Conservation Biology最新文献

{"title":"Comparing screening outcomes for private sector nature-related assessments based on national and global biodiversity datasets.","authors":"Takuya Nomura, Luke Kelly, Andrew Skowno, Emily Nicholson","doi":"10.1111/cobi.70368","DOIUrl":"10.1111/cobi.70368","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>In response to demand for better biodiversity stewardship from the private sector, frameworks such as the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD) have been developed to help companies assess, manage, and disclose their nature-related impacts, dependencies, risks, and opportunities. A key initial screening step is to identify operations in ecologically sensitive areas. This step is often conducted using global datasets that are readily available and consistent but may be less accurate than national data informed by local expertise and conditions. In this study, we explored the implications of using global versus national biodiversity datasets for identifying ecologically sensitive sites at large scales, using South Africa as a case study. We simulated a screening process by generating sites through stratified random sampling and screened these based on three TNFD criteria for ecologically sensitive sites: biodiversity importance, high ecosystem integrity, and rapid decline in ecosystem integrity. We compared results from multiple global and national datasets, calculating omission errors, where global datasets omit sites identified by national data, and commission errors, where global datasets flag sites as sensitive but national data do not. We found global datasets missed over 39% of areas important for biodiversity, as identified by national datasets. Such omission errors risk ongoing biodiversity loss because sites omitted at early screening stages are unlikely to have resources allocated for conservation or restoration. Our findings suggest a cautious use of global datasets, with an emphasis on encouraging the use of national datasets, particularly when fine-scale, field-validated, and frequently updated data are available.</p>","PeriodicalId":10689,"journal":{"name":"Conservation Biology","volume":" ","pages":"e70368"},"PeriodicalIF":5.2,"publicationDate":"2026-08-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148812162","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Protected areas on international borders show uneven conservation outcomes.","authors":"Rachakonda Sreekar, Hoong Chen Teo, Tiantian Zhang, Jiajia Liu, Aakash Lamba, Jun Ying Lim, Lian Pin Koh, Sean Jing Wen Ng, Janice Ser Huay Lee, James E M Watson, Yiwen Zeng","doi":"10.1111/cobi.70373","DOIUrl":"10.1111/cobi.70373","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Border protected areas (BPAs) are national protected areas that are immediately adjacent to a country's border or span two or more countries; they are characterized by distinctive opportunities and pressures. They play a critical role in protecting carbon-rich ecosystems, conserving endangered biodiversity, reducing cross-border environmental threats, and promoting peace and cooperation. At the same time, compared with other protected areas within the same country, BPAs may be particularly vulnerable to asymmetric enforcement, cross-border leakage, conflict, and weak institutional coordination. Using a pixel-level propensity score matching approach, we conducted the first global assessment of forest loss in BPAs relative to counterfactuals in nonborder protected areas within the same country. We found that compared with nonborder protected areas, most BPAs (81%) experienced lower or similar forest loss rates, preventing the loss of 112,036 ha of forest and ∼3.69 MtCO₂e/year in emissions between 2013 and 2022. However, the remaining 19% of BPAs experienced significantly higher forest loss than their counterfactuals, resulting in the loss of 87,657 ha and additional emissions of ∼2.85 MtCO₂e/year. Importantly, BPA underperformance was not driven solely by lower border protection feasibility as larger reserve size and closer proximity to urban centers were also associated with higher forest loss. Drivers of forest loss in underperforming BPAs varied regionally: agriculture expansion dominated in Africa and Asia; regulatory mismatches in timber regulations were most important in Europe; and wildfire risk was a key factor in North America. We further identified mainland Southeast Asia and the Congo Basin as urgent border conservation hotspots, where high deforestation pressure threatens both endangered species and carbon-rich forests. Thus, BPA underperformance is geographically concentrated and not pervasive. Targeted regional interventions would enhance cross-border cooperation, mobilize sustainable financing, and strengthen governance structures, while also facilitating the effective integration of BPAs into global biodiversity and climate policy frameworks.