quadratic U‐shaped effect (e.g., golden jackal [Canis aureus]). Four species showed a negative linear effect (e.g., wild boar [Sus scrofa]). We also identified varying effects of road attributes on roadkill. For instance, road lighting and roadside trees decreased roadkill for several species, whereas bus stops and concrete guardrails led to increased roadkill. The theorized unimodal effect of traffic volume may only apply to large, agile species, and the U‐shaped effect could be related to intraspecies variability in traffic avoidance behavior. In general, we found that both high‐traffic and low‐traffic roads can pose a high mortality risk for wildlife. It is therefore important to monitor roadkill on low‐traffic roads and adapt road attributes to mitigate roadkill. Road design for effective roadkill mitigation includes reducing the use of concrete guardrails and median barriers where possible and avoiding dense bushes in verge landscaping. These measures are complemented by employing wildlife detection systems, driver warnings, and seasonal speed reduction measures on low‐traffic roads identified as roadkill hotspots. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fish marking is an essential tool for fisheries management, especially for evaluating the stocking of endangered fish species to support conservation and sustainable use of fish stocks. Batch marking of young European eels Anguilla anguilla (L.) prior to stocking is recommended as the benefits of stocking for the spawning stock can be evaluated by recapturing marked fish over time, therefore mass marking of young eels with substances such as alizarin red S (ARS) is becoming increasingly important. To improve the marking method and reduce marking costs when immersing glass eels in an ARS solution, eight laboratory experiments under varying conditions (e.g., temperature, ARS concentration, immersion time, osmotic induction, fish density) and with ARS from different suppliers were carried out. The results show that optimal marking of glass eels can be carried out in the field or during transport by putting approximately 50 g of glass eels per liter in 150 mg L−1 ARS solution for 3 h at 10–15°C. Lower concentrations did not result in reliable marking. Water temperatures of 5°C and below can have a stunning effect on the eels and increase mortality significantly, regardless of the concentration of ARS. Glass eel densities below 50 g L−1 in the marking bath increase marking costs unnecessarily, while a higher density of 100 g L−1 resulted in significantly higher mortality and lower marking success. A somewhat more difficult but less expensive alternative is to bathe the fish in a saline solution of 1% (10 PSU) of 80 mg L−1 ARS for 3 h at 10°C. Costs can also be significantly reduced by choice of supplier for ARS, but care should be taken as the quality of the powder appears to vary (mean percentage of sufficiently marked eels ranged from 59% to 91% among suppliers in the present study) and can lead to marking failure. The optimal marking conditions can help ensure that stocked glass eels can be reliably identified in future studies to assess stocking benefits while reducing costs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fishes exhibit a diverse range of traits encompassing life‐history strategies, feeding behaviours and spawning behaviours. These traits mediate fish population responses to changing environmental conditions such as those caused by anthropogenic stressors. The Conasauga River, located in northwestern Georgia and southeastern Tennessee, USA, hosts a diverse assemblage of over 75 species of freshwater fish, some of which are locally or regionally endemic, and many of which are imperilled. Annual monitoring data have shown population declines in multiple fish species of conservation concern in the Conasauga River since at least the 1990s, raising the possibility that other taxa could be declining as well. We quantified temporal changes in fish communities at six shoal sites sampled annually in most years from 1996 to 2022, and asked whether species traits hypothesized to underlie population vulnerability to environmental alteration were correlated with species‐specific trends for 32 taxa. We estimated that total counts of fish in annual samples declined by ~2% per year, although declines were uneven among species and generally greater for less abundant taxa. Tests for species traits corresponding to temporal population trends provided evidence that crevice‐spawning minnows and smaller‐bodied taxa had steeper declines compared with broadcast spawners and larger, longer‐lived, more fecund taxa. Lower abundance, reliance on a particular habitat feature, and life‐history traits that may limit population resilience to disturbance may all prove useful for identifying riverine fishes at particular risk of future population decline. