Biological Reviews最新文献

{"title":"The ageing holobiont: crosstalk between telomere dynamics, oxidative stress and the gut microbiome","authors":"Michael L. Pepke,&nbsp;Søren B. Hansen,&nbsp;Morten T. Limborg","doi":"10.1002/brv.70152","DOIUrl":"10.1002/brv.70152","url":null,"abstract":"<p>The gut tissue is at the frontline of early onset of ageing. It exhibits high cell turnover rates and rapid telomere shortening, which can have systemic effects on the developing or senescing organism. We conducted a literature review of studies on the crosstalk between telomere length dynamics, telomerase activity, oxidative stress, and gut microbiota composition and activity in animals. Studies mainly on humans and animal models include correlations between telomere dynamics and gut microbiome components, particularly under pathogenic conditions, but also manipulations of either the gut microbiome through faecal microbiota transplantations or of telomere dynamics using telomerase knockout models. This synthesis reveals that components of the gut microbiome including microbial metabolites and pathogenic bacteria can affect telomere dynamics through oxidative-stress-inducing processes, and that telomere maintenance is critical in maintaining gut barrier and tissue integrity, which link inflammation and gut dysbiosis. Some of the interactions between the gut microbiome and host telomere dynamics are bidirectional and important in maintaining intestinal homeostasis. However, many of the causal molecular or cellular mechanisms – and how they translate into organismal senescence – remain to be identified. Furthermore, we highlight how recent advances in whole genome sequencing capacities and bioinformatic tools represent an often-unexploited resource for measuring telomere lengths and may be particularly valuable tools within the hologenomic framework outlined here. Investigating the role of telomere dynamics in mediating gut microbiota–host interactions in different species will improve our understanding of how crosstalk between these hallmarks of ageing shape holobiont physiology in general and the ageing phenotype in particular.</p>","PeriodicalId":133,"journal":{"name":"Biological Reviews","volume":"101 4","pages":"1877-1903"},"PeriodicalIF":10.9,"publicationDate":"2026-07-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/brv.70152","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147315732","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The concept of UV radiation hormesis: evidence, mechanisms and implications","authors":"Agnieszka Trela-Makowej,&nbsp;Ewa Olbińska,&nbsp;Aleksandra Orzechowska,&nbsp;Renata Szymańska","doi":"10.1002/brv.70159","DOIUrl":"10.1002/brv.70159","url":null,"abstract":"<div>\u0000 \u0000 <p>Ultraviolet (UV) radiation (comprising UVA, UVB, and UVC wavelengths) lies in the non-ionizing region of the electromagnetic spectrum and is a key environmental factor affecting living organisms. While excessive UV exposure is well known for its harmful effects – such as DNA damage, oxidative stress, and cellular dysfunction – mounting evidence indicates that low-dose UV can induce beneficial adaptive responses (hormesis) in biological systems. This review offers a comprehensive synthesis of UV-induced hormetic effects across diverse organisms, with particular emphasis on plants and animals. We highlight examples of beneficial outcomes under mild UV exposure, including enhanced growth, strengthened pathogen resistance, and elevated secondary metabolite production in plants, as well as improved stress tolerance and reproductive performance in animals. These benefits are underpinned by molecular mechanisms such as upregulation of antioxidant defences, activation of DNA repair pathways, and accumulation of protective biomolecules. The review also explores practical applications of UV hormesis in agriculture – for instance, using controlled UV treatments to boost crop resilience – while cautioning against the risks of excessive exposure. By illuminating the balance between the beneficial and detrimental effects of UV radiation, this synthesis provides a broad perspective to guide the safe application of low-level UV in biological systems and identifies promising directions for future research.