Jesse F. Senko, John Wang, Kayla M. Burgher, Lekelia Danielle Jenkins, Christopher Lue Sang, Mark Bailly, Juan Pablo Cuevas Amadaor, Felipe Cuevas Amadaor, Stuart Bowden, Mike Osmond, Jennifer Blain
{"title":"Harnessing Solar Energy to Reduce Sea Turtle Bycatch","authors":"Jesse F. Senko, John Wang, Kayla M. Burgher, Lekelia Danielle Jenkins, Christopher Lue Sang, Mark Bailly, Juan Pablo Cuevas Amadaor, Felipe Cuevas Amadaor, Stuart Bowden, Mike Osmond, Jennifer Blain","doi":"10.1111/conl.13151","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/conl.13151","url":null,"abstract":"Over the past decade, illuminating gillnets with LED lights or chemical lightsticks has emerged as a promising solution to reduce sea turtle bycatch while maintaining target fish catch across multiple ocean basins. However, LED lights require replaceable batteries, and chemical lightsticks only last 24 h, leading to recurring operational costs for fishers and concerns over battery and lightstick disposal. To overcome these challenges, we developed a light that (1) harnesses solar energy to illuminate gillnets; (2) flashes at a duty cycle optimized for power consumption under different fishing durations; and (3) is designed to function as a buoy, providing easy integration of the technology into existing fishing gear. Controlled fishery experiments in Mexico's Gulf of California revealed that solar-powered illuminated nets significantly reduced predicted mean sea turtle bycatch rates by 63% while maintaining target fish catch. These results suggest that fisheries bycatch can be mitigated by harnessing energy from the sun, representing a novel and renewable bycatch reduction technology with potential for global applicability.","PeriodicalId":157,"journal":{"name":"Conservation Letters","volume":"27 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":8.5,"publicationDate":"2025-10-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145289317","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":"“Walk the Land, Before You Talk About the Land”: TEK‐Based Conservation Monitoring Invalidates Caribou Extirpation Status Assigned by British Columbia and Canada","authors":"Bruce R. Muir, Jeff Richert","doi":"10.1111/conl.13152","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/conl.13152","url":null,"abstract":"The loss of species represents critical ecological events with far‐reaching implications for conservation biology. Accurate determinations of population status are therefore essential. Erroneous declarations of extinction or extirpation can lead to legal and policy inertia, the premature termination of recovery efforts, and the ongoing degradation of critical habitat. These outcomes ultimately heighten the risk to any remaining individuals and undermine Indigenous peoples’ cultural ways of life within which species are embedded. This study challenges the status designation of a caribou population with empirical evidence derived from a traditional ecological knowledge‐based conservation monitoring program initiated by West Moberly First Nations in the western subarctic of Canada. Relational, field‐based methods confirmed the presence of caribou where the governments of British Columbia and Canada had declared the species extirpated. These results necessitate an urgent reassessment not only of the status of the specific caribou subpopulation but also of broader conservation strategies, land use policies, and environmental monitoring. More fundamentally, the study underscores the imperative to center Indigenous knowledges in conservation biology and to critically examine the epistemic foundations that underpin species status determinations and recovery planning.","PeriodicalId":157,"journal":{"name":"Conservation Letters","volume":"40 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":8.5,"publicationDate":"2025-10-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145277478","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":"Greenwashing Marine Conservation: The Use of Artificial Reefs for Fisheries and Coral Restoration Needs Oversight","authors":"Jacob E. Allgeier, Matthew Griffith","doi":"10.1111/conl.13141","DOIUrl":"10.1111/conl.13141","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Attention to the overwhelming degradation in the marine environment is causing a new crisis: funding often outpaces the science, leading to myriad, often hastily planned, projects that may be accelerating the detriment of the very ecosystems they are meant to restore. We offer an unbiased assessment of this problem with a particular focus on artificial reefs, one of the most abundant and fastest growing marine infrastructure types globally, which gets particular attention because of claims of their ability to save coral reefs and fisheries. We offer solutions to safeguard against the potential of ecological harm and the distortions of greenwashing.