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Spawning migrations of fishes are common case studies for examining the magnitude of resource subsidies; however, no studies have evaluated this phenomenon in iteroparous migrations of the Catostomid (i.e. suckers) genus Moxostoma (i.e. redhorses). Fish resource subsidies are usually represented as nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P), and migratory redhorses can deliver these nutrients via excretion and eggs. We evaluated whether redhorses deliver N and P subsidies to Brasstown Creek—a fourth‐order stream in the Southeastern US—during their spawning migrations. We measured individual‐level nutrient contributions from excretion and eggs and extrapolated those values to estimate nutrient contributions based on daily abundances of migratory redhorses. We compared daily nutrient inputs to daily nutrient exports to determine the potential for resource subsidies. We estimated 71.6 kg of N and 4.4 kg of P were delivered to Brasstown Creek over a 98‐day migration period. N input exceeded N export on 15 of the 98 days, but phosphorus input never exceeded P export. Eggs accounted for the majority of N and P input at 51% and 100% respectively. Redhorse N inputs peaked in the spring during a period of low N exports, suggesting that redhorse subsidies were delivered during times of elevated nutrient demand and relatively low nutrient availability. Suckers receive little management attention, and several species of redhorses are imperilled. Given our conclusion that redhorses provide a temporally critical N subsidy that is likely available to multiple consumers in freshwater food webs, this study provides compelling motivation for increased conservation of these species and their migrations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Agricultural intensification at field and landscape scales, including increased use of agrochemicals and loss of semi‐natural habitats, is a major driver of insect declines and other community changes. Efforts to understand and mitigate these effects have traditionally focused on ecological responses. At the same time, adaptations to pesticide use and habitat fragmentation in both insects and flowering plants show the potential for rapid evolution. Yet we lack an understanding of how such evolutionary responses may propagate within and between trophic levels with ensuing consequences for conservation of species and ecological functions in agroecosystems. Here, we review the literature on the consequences of agricultural intensification on plant and animal evolutionary responses and interactions. We present a novel conceptualization of evolutionary change induced by agricultural intensification at field and landscape scales and emphasize direct and indirect effects of rapid evolution on ecosystem services. We exemplify by focusing on economically and ecologically important interactions between plants and pollinators. We showcase available eco‐evolutionary theory and plant–pollinator modelling that can improve predictions of how agricultural intensification affects interaction networks, and highlight available genetic and trait‐focused methodological approaches. Specifically, we focus on how spatial genetic structure affects the probability of propagated responses, and how the structure of interaction networks modulates effects of evolutionary change in individual species. Thereby, we highlight how combined trait‐based eco‐evolutionary modelling, functionally explicit quantitative genetics, and genomic analyses may shed light on conditions where evolutionary responses impact important ecosystem services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Microbiome science has provided groundbreaking insights into human and animal health. Similarly, evolutionary medicine – the incorporation of eco‐evolutionary concepts into primarily human medical theory and practice – is increasingly recognised for its novel perspectives on modern diseases. Studies of host–microbe relationships have been expanded beyond humans to include a wide range of animal taxa, adding new facets to our understanding of animal ecology, evolution, behaviour, and health. In this review, we propose that a broader application of evolutionary medicine, combined with microbiome science, can provide valuable and innovative perspectives on animal care and conservation. First, we draw on classic ecological principles, such as alternative stable states, to propose an eco‐evolutionary framework for understanding variation in animal microbiomes and their role in animal health and wellbeing. With a focus on mammalian gut microbiomes, we apply this framework to populations of animals under human care, with particular relevance to the many animal species that suffer diseases linked to gut microbial dysfunction (e.g. gut distress and infection, autoimmune disorders, obesity). We discuss diet and microbial landscapes (i.e. the microbes in the animal's external environment), as two factors that are (i) proposed to represent evolutionary mismatches for captive animals, (ii) linked to gut microbiome structure and function, and (iii) potentially best understood from an evolutionary medicine perspective. Keeping within our evolutionary framework, we highlight the potential benefits – and pitfalls – of modern microbial therapies, such as pre‐ and probiotics, faecal microbiota transplants, and microbial rewilding. We discuss the limited, yet growing, empirical evidence for the use of microbial therapies to modulate animal gut microbiomes beneficially. Interspersed throughout, we propose 12 actionable steps, grounded in evolutionary medicine, that can be applied to practical animal care and management. We encourage that these actionable steps be paired with integration of eco‐evolutionary perspectives into our definitions of appropriate animal care standards. The evolutionary perspectives proposed herein may be best appreciated when applied to the broad diversity of species under human care, rather than when solely focused on humans. We urge animal care professionals, veterinarians, nutritionists, scientists, and others to collaborate on these efforts, allowing for simultaneous care of animal patients