</p>\u0000 </div>","PeriodicalId":133,"journal":{"name":"Biological Reviews","volume":"101 4","pages":"1922-1936"},"PeriodicalIF":10.9,"publicationDate":"2026-07-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147375546","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Fear of grazing rivals the toxin-inducing effects of nutrients in two marine harmful algae – a meta-analysis","authors":"Milad Pourdanandeh,&nbsp;Erik Selander","doi":"10.1002/brv.70153","DOIUrl":"10.1002/brv.70153","url":null,"abstract":"<p>One of the major subfields of chemical ecology is the study of toxins and how they mediate interactions between organisms. Toxins produced by harmful algae (phycotoxins) impact a wide variety of organisms connected to the marine food web. Significant research efforts have thus aimed to identify the ecological and evolutionary drivers behind harmful algal blooms (HABs) to facilitate their forecasting, mitigation, and management. Nutrient availability is a key factor controlling growth and toxin production. Additionally, recent evidence has shown that harmful algae can sense the presence of zooplankton grazers, primarily copepods, and respond by dramatically increasing toxin production. Phycotoxin production is consequently controlled by a combination of bottom-up and top-down drivers, but the relative importance of the two is not understood. We therefore conducted a meta-analysis of 113 control–treatment contrasts from 37 peer-reviewed experimental studies, comparing the effects of relative nitrogen enrichment (defined here as an increased nitrogen: phosphorus ratio relative to control) and elevated grazing risk (exposure to zooplankton grazers or their chemical cues) on phycotoxin induction. We focused on the two most studied marine HAB-forming genera, <i>Alexandrium</i> dinoflagellates and <i>Pseudo-nitzschia</i> diatoms. We show that phycotoxins are induced in response to both relative nitrogen enrichment and elevated grazing risk. Although both genera responded similarly to relative nitrogen enrichment, <i>Pseudo-nitzschia</i> toxins increased 10 times more than <i>Alexandrium</i> toxins in response to grazers. Grazing risk thus appears to rival, perhaps even supersede, the well-established phycotoxin-inducing effect of relative nitrogen enrichment in marine harmful algae. Although this analysis is limited to the two most-studied marine HAB genera, we conclude that future attempts to understand the evolution and variable production of phycotoxins require integration of bottom-up nutrient availability and top-down selective pressures to elucidate phycotoxin dynamics in marine HAB-forming species.</p>","PeriodicalId":133,"journal":{"name":"Biological Reviews","volume":"101 4","pages":"1904-1921"},"PeriodicalIF":10.9,"publicationDate":"2026-07-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/brv.70153","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147375556","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"A neuro-behavioural model of neophobia","authors":"Arik Dorfman,&nbsp;Aziz Subach,&nbsp;Inon Scharf","doi":"10.1002/brv.70151","DOIUrl":"10.1002/brv.70151","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Fear can be defined as the internal neurological state that releases a repertoire of behaviours an animal performs to reduce the effect of an aversive factor. Neophobia, the fear of novelty, is a fundamental behavioural trait observed across a wide range of species from arthropods to humans. It has been extensively studied by ecologists and psychologists for decades. However, despite its roots in fear, there is a surprising lack of connection between the literature on neophobia and the rich body of research on the neurology of fear. Fear has been studied at the hormonal, network, and cellular levels in the context of fear learning, extinction, and innate responses. Herein, we aim to link the phenotypic expression of the fear of novelty with its underlying neurological mechanisms. Using the mammalian brain as a model system, we construct a neurobiologically based conceptual model to explain the factors influencing neophobic behaviour. We then review existing studies through the lens of our model and demonstrate its utility in exploring natural selection and phenotypic plasticity by integrating behavioural experiments and neurological insights. While behavioural ecology has traditionally focused on observable behaviour without considering the neural mechanisms behind it, we argue that incorporating neurological knowledge can greatly enhance ecological understanding. In the case of neophobia, such integration is not only possible but necessary, and thus the connection between behaviour and brain is both timely and essential.</p>","PeriodicalId":133,"journal":{"name":"Biological Reviews","volume":"101 4","pages":"1863-1876"},"PeriodicalIF":10.9,"publicationDate":"2026-07-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/brv.70151","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147281503","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Individualised niches: an integrative conceptual framework across behaviour, ecology, and evolution","authors":"Oliver Krüger,&nbsp;Jaime Anaya-Rojas,&nbsp;Mitja Back,&nbsp;Barbara Caspers,&nbsp;Nayden Chakarov,&nbsp;Melanie Dammhahn,&nbsp;Alkistis Elliott-Graves,&nbsp;Claudia Fricke,&nbsp;Jürgen Gadau,&nbsp;Joseph I. Hoffman,&nbsp;Marie I. Kaiser,&nbsp;Sylvia Kaiser,&nbsp;Peter Korsten,&nbsp;Ulrich Krohs,&nbsp;Joachim Kurtz,&nbsp;Roland Langrock,&nbsp;Caroline Müller,&nbsp;Robert Peuß,&nbsp;Klaus Reinhold,&nbsp;Helene Richter,&nbsp;Norbert Sachser,&nbsp;Holger Schielzeth,&nbsp;Tim Schmoll,&nbsp;Ralf Stanewsky,&nbsp;Tamas Szekely,&nbsp;Franz J. Weissing,&nbsp;Meike