</p>","PeriodicalId":157,"journal":{"name":"Conservation Letters","volume":"18 5","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":7.7,"publicationDate":"2025-10-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://conbio.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/conl.13141","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145260962","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Longevity Collapse in Dolphins: A Growing Conservation Concern in the Bay of Biscay","authors":"Etienne Rouby, Floriane Plard, Vincent Ridoux, Audrey Mauchamp, Willy Dabin, Jérôme Spitz, Matthieu Authier","doi":"10.1111/conl.13142","DOIUrl":"10.1111/conl.13142","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Marine megafauna populations face global decline from human impacts, making early detection of demographic tipping points essential for effective conservation. Traditional viability analyses rely on Capture-Mark-Recapture data, logistically impractical for highly mobile pelagic cetaceans. Stranding data provide an alternative to conventional monitoring. This study presents the first evidence of declining viability in the most abundant cetacean of the Northeast Atlantic Ocean, the common dolphin (<i>Delphinus delphis</i>) in the Bay of Biscay. Using a novel cross-sectional framework with stratified random sampling, we analyzed age-at-death data from 759 specimens collected between 1997 and 2019. Female longevity declined dramatically from 24 to 17 years, corresponding to a 2.4% reduction in population growth rate. This demographic decline highlights the Bay of Biscay as a demographic sink despite stable abundance estimates. Our findings demonstrate that stranding data can provide acute demographic signals for wide-ranging cetacean species, offering critical early warning indicators for proactive conservation management.</p>","PeriodicalId":157,"journal":{"name":"Conservation Letters","volume":"18 5","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":7.7,"publicationDate":"2025-10-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://conbio.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/conl.13142","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145255160","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Carissa Klein, Kate Becker, David E. Carrasco Rivera, Madeline Davey, Rosa Mar Dominguez-Martinez, Hedley Grantham, Benjamin Lucas, Hugh Possingham, Leslie Roberson, Ama Wakwella, Amelia Wenger, James E. M. Watson
{"title":"Marine Conservation Leadership: Does Australia Walk the Talk?","authors":"Carissa Klein, Kate Becker, David E. Carrasco Rivera, Madeline Davey, Rosa Mar Dominguez-Martinez, Hedley Grantham, Benjamin Lucas, Hugh Possingham, Leslie Roberson, Ama Wakwella, Amelia Wenger, James E. M. Watson","doi":"10.1111/conl.13147","DOIUrl":"10.1111/conl.13147","url":null,"abstract":"<p>The conservation of Australia's extraordinary marine biodiversity has been prominently championed over the past three decades by successive Federal and State Governments, who have consistently portrayed the nation as a global leader in marine protection. Here, we question whether this reputation is justified. We highlight substantial—and in some cases catastrophic—declines in marine species and ecosystems, linked to failures in marine protected area placement and management, fisheries policy, climate change, and water quality regulation. We argue that Australia must strategically expand its network of marine protected areas, prioritizing regions critical for biodiversity and ensuring effective management. This must be complemented by robust policies that promote the sustainable production and consumption of seafood and address the urgent challenges posed by climate change and pollution. Only through such comprehensive and coordinated action can Australia genuinely claim a leadership role in global marine conservation.</p>","PeriodicalId":157,"journal":{"name":"Conservation Letters","volume":"18 5","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":7.7,"publicationDate":"2025-10-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://conbio.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/conl.13147","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145246639","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Milena Gross, Henrik von Wehrden, Tuyeni Heita Mwampamba, John Sanya, Jasmine Pearson, Jennifer Kasanda Sesabo, Maraja Riechers, Ugo Arbieu, Katrin Böhning-Gaese, Berta Martín-López