and the generation of valuable empirical data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Conservation translocation is a common strategy to offset mounting rates of population declines through the transfer of captive‐ or wild‐origin organisms into areas where conspecific populations are imperilled or completely extirpated. Translocations that supplement existing populations are referred to as reinforcements and can be conducted using captive‐origin animals [ex situ reinforcement (ESR)] or wild‐origin animals without any captive ancestry [in situ reinforcement (ISR)]. These programs have been criticized for low success rates and husbandry practices that produce individuals with genetic and performance deficits, but the post‐release performance of captive‐origin or wild‐origin translocated groups has not been systematically reviewed to quantify success relative to wild‐resident control groups. To assess the disparity in post‐release performance of translocated organisms relative to wild‐resident conspecifics and examine the association of performance disparity with organismal and methodological factors across studies, we conducted a systematic review and meta‐analysis of 821 performance comparisons from 171 studies representing nine animal classes (101 species). We found that translocated organisms have 64% decreased odds of out‐performing their wild‐resident counterparts, supporting claims of systemic issues hampering conservation translocations. To help identify translocation practices that could maximize program success in the future, we further quantified the impact of broad organismal and methodological factors on the disparity between translocated and wild‐resident conspecific performance. Pre‐release animal enrichment significantly reduced performance disparities, whereas our results suggest no overall effects of taxonomic group, sex, captive generation time, or the type of fitness surrogate measured. This work is the most comprehensive systematic review to date of animal conservation translocations in which wild conspecifics were used as comparators, thereby facilitating an evaluation of the overall impact of this conservation strategy and identifying specific actions to increase success. Our review highlights the need for conservation managers to include both sympatric and allopatric wild‐reference groups to ensure the post‐release performance of translocated animals can be evaluated. Further, our analyses identify pre‐release animal enrichment as a particular strategy for improving the outcomes of animal conservation translocations, and demonstrate how meta‐analysis can be used to identify implementation choices that maximize translocated animal contributions to recipient population growth and viability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Changes to migration routes and phenology create novel contact patterns among hosts and pathogens. These novel contact patterns can lead to pathogens spilling over between resident and migrant populations. Predicting the consequences of such pathogen spillover events requires understanding how pathogen evolution depends on host movement behaviour. Following spillover, pathogens may evolve changes in their transmission rate and virulence phenotypes because different strategies are favoured by resident and migrant host populations. There is conflict in current theoretical predictions about what those differences might be. Some theory predicts lower pathogen virulence and transmission rates in migrant populations because migrants have lower tolerance to infection. Other theoretical work predicts higher pathogen virulence and transmission rates in migrants because migrants have more contacts with susceptible hosts.We aim to understand how differences in tolerance to infection and host pace of life act together to determine the direction of pathogen evolution following pathogen spillover from a resident to a migrant population.We constructed a spatially implicit model in which we investigate how pathogen strategy changes following the addition of a migrant population. We investigate how differences in tolerance to infection and pace of life between residents and migrants determine the effect of spillover on pathogen evolution and host population size.When the paces of life of the migrant and resident hosts are equal, larger costs of infection in the migrants lead to lower pathogen transmission rate and virulence following spillover. When the tolerance to infection in migrant and resident populations is equal, faster migrant paces of life lead to increased transmission rate and virulence following spillover. However, the opposite can also occur: when the migrant population has lower tolerance to infection, faster migrant paces of life can lead to decreases in transmission rate and virulence.Predicting the outcomes of pathogen spillover requires accounting for both differences in tolerance to infection and pace of life between populations. It is also important to consider how movement patterns of populations affect host contact opportunities for pathogens. These results have implications for wildlife conservation, agriculture and human health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As animal home range size (HRS) provides valuable information for species conservation, it is important to understand the driving factors of HRS variation. It is widely known that differences in species traits (e.g. body mass) are major contributors to variation in mammal HRS. However, most studies examining how environmental