Wittmann,&nbsp;Shuqing Xu","doi":"10.1002/brv.70147","DOIUrl":"10.1002/brv.70147","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Individuals differ. While seemingly trivial, this insight has nevertheless led to paradigm shifts, as three key fields of organismal biology have seen marked changes in key concepts over the past few decades. In animal behaviour, it has become increasingly recognised that behavioural differences among individuals can be stable over time and across contexts, giving rise to the concept of animal personalities. In ecology, attention has similarly shifted towards variation in the ecological niches occupied by species, populations and individuals, giving rise to the concept of niche specialisation or individual niche variation. In evolutionary biology, where individual variation has always been central, there is a growing awareness of the complex and dynamic ways in which individuals interact with the environment to produce unique phenotypes. Additionally, recent theoretical and empirical research suggests that fitness landscapes are not only complex, with multiple fitness peaks, but might even be more accurately described as constantly shifting ‘fitness seascapes’, where the fitness peak that an individual can reach – whether local or global – depends on its genotype and its interaction with the environment. Moreover, the previous distinction between ecological and evolutionary timescales is being replaced by a more integrative view that recognises that evolution can occur on ecological timeframes. These shifting perspectives over the past two decades underscore the need for a more integrated conceptual framework that transcends disciplines. While in behaviour, ecology and evolution, the concept of individualisation has contributed to major scientific progress, sufficient cross-fertilisation is still lacking. Here, we propose a new conceptual unification: the individualised niche. By merging the niche concept with the fitness concept, new explanatory power for both ecological and evolutionary processes emerges.</p>","PeriodicalId":133,"journal":{"name":"Biological Reviews","volume":"101 4","pages":"1793-1804"},"PeriodicalIF":10.9,"publicationDate":"2026-07-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/brv.70147","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146218079","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"A roadmap to key traits of invasive Drosophilidae","authors":"Gwenaëlle Deconninck,&nbsp;Bréa Raynaud-Berton,&nbsp;Méghan Boulembert,&nbsp;Olivier Chabrerie,&nbsp;Aude Couty,&nbsp;Franck Dedeine,&nbsp;Patrice Eslin,&nbsp;Vincent Foray,&nbsp;Romain Georges,&nbsp;Patricia Gibert,&nbsp;Laurence Mouton,&nbsp;Sylvain Pincebourde,&nbsp;David Renault,&nbsp;Christelle Suppo,&nbsp;Hervé Colinet","doi":"10.1002/brv.70148","DOIUrl":"10.1002/brv.70148","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Biological invasions have intensified in recent decades, mostly driven by international trade and travel, raising significant concerns, particularly regarding insect pests. Once non-native species establish, they can disrupt natural ecosystem stability, undermine agroecosystem sustainability and cause substantial economic losses. The urgency to anticipate these socio-economic impacts has accelerated research into the traits and processes that predispose certain species to invasion success. Our review examines the factors contributing to invasion success, using the well-documented case of Drosophilidae as a model taxon given the extensive literature on this family. The invasion of <i>Drosophila suzukii</i> is the most well studied, yet it represents just one example among several Drosophilidae successful invasions, including those from the genera <i>Drosophila</i>, <i>Scaptomyza</i> and <i>Zaprionus</i>. Their traits and adaptive capacities have enabled them to overcome environmental barriers, facilitating their global spread and establishment. We first explore the selective forces acting on pioneer individuals and their ability to establish reproducing populations. We then analyse the roles of abiotic factors (through phenotypic plasticity, tolerance to thermal and water stress, synergies between multiple stressors) and biotic factors (through the exploitation of novel trophic niches, resistance to competition and predation, symbiont-mediated assistance) in shaping invasion success. A nuanced understanding of how these constraints interact is essential for predicting and managing the proliferation of invasive Drosophilidae and other non-native species. We propose that successful invasive species do not necessarily excel in one single trait but rather perform adequately across multiple traits and processes. In this review, we found support in the literature for 14 key traits and processes of Drosophilidae biology that facilitate a species' ability to become invasive and provide future perspectives to address critical knowledge gaps, paving the way towards a comprehensive understanding of invasion success.