{"title":"Broadening the Justifications for Inclusive Conservation: Values Associated With Nature's Contributions to People","authors":"Milena Gross, Henrik von Wehrden, Tuyeni Heita Mwampamba, John Sanya, Jasmine Pearson, Jennifer Kasanda Sesabo, Maraja Riechers, Ugo Arbieu, Katrin Böhning-Gaese, Berta Martín-López","doi":"10.1111/conl.13129","DOIUrl":"10.1111/conl.13129","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Overlooking the diverse values associated with Nature's Contributions to People (NCP) undermines conservation efforts. To examine this underresearched association, we combined the NCP and plural valuation frameworks to investigate how values are associated with groups of people with shared NCP preferences, referred to as NCP preference clusters. We conducted 623 surveys with 362 farmers, 50 nature conservationists, 55 tour guides, and 156 tourists within the social–ecological system (SES) of Mount Kilimanjaro, Tanzania, comprising a national park as well as inhabited and cultivated areas. We identified five distinct clusters, each expressing varying degrees of intrinsic, instrumental, and relational values. While each framework overlooks key dimensions of people–nature relationships, combining both frameworks better captures the multidimensionality of such relationships and provides pivotal insights for inclusive conservation. To recognize the distinct associations between NCP preferences and diverse values, diversifying place-based conservation approaches in SESs with (a) protected area(s), without compromising biodiversity and ecosystem functioning, is pivotal.</p>","PeriodicalId":157,"journal":{"name":"Conservation Letters","volume":"18 5","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":7.7,"publicationDate":"2025-10-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://conbio.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/conl.13129","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145234938","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Jingjing Zhao, Anita Kar Yan Wan, Xiaoxi Zhang, Beilu Duan, Lishu Li, Tien Ming Lee
{"title":"Testing the Effect of Different Risk Messages on Intention to Consume Animal-Based Medicinal Wine","authors":"Jingjing Zhao, Anita Kar Yan Wan, Xiaoxi Zhang, Beilu Duan, Lishu Li, Tien Ming Lee","doi":"10.1111/conl.13135","DOIUrl":"10.1111/conl.13135","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Owing to the high demand for animal parts for traditional medicines in Asia, the unsustainable wildlife trade remains a major threat to regional conservation efforts. We presented a video-based randomized controlled trial intervention to over 1000 Chinese residents with medicinal needs in a Mekong region seaport. Our results showed that two intervention messages, compared to control, significantly reduced the intention of consumers to use animal-based medicinal wine. Although structural equation models showed that both interventions directly influenced the capability, opportunity, and motivation (COM) not to purchase animal-based medicinal wine, their indirect effects through the COM variables varied across the two treatments. Notably, the health-risk message indirectly affected consumption intention by mediating both health-related and legal-related capabilities not to purchase animal-based medicinal wine, whereas this was not observed for the legal-risk message. Overall, our experiment provided insights into the effective design of campaigns to reduce intention to consume animal-based medicinal wine.</p>","PeriodicalId":157,"journal":{"name":"Conservation Letters","volume":"18 5","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":7.7,"publicationDate":"2025-09-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://conbio.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/conl.13135","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145195224","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Carly N Cook, Chris Lemieux, Hedley S. Grantham, Madhu Rao, Peter J. Clyne, Vanessa Rathbone, Roshan Sharma
{"title":"What Will Count?—Evidence for the Global Recognition of Other Effective area–based Conservation Measures","authors":"Carly N Cook, Chris Lemieux, Hedley S. Grantham, Madhu Rao, Peter J. Clyne, Vanessa Rathbone, Roshan Sharma","doi":"10.1111/conl.13150","DOIUrl":"10.1111/conl.13150","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Other effective area–based conservation measures (OECMs) are anticipated to play an important role in progress towards global protection targets, with progress being judged on the basis of the areas reported to the World Database on Other Effective area-based Conservation Measures (WD-OECM). Given concerns that OECMs may be designated inappropriately, in this study we asked what evidence has been provided to show that sites have been assessed against the criteria to be OECMs. We found <5% of the 6,482 sites in the dataset provide supporting information of any kind, and 2.2% of sites have features that conflict with the definition of an OECM. Although our results cannot determine if sites genuinely meet the criteria to be recognized as OECMs, they reveal a significant issue with the ability to verify whether sites should be in the WD-OECM. To increase the credibility of OECMs, we recommend sites be classed as unconfirmed until they can demonstrate they meet the relevant criteria.</p>","PeriodicalId":157,"journal":{"name":"Conservation Letters","volume":"18 5","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":7.7,"publicationDate":"2025-09-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://conbio.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/conl.13150","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145195225","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Diogo Veríssimo, Carolina Hazin, Ricardo Rocha, Maria P. Dias