variation explains mammal HRS variation have been limited to a few species, or only included a single (mean) HRS estimate for the majority of species, neglecting intraspecific HRS variation. Additionally, most studies examining environmental drivers of HRS variation included only terrestrial species, neglecting marine species.Using a novel dataset of 2800 HRS estimates from 586 terrestrial and 27 marine mammal species, we quantified the relationships between HRS and environmental variables, accounting for species traits.Our results indicate that terrestrial mammal HRS was on average 5.3 times larger in areas with low human disturbance (human footprint index [HFI] = 0), compared to areas with maximum human disturbance (HFI = 50). Similarly, HRS was on average 5.4 times larger in areas with low annual mean productivity (NDVI = 0), compared to areas with high productivity (NDVI = 1). In addition, HRS increased by a factor of 1.9 on average from low to high seasonality in productivity (standard deviation (SD) of monthly NDVI from 0 to 0.36). Of these environmental variables, human disturbance and annual mean productivity explained a larger proportion of HRS variance than seasonality in productivity. Marine mammal HRS decreased, on average, by a factor of 3.7 per 10°C decline in annual mean sea surface temperature (SST), and increased by a factor of 1.5 per 1°C increase in SST seasonality (SD of monthly values). Annual mean SST explained more variance in HRS than SST seasonality. Due to the small sample size, caution should be taken when interpreting the marine mammal results.Our results indicate that environmental variation is relevant for HRS and that future environmental changes might alter the HRS of individuals, with potential consequences for ecosystem functioning and the effectiveness of conservation actions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Natural resource management often co‐occurs with considerable uncertainty. One approach to mitigating uncertainty is through adaptive resource management (ARM), a specialized form of structured decision‐making that modifies management decisions or actions through monitoring and implementation.Here, we present a case study on the attempted eradication of an invasive brown treesnake (Boiga irregularis) in a 5‐ha enclosure on Guam with uncertainty in approach. We applied an ARM process across three field phases of snake removal and evaluated whether (1) eradication was achievable and (2) eradication was necessary to achieve an avian response. Field phases included the application of aerial toxic baits, toxicant baiting large mouse and birds, trapping with live mouse and bird lures and hand capture.We found that each removal technique improved control by either removing many individuals or targeting a subset of individuals that resisted prior control approaches. Although the effort did not result in eradication, the evaluation of identified indicators allowed for timely adjustments to removal using the ARM process.The snake removal efforts yielded an avian response in the treatment area after integrating live birds as snake lures, suggesting functional eradication of snakes may be possible. We also, however, observed a release of invasive rodents following snake control, with birds being more sensitive to the presence of snakes than rodents.Synthesis and applications. We suggest that using adaptive resource management to evaluate each phase of action in relation to established goals allowed us to measure outcomes and was successful in eliminating uncertainty in the application of control tools for wildlife conservation. We were able to create a documented and successful approach towards removing snakes inside a snake‐exclusion barrier by following the ARM process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding the spatial requirements of exploited wildlife species, including population density and home range size, is important for wildlife management and conservation. Wolverines (Gulo gulo) are hunted and trapped across the Arctic, and are vulnerable to numerous, often interrelated, threats resulting from anthropogenic changes in their environment. Previous population density estimates for wolverines in the Arctic range tenfold, from the lowest to highest available for the species, limiting their utility outside the specific areas and times they were derived. The most recent density estimate in Arctic Alaska, USA, was produced 4 decades ago and was derived from a relatively small study area. We evaluated wolverine population density and home range size across the North Slope of Alaska during 2017–2022 using global positioning system (GPS)‐based collar data and spatial capture‐recapture models. Population density estimates were 2.0 individuals/1,000 km2 (95% credible interval = 1.3–3.5) in 2018 and 2.8 individuals/1,000 km2 (95% credible interval = 1.7–3.5) in 2021. Median home range sizes modeled with autocorrelated kernel density estimators and Ornstein‐Uhlenbeck foraging movement processes were 699 km2 (range = 158–2,895 km2) among 12 females and 2,332 km2 (range = 797–4,699 km2) among 10 males. These population density estimates are nearly 10 times lower than the previous estimate for Arctic Alaska. We recommend incorporating this information into management strategies to ensure sustainable harvest, particularly as the region's remote areas are more efficiently accessed by hunters and are being considered for transportation corridors supporting new industrial development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wood