</p>","PeriodicalId":133,"journal":{"name":"Biological Reviews","volume":"101 4","pages":"1805-1829"},"PeriodicalIF":10.9,"publicationDate":"2026-07-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/brv.70148","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147300313","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Classifying avian drinking behaviour: ecological insights and implications in a changing world","authors":"Shannon R. Conradie,&nbsp;Marc T. Freeman","doi":"10.1002/brv.70150","DOIUrl":"10.1002/brv.70150","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Water is a fundamental currency of life, and its availability significantly influences animal behaviour, physiology and distributions. However, our knowledge around the dependence on water for drinking and the direct and indirect mechanisms driving related behaviours remains partial in the context of changing climates. Here, we review patterns and classifications of avian reliance on water consumption and the role of abiotic and biotic factors in drinking habits. We bring to light the void of information regarding drinking habits in relation to thermal physiology, and then review existing literature related to the behaviour of drinking. We attempt to highlight misconceptions related to the typical classification of drinkers <i>versus</i> non-drinkers and direct future research efforts to improve our understanding of the dynamic relationship between water availability, acquisition, and maintenance under climate change. We conclude that despite the common dichotomous use of drinking <i>versus</i> non-drinking classifications in climate vulnerability assessments, this trait is highly flexible and occurs along a continuum from specialist non-drinking species to highly dependent drinking species driven by abiotic and biotic pressures. While some recent assessments continue to apply binary traits, our gradient-based approach advances ecological relevance by accounting for context-dependent flexibility. Consequently, previous approaches assessing drinking <i>versus</i> non-drinking species may not be as ecologically relevant as previously thought. Improving our understanding of the spatial and temporal trends in how species acquire or use water for drinking, along with sound empirical data, will continue to shape our theoretical understanding of this trait. We emphasise that understanding drinking as a trait is critically important for comprehending species vulnerabilities to anticipated future climates, especially given predicted changes and increased variability in water availability.</p>","PeriodicalId":133,"journal":{"name":"Biological Reviews","volume":"101 4","pages":"1851-1862"},"PeriodicalIF":10.9,"publicationDate":"2026-07-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/brv.70150","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147269240","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The power of many: when genetics met yeasts and high-throughput","authors":"Víctor A. Tallada,&nbsp;Víctor Carranco","doi":"10.1002/brv.70141","DOIUrl":"10.1002/brv.70141","url":null,"abstract":"<p>In recent years, complex technological capabilities have evolved, driven by the need to solve complex and integrative biological questions through global analyses. New equipment allows the scaling up and automation of processes which previously were carried out on a very limited scale. Concomitant with the availability of sophisticated technology developed to increase experimental processes in parallel, it is essential to have a versatile biological model that allows us to generate and handle large collections of genetic variants with the greatest possible capacity. This is a critical aspect in order to approach saturation levels in each search, to minimise false-positive and false-negative rates. In this sense, yeasts represent a prototypical eukaryotic model with a remarkable genome editing potential: it is possible to generate and phenotype several thousand genetically diverse strains on a high-throughput scale. Here we review, with a focus on the most recent years, the combination of the power of yeasts with the technical advances in multi-level processing capability. This has resulted in unprecedented global mappings of a multitude of biological processes with important implications that reshape our knowledge of fundamental biology, evolution and biotechnological/biomedical applications.