</p>","PeriodicalId":10689,"journal":{"name":"Conservation Biology","volume":" ","pages":"e70373"},"PeriodicalIF":5.2,"publicationDate":"2026-08-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148808327","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Risk reduction, rangeland use, and the future of human-carnivore coexistence.","authors":"Craig Packer","doi":"10.1111/cobi.70375","DOIUrl":"10.1111/cobi.70375","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Efforts to reduce livestock losses to large carnivores are widely regarded as essential for promoting human-carnivore coexistence. Predator-proof enclosures, compensation programs, improved livestock guarding, and real-time predator alert systems can reduce depredation and retaliatory killing while enhancing pastoralist livelihoods. However, reducing livestock production risks may also alter livestock management decisions in ways that increase grazing pressure or reshape land-use patterns. I applied insights from moral hazard theory, rebound effects, and common-pool resource governance to examine how carnivore conflict mitigation interventions may influence pastoral land use and long-term conservation outcomes. Reduced predation risk may encourage herd expansion, higher stocking densities, or spatial expansion into areas previously avoided because of carnivore presence. Although such responses may improve household resilience, they may also increase competition for forage with wild herbivores, intensify habitat degradation, or shift conflict spatially rather than eliminate it. Because durable coexistence requires accounting for the broader incentives created by successful risk reduction, I developed a framework integrating carnivore conflict mitigation with grazing management, ecological monitoring, and livelihood diversification.</p>","PeriodicalId":10689,"journal":{"name":"Conservation Biology","volume":" ","pages":"e70375"},"PeriodicalIF":5.2,"publicationDate":"2026-08-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148789302","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Emerging threat of avian influenza to the world's vultures.","authors":"Jon Morant, Andrea Santangeli, Pablo Plaza, Sergio A Lambertucci","doi":"10.1111/cobi.70372","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/cobi.70372","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":10689,"journal":{"name":"Conservation Biology","volume":" ","pages":"e70372"},"PeriodicalIF":5.2,"publicationDate":"2026-08-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148789283","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Observer coverage and interaction rates determine the choice between design-based and machine learning bycatch estimators for rare species.","authors":"Christopher Long, Robert Ahrens, T Todd Jones, Zachary Siders","doi":"10.1111/cobi.70374","DOIUrl":"10.1111/cobi.70374","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Robust estimates of the magnitude of protected species bycatch are essential for effective fisheries management and marine conservation. Existing bycatch estimation methods typically struggle to accurately and precisely estimate the bycatch of rare species as a result of the statistical assumptions necessary to overcome infrequent encounters and, often, low observer coverage. We compared the widely used Horvitz-Thompson design-based estimator with a machine learning framework for estimating protected species bycatch based on ensemble random forests. We simulated reduced observer coverage in the 100% observed Hawaii shallow-set pelagic longline fishery and compared the two estimation methods for five species: oceanic whitetip sharks (Carcharhinus longimanus), Laysan albatross (Phoebastria immutabilis), black-footed albatross (Phoebastria nigripes), loggerhead sea turtles (Caretta caretta), and leatherback sea turtles (Dermochelys coriacea). Machine learning-based estimates were more precise than design-based estimates for all species, but annual and long-term accuracy varied with bycatch rates and spatial clustering of interactions. The machine learning approach improved the precision of bycatch estimates for oceanic whitetip sharks (3.5% of sets with interaction) without reducing long-term accuracy. As interaction rates declined below this level, the ensemble random forests method introduced increasing bias and resulted in a preference for the design-based estimator in real-world applications. The ensemble random forests approach relaxed the trade-off between accurate, precise bycatch estimates and observer coverage for species with greater than 3% interaction rates. However, high observer coverage remains irreplaceable for effectively estimating bycatch for the rarest species, and the imprecision of design-based estimates should be accounted for in management decisions.</p>","PeriodicalId":10689,"journal":{"name":"Conservation Biology","volume":" ","pages":"e70374"},"PeriodicalIF":5.2,"publicationDate":"2026-08-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148789236","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Methodology to identify ecologically matching areas and its applications in conservation planning.","authors":"Pietro Milanesi, Alessandro Chiarucci, Alessandra Maria Bissattini, Vincenzo Buono, Gianluca Piovesan, Carlo Rondinini, Umberto Valdrè, Marco Musiani","doi":"10.1111/cobi.70367","DOIUrl":"10.1111/cobi.70367","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Identifying ecologically matching areas is both challenging and critical for understanding spatial patterns of biodiversity and advancing conservation planning. However, existing approaches often lack spatial flexibility, overlook shape and size constraints, or rely on limited environmental parameters, reducing their effectiveness in real-world applications. To address these limitations, we developed and tested a four-step framework for identifying ecologically and spatially matching areas. Our framework method involved defining the parameters for the comparative analyses; assessing similar environmental conditions between target protected areas and potential matching areas, through a modified version of the multivariate environmental similarity surface (mMESS); simulating randomly distributed polygons that mirror both the shape and surface area of the target protected area; and integrating the simulated polygons with the resulting mMESS to identify areas where environmental similarity, shape, and surface match. Finally, we applied decision criteria to identify real-world matching areas. We tested our approach in both the Northern and the Central Apennines (Italy), comparing a national park in each of these two regions to similar but unprotected areas-specifically excluding national parks, regional parks, and Natura 2000 Network sites. Our framework offers a robust tool for identifying matching and mismatching areas and enhancing our understanding of these areas' spatial distributions and environmental conditions to support conservation planning and management. The framework may be applied to a broad range of ecological studies at various scales and has the potential to guide future conservation efforts and policies.