turtles (Glyptemys insculpta) are a species of conservation concern throughout their geographic distribution. Several studies have investigated individual‐level habitat selection of wood turtles in the Upper Midwest in the United States, but the effects of habitat characteristics on abundance are poorly understood. This information is needed to improve landscape‐level habitat management and conservation initiatives for the species. Our study aimed to identify important aquatic and terrestrial habitat characteristics and quantify their influence on abundance dynamics of adult wood turtles in the Laurentian Mixed Forest Province ecoregion of Wisconsin and Minnesota, USA. We collected standardized population survey data at 57 sites within the ecoregion between 2016 and 2022. We used N‐mixture models with a multi‐stage model selection procedure to assess the influence of aquatic and terrestrial predictors on abundance, including several 3‐dimensional forest structure metrics derived from airborne Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) data. Several aquatic and terrestrial habitat characteristics influenced local abundance patterns of adult wood turtles. The most influential aquatic predictors were stream velocity and stream width, and the most influential terrestrial predictors were mean return height and vertical coefficient of variation of height. Abundance was high at sites containing comparatively narrow streams with moderate velocities. The most supported terrestrial predictors were derived from LiDAR and indicate that complex forest structures support larger wood turtle populations. Our results can be used in forest management strategies to improve habitat quality for wood turtles, such as selective tree harvesting to increase structural diversity, and potentially identify robust populations in under‐surveyed areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tackling the global threat of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) requires joint efforts according to the principles of the One Health approach. In this context, wildlife, and especially wild birds, are recognized as an important bridge between environment, humans and livestock in perpetuating AMR. Over the last decades, important progress has been made in understanding the role of wild birds as carriers of antibiotic‐resistant bacteria and their genes (ARGs) within ecosystems; however, there are still many knowledge gaps regarding transmission sources and routes. This commentary summarizes studies from recent years focusing on AMR in wild birds, highlighting the most frequently found zoonotic bacteria harboring ARGs and the possible exchange scenarios between humans, livestock, and wild birds. We emphasize the need to standardize and optimize a wild bird monitoring approach for AMR surveillance that includes non‐invasive sampling methods, culture‐independent techniques for identification of ARGs, database integration and implementation, and machine learning technology. This multidisciplinary perspective, which could involve veterinarians, biologists, ornithologists, conservationists, and managers, may represent part of the solution, not only for wildlife conservation but also for global health, considering that the goal is to reverse the route of AMR. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hunting triggers behavioral responses in wildlife that may have important consequences for conservation and wildlife management. We studied movement and habitat selection in 51 global positioning system‐collared red deer (Cervus elaphus) in response to 63 large‐scale (x̄ = 18.8 km2) drive hunts conducted in 2015‐2022 on a military training area in southern Germany. The drive hunts were characterized by a low density of beaters and dogs to avoid rapid and long‐distance displacement of red deer. We determined if red deer spatial responses to drive hunts differed in various forest covers, between sexes, and in relation to the individual position prior to the hunt. On the hunting days, red deer increased their hourly displacement rates and shifted their preference for forest versus open habitats from early morning to late morning hours. Individuals initially located within the boundaries of the hunted areas exhibited longer maximum net displacements, had a greater probability of leaving their home ranges, and spent longer times outside of their home ranges than individuals outside the hunted areas. All these parameters were greater in the more forested site than in the less forested site. Males displayed shorter net displacements than females. Red deer moved away (i.e., fled) from their initial positions for variable periods, either only during the hunt or until the next day. The probability of prolonged flight was greater in the more forested site and more likely if the individuals were deeper in the forest in the less forested site. The prolonged flight behavior was desired from the hunters' perspective because red deer displaying this type of response were less likely to leave the hunted area during the hunt. Prolonged flight was associated with greater costs for the red deer, such as greater movement distances after the hunt and longer times outside of home ranges. Wildlife managers should consider that drive hunts may cause prolonged behavioral responses in game that occur both inside and outside the hunted areas. These responses depend on habitat characteristics and may be stronger in more forested landscapes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]