</p>","PeriodicalId":133,"journal":{"name":"Biological Reviews","volume":"101 4","pages":"1662-1682"},"PeriodicalIF":10.9,"publicationDate":"2026-07-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/brv.70141","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146091638","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Hibernation-inspired musculoskeletal resilience: comparative mechanisms of adaptation to disuse and unloading","authors":"Yuwen Liu,&nbsp;Genyang Zhang,&nbsp;Kai Dang,&nbsp;Xiaoni Deng,&nbsp;Xin Xu,&nbsp;Qianwen Luo,&nbsp;Jialin Duan,&nbsp;Zhihao Chen,&nbsp;Airong Qian","doi":"10.1002/brv.70149","DOIUrl":"10.1002/brv.70149","url":null,"abstract":"<div>\u0000 \u0000 <p>Prolonged mechanical unloading leads to significant musculoskeletal degradation, posing serious health risks for bedridden patients and astronauts. By contrast, hibernating animals such as <i>Spermophilus dauricus</i> have evolved natural resistance to muscle atrophy and bone loss during extended periods of inactivity. These animals deploy coordinated protective mechanisms, including calpain inhibition, Wingless-related integration site (Wnt)/β-catenin signalling modulation, mitochondrial dynamics regulation, and enhanced antioxidant defences, to maintain musculoskeletal homeostasis. In this study, we systematically compare the molecular adaptations to disuse in both hibernation and unloading models. Our findings reveal both overlapping and distinct regulatory strategies that govern skeletal muscle and bone preservation under mechanical unloading. These insights offer a unique perspective for developing mechanism-based countermeasures against spaceflight-induced musculoskeletal deterioration, and may further inform strategies to combat age-related or disease-associated muscle and bone loss in terrestrial settings. This work underscores the translational potential of hibernation biology for advancing space medicine and human health.</p>\u0000 </div>","PeriodicalId":133,"journal":{"name":"Biological Reviews","volume":"101 4","pages":"1830-1850"},"PeriodicalIF":10.9,"publicationDate":"2026-07-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147347076","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Identifying practical pathways from animal culture theory to conservation practice","authors":"Erin G. Wessling,&nbsp;Liran Samuni,&nbsp;Kathelijne Koops,&nbsp;Tatyana Humle,&nbsp;Kimberley J. Hockings,&nbsp;Serge K. Soiret,&nbsp;Katy Scholfield,&nbsp;Lilian Pintea,&nbsp;Lydia V. Luncz,&nbsp;Annette Lanjouw,&nbsp;Serge A. Kamgang,&nbsp;Ammie K. Kalan,&nbsp;Rachel A. Ikemeh,&nbsp;Catherine Hobaiter,&nbsp;Marc Fourrier,&nbsp;Elodie Freymann,&nbsp;Mimi Arandjelovic,&nbsp;Katarina Almeida-Warren,&nbsp;Ekogwe Abwe,&nbsp;Crickette Sanz","doi":"10.1002/brv.70162","DOIUrl":"10.1002/brv.70162","url":null,"abstract":"<div>\u0000 \u0000 <p>Wildlife conservation has traditionally focused on the maintenance of population size, preserving genetic diversity and protecting habitats, with success typically measured through stable or increasing population estimates, slower population declines, and reduced threats. However, preserving animal cultures and behavioural diversity is gaining recognition as important for conservation. This shift reflects growing awareness that cultural behaviours can contribute to the resilience and long-term survivability of species, with some socially learned behaviours promoting a species' adaptive potential. Despite increasing public support and adoption of policies within this domain, questions persist about how cultural behaviours can be applied to conservation. Drawing on our collective expertise, we outline practical pathways to integrate animal culture into conservation decision-making through a cross-species framework. First, we describe how animal culture and behavioural diversity can be deployed in practice as conservation goals, conservation targets, and conservation tools. As <i>conservation goals</i>, they provide overall direction for conservation efforts, while as <i>conservation targets</i>, they serve as the specific units of focus to meet a conservation goal. These targets may be specific cultural behaviours or variants, the socio-ecological conditions that support them, cultural diversity, or the processes that sustain cultural diversity within and across populations. As <i>conservation tools</i>, they can be invoked to conserve targets or more generally to meet a broader goal. For example, incorporating cultural behaviour as a conservation-relevant characteristic when defining management units (<i>tool</i>) can be used to protect specific song dialects or foraging traditions in cetaceans (<i>target</i>), while simultaneously improving conservation outcomes by explicitly including culture in decision-making (<i>goal</i>). Consequently, we show how culture-based conservation goals, targets and tools are interconnected within conservation planning and decision making, and are actionable across taxa. By providing this toolkit we emphasise that there is no one-size-fits-all approach to applying animal cultures to conservation and encourage practitioners to consider how our multidimensional framework can be tailored to their current and planned conservation efforts.</p>\u0000 </div>","PeriodicalId":133,"journal":{"name":"Biological Reviews","volume":"101 4","pages":"1987-2006"},"PeriodicalIF":10.9,"publicationDate":"2026-07-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147580160","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}