</p>","PeriodicalId":10689,"journal":{"name":"Conservation Biology","volume":" ","pages":"e70367"},"PeriodicalIF":5.2,"publicationDate":"2026-08-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148700988","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The obsolescence of protected area categories in a polycrisis world.","authors":"Pamela Esther Degele","doi":"10.1111/cobi.70370","DOIUrl":"10.1111/cobi.70370","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Current global conservation models face significant limitations in addressing the global polycrisis, and the constraints of the International Union for Conservation of Nature protected area (PA) classification system are part of the issue. The principles of the new conservation paradigm-governance, equity, and interculturality-are not viable while tethered to a framework dominated by Western natural sciences and Global North perspectives. Philosophical and empirical evidence from Argentina substantiates two core arguments: first, the current PA classification system remains confined to a monological and reductive epistemology, and second, fragmented conservation focuses, such as single-species prioritization, function as an ideology sustained by the economic privilege of developed nations and are not efficient strategies in areas where the share of gross domestic product allocated to environmental protection is as low as 0.07%. Rather than expanding existing management categories, this paper proposes a decolonization of the concept of classification. By dismantling legislative classification rigidity, cultural and natural heritage acquire an equal opportunity to be protected, enabling each PA to redirect legal and financial resources toward holistic and just conservation actions. This shift moves beyond narrow biodiversity targets and toward the realization of territorial justice, breaking away from a fragmented perspective of nature to understanding humans and nonhumans in relational terms, as a shared political community.</p>","PeriodicalId":10689,"journal":{"name":"Conservation Biology","volume":" ","pages":"e70370"},"PeriodicalIF":5.2,"publicationDate":"2026-08-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148700953","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Pest-preservation paradox among insects.","authors":"Michael J Samways, Charl Deacon, René Gaigher, James S Pryke","doi":"10.1111/cobi.70363","DOIUrl":"10.1111/cobi.70363","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Insects are vital to well-functioning terrestrial ecosystems. They are highly speciose and abundant across all but the very coldest areas. Only a small proportion (<1%) of recognized species are either pests or threatened species. Most species are somewhere in between and are poorly researched or remain undescribed. Among certain taxa, especially Orthoptera, Lepidoptera, Coleoptera, and Diptera, there is a paradox in that some species are pests, whereas other closely related species require conservation action. Confounding the issue is the overly simplistic and human binary perception that there are good insects that are aesthetic and benign and bad ones that are harmful to human well-being. Using Google Scholar Labs-assisted searches, we reviewed and summarized relevant literature to present a more nuanced perspective, the pest-preservation paradox (PPP), that focuses on the whole spectrum of insects and the dynamics of spatial and temporal population changes according to prevailing environmental conditions. Biologically underlying these spectrum shifts are ranges of insect genomic resilience, reproduction rates, feeding behaviors, dispersal abilities, and establishment abilities. These traits are important in human-modified, novel environments and in response to the overarching effects of climate change. Currently, certain pest species are thriving, whereas other species are becoming threatened or extinct, even among formerly abundant species. The information available today enables us to focus more specifically on the spectrum of insects and emphasize the need to study the silent majority in the spectrum center. The PPP helps move beyond the binary perception that insects are either good or bad and recognizes the nuanced spectrum between those that are pests and those that require conservation action.