{"title":"Languages of Life: A Global Perspective on Linguistic Priorities for Biodiversity Conservation","authors":"Diogo Veríssimo, Carolina Hazin, Ricardo Rocha, Maria P. Dias","doi":"10.1111/conl.13139","DOIUrl":"10.1111/conl.13139","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Multilateral environmental agreements (MEAs) play a pivotal role in fostering coordinated actions among nations to mitigate biodiversity loss. However, language barriers hamper the participation of actors in policy negotiations and potentially also in the implementation of decisions made internationally. Using IUCN Red List species distribution data, we assessed the relative importance of languages for global biodiversity policy. We found that the most widely distributed species are associated with Spanish, English, Portuguese, French, and Malay, considering the official languages of countries. The pattern differs when examining most spoken languages, with English and French losing importance. Our findings suggest the languages adopted by major MEAs and other global policy fora do not properly cover those spoken where most biodiversity is distributed. We propose a four-tier priority system that can be used to select how MEAs and other fora prioritize key documents for translation into priority languages like Portuguese and Malay, which are currently largely ignored.</p>","PeriodicalId":157,"journal":{"name":"Conservation Letters","volume":"18 5","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":7.7,"publicationDate":"2025-09-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://conbio.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/conl.13139","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145188519","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Wenna Tu, Thomas W. Crowther, Yunyan Du, Lidong Mo, Yibiao Zou, Xianyu Yang, Katharina Runge, Jiawei Yi, Nan Wang, Jiale Qian, Andrew Z. F. Xing, Lalasia Bialic-Murphy
{"title":"Wilderness Quality, Habitat Connectivity, and the Effectiveness of Protected Areas Diminish as Human Activities Intensify","authors":"Wenna Tu, Thomas W. Crowther, Yunyan Du, Lidong Mo, Yibiao Zou, Xianyu Yang, Katharina Runge, Jiawei Yi, Nan Wang, Jiale Qian, Andrew Z. F. Xing, Lalasia Bialic-Murphy","doi":"10.1111/conl.13149","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/conl.13149","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Intact and connected wilderness areas are vital for biodiversity conservation. The Qinghai–Tibet Plateau (QTP) hosts some of the world's most unique ecosystems. Yet, increased economic development across the QTP raises concerns about the potential negative effects of increased human pressure on the stability of this unique biodiversity hotspot. In this study, we assessed the impacts of human activities on wilderness quality, habitat connectivity, and the effectiveness of protected areas across the QTP from 2000 to 2020. During this period, wilderness areas experienced a 41.08% reduction in large, intact patches, with a notable decline in quality, particularly in the eastern region of the QTP. Habitat connectivity decreased over time, and the cost of animal migration increased, with the most striking changes in areas with the highest initial wilderness quality. Economic growth and infrastructure development had strong negative impacts on the effectiveness of protected areas, with experimental protected areas declining faster than non-protected areas during periods of high infrastructure expansion. These emergent trend highlights the significant impact of increasing human pressure on animal migration and underscore the need for adaptive management and careful monitoring to ensure protected areas effectively prevent habitat fragmentation and support animal migration across global biodiversity hotspots.</p>","PeriodicalId":157,"journal":{"name":"Conservation Letters","volume":"18 5","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":7.7,"publicationDate":"2025-09-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://conbio.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/conl.13149","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145146622","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}