</p>","PeriodicalId":10689,"journal":{"name":"Conservation Biology","volume":" ","pages":"e70363"},"PeriodicalIF":5.2,"publicationDate":"2026-08-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148700948","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"How endorser attributes influence conservation communication.","authors":"Xia He, Tien Ming Lee","doi":"10.1111/cobi.70369","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/cobi.70369","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Conservation communication often uses the celebrity endorsement strategy. However, robust evidence regarding its effectiveness is still limited. More importantly, practitioners do not have guidelines for selecting an ideal endorser because there is no clear consensus on what endorser attributes are most critical. We explored these issues by examining advocacy for the ivory trade ban in China through the use of two public service announcements (PSAs). The contents of the two PSAs were similar, except that one was endorsed by a sports celebrity (Yao Ming) and the other by a noncelebrity (a police officer). Based on a real-world, randomized, controlled trial intervention experiment (N = 550), we found that although the celebrity was rated as more attractive, the PSAs did not differ significantly in perceived attractiveness. The police officer produced a statistically significant but small improvement in attitude toward the ban (Cliff's delta = -0.11), with no significant differences in behavioral intentions, indicating limited practical superiority. According to the structural equation model (SEM), endorser attractiveness was positively associated with PSA attractiveness, which in turn was associated with communication behavioral intention, whereas endorser credibility was more strongly associated with conservation behavioral intention. These findings suggested that the selection of endorsers should be contextualized. In particular, if the aim is to promote widespread communication, then celebrities may be the recommended endorsers, as they have the potential to attract people's attention. If the aim is to promote attitude or behavioral change, then endorsers with high credibility levels may be more appropriate. Future studies should conduct empirical research on multiple types of celebrities and explore how endorser attributes interact with different message framings and various conservation contexts to better inform strategic communication efforts.</p>","PeriodicalId":10689,"journal":{"name":"Conservation Biology","volume":" ","pages":"e70369"},"PeriodicalIF":5.2,"publicationDate":"2026-08-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148676932","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Synthesis of Pollinator-Friendly Management in European Protected Areas.","authors":"Gabriella Süle, András Báldi, David Kleijn, Ingolf Steffan-Dewenter, Matthias Albrecht, Péter Batáry, Carolin Biegerl, Petr Bogusch, Veronika Braunisch, Jörn Buse, Andree Cappellari, Tristan Eckerter, Thomas Fartmann, Thomas Frank, Florian Fumy, Michael Garratt, Maria Georgi, Elia Guariento, Petr Heneberg, Andreas Hilpold, Andrea Holzschuh, Sebastian Hopfenmüller, Jakub Horák, Raja Imran Hussain, Zsolt Józan, Reet Karise, Vassiliki Kati, Alexandra-Maria Klein, Anikó Kovács-Hostyánszki, Petr Kozel, Ádám Kőrösi, Egle Liiskmann, Franz Löffler, Lorenzo Marini, Gabrielle McLaughlin, Amparo Mora, Morgan Morrison, Konstantina Nasiou, Kristýna Nehybová, Péter Ódor, Dominik Poniatowski, Zoltán Soltész, István Szentirmai, Csaba Tölgyesi, Konstantina Zografou, Viktor Szigeti","doi":"10.1111/cobi.70366","DOIUrl":"10.1111/cobi.70366","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Pollinators are important to humans and nature due to their role in ecosystem functioning and services. Research on the effects of pollinator management in protected areas is insufficient compared with that on farmlands and urban areas, potentially hindering appropriate policy implementation. We addressed this knowledge gap by conducting a data-based synthesis on measures to promote pollinators (especially bees, butterflies, and flies) across European protected areas. To compare the effects of management practices that enhance pollinators (pollinator-friendly; treatment) and those not focused on pollinators (conventional; control) in protected areas, we used vegetation, floral resource, and pollinator datasets. Our synthesis involved 10 countries, 34 datasets, and 639 sampling sites with different management activities (land abandonment, mowing, grazing, mulching, flower sowing, gap creation, and uprooting and girdling trees) and habitats (grasslands, forests, reed beds, and sandpits). Pooled analysis indicated that pollinator-friendly management had mainly neutral effects on floral resources and pollinators, with some positive effects but no negative effects. Dataset-level details revealed mostly neutral effects from pollinator-friendly management with some positive (15%) and fewer negative (3%) effects. Management slightly improved pollinator overall abundance and species richness, particularly for butterflies and wild bees (excluding bumblebees). Comparing our synthesis with previous studies suggests that implementing management practices for pollinators in protected areas is more challenging than in farmlands and cities, possibly because protected areas already host higher quality habitats. Alternatively, pollinator-friendly approaches commonly implemented in protected areas may be insufficient. Although the Nature Restoration Regulation provides new opportunities for pollinator conservation, implementation will require careful planning for target areas, as effective management, including pollinator requirements, requires more focused and context-specific measures than those applied in cities and farmlands. Although focused on Europe, our synthesis provides broadly applicable lessons for pollinator conservation in other highly modified landscapes but with adaptation to local ecological and socioeconomic conditions.</p>","PeriodicalId":10689,"journal":{"name":"Conservation Biology","volume":" ","pages":"e70366"},"PeriodicalIF":5.2,"publicationDate":"2026-08-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148676948","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}