{"title":"Questioning the sixth mass extinction.","authors":"John J Wiens, Kristen E Saban","doi":"10.1016/j.tree.2025.01.002","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.tree.2025.01.002","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The idea that Earth is currently experiencing a sixth mass extinction is widespread. We critically evaluate this claim. Very few studies have tested this idea. Some studies showed that recent extinction rates are faster than fossil background rates, but extinction rates can exceed background rates outside mass extinctions. Other studies extrapolated from recent extinctions to project 75% global species loss. But these recent extinctions were mostly of island species. No cause was specified for these future extinctions, and >50% of assessed species are considered non-threatened. We find numerous other issues. Proponents of the sixth mass extinction have made invaluable contributions by highlighting recent extinctions, but these extinctions may not be equivalent to past mass extinctions or relevant to current threats.</p>","PeriodicalId":23274,"journal":{"name":"Trends in ecology & evolution","volume":" ","pages":"375-384"},"PeriodicalIF":16.7,"publicationDate":"2025-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143426330","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}
Joshua S Lynn, Brenden Beckett, Christopher R Taylor
{"title":"Plant community signatures of nutrient dilution.","authors":"Joshua S Lynn, Brenden Beckett, Christopher R Taylor","doi":"10.1016/j.tree.2025.01.007","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.tree.2025.01.007","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":23274,"journal":{"name":"Trends in ecology & evolution","volume":" ","pages":"327-328"},"PeriodicalIF":16.7,"publicationDate":"2025-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143473100","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":"Our not-so-natural connection to nature.","authors":"Yannick Joye, Andreas De Block","doi":"10.1016/j.tree.2025.01.003","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.tree.2025.01.003","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The biophilia hypothesis has been influential in explaining humans' attraction to nature. Here, we critically evaluate recent research on biophilia, focusing on automatic and instinct-like responses to nature. We explore how biophilia-based interventions may contribute to inequality and propose cultural evolution as a parsimonious alternative to biophilia.</p>","PeriodicalId":23274,"journal":{"name":"Trends in ecology & evolution","volume":" ","pages":"320-322"},"PeriodicalIF":16.7,"publicationDate":"2025-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143374681","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}
Sylvaine Giakoumi, Anthony J Richardson, Aggeliki Doxa, Stefano Moro, Marco Andrello, Jeffrey O Hanson, Virgilio Hermoso, Tessa Mazor, Jennifer McGowan, Heini Kujala, Elizabeth Law, Jorge G Álvarez-Romero, Rafael A Magris, Elena Gissi, Nur Arafeh-Dalmau, Anna Metaxas, Elina A Virtanen, Natalie C Ban, Robert M Runya, Daniel C Dunn, Simonetta Fraschetti, Ibon Galparsoro, Robert J Smith, Francois Bastardie, Vanessa Stelzenmüller, Hugh P Possingham, Stelios Katsanevakis
{"title":"Advances in systematic conservation planning to meet global biodiversity goals.","authors":"Sylvaine Giakoumi, Anthony J Richardson, Aggeliki Doxa, Stefano Moro, Marco Andrello, Jeffrey O Hanson, Virgilio Hermoso, Tessa Mazor, Jennifer McGowan, Heini Kujala, Elizabeth Law, Jorge G Álvarez-Romero, Rafael A Magris, Elena Gissi, Nur Arafeh-Dalmau, Anna Metaxas, Elina A Virtanen, Natalie C Ban, Robert M Runya, Daniel C Dunn, Simonetta Fraschetti, Ibon Galparsoro, Robert J Smith, Francois Bastardie, Vanessa Stelzenmüller, Hugh P Possingham, Stelios Katsanevakis","doi":"10.1016/j.tree.2024.12.002","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.tree.2024.12.002","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Systematic conservation planning (SCP) involves the cost-effective placement and application of management actions to achieve biodiversity conservation objectives. Given the political momentum for greater global nature protection, restoration, and improved management of natural resources articulated in the targets of the Global Biodiversity Framework, assessing the state-of-the-art of SCP is timely. Recent advances in SCP include faster and more exact algorithms and software, inclusion of ecosystem services and multiple facets of biodiversity (e.g., genetic diversity, functional diversity), climate-smart approaches, prioritizing multiple actions, and increased SCP accessibility through online tools. To promote the adoption of SCP by decision-makers, we provide recommendations for bridging the gap between SCP science and practice, such as standardizing the communication of planning uncertainty and capacity-building training courses.</p>","PeriodicalId":23274,"journal":{"name":"Trends in ecology & evolution","volume":" ","pages":"395-410"},"PeriodicalIF":16.7,"publicationDate":"2025-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143068124","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}
Maren N Vitousek, Conor C Taff, Jessie L Williamson
{"title":"Resilience and robustness: from sub-organismal responses to communities.","authors":"Maren N Vitousek, Conor C Taff, Jessie L Williamson","doi":"10.1016/j.tree.2025.03.001","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tree.2025.03.001","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Coping with challenges is essential to life on earth. Determining the processes that generate resilience and robustness to disturbance across levels of biological organization is increasingly important as the pace of global change accelerates; however, to date, multiscale models have primarily focused on population to ecosystem scales. In this opinion article we combine conceptual models from different fields to develop a unified a framework of resilience and robustness that explicitly links sub-organismal responses with higher-level outcomes. This framework predicts that interactions among sub-organismal response components - including their temporal dynamics and the plasticity of homeostatic regulatory networks - are key drivers of current and future resilience.</p>","PeriodicalId":23274,"journal":{"name":"Trends in ecology & evolution","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":16.7,"publicationDate":"2025-03-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143731937","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}
Xiang Kong, Baile Xu, James A Orr, Peter Meidl, Matthias C Rillig, Gaowen Yang
{"title":"Ecosystems have multiple interacting processes that buffer against co-occurring stressors.","authors":"Xiang Kong, Baile Xu, James A Orr, Peter Meidl, Matthias C Rillig, Gaowen Yang","doi":"10.1016/j.tree.2025.03.002","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tree.2025.03.002","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>There are multiple processes that buffer the effects of anthropogenic stressors. Much is known about how single buffering processes (e.g., biodiversity, adaptation) mitigate the effects of stressors on ecosystem properties and functions, but how multiple buffering processes combine to mitigate the effects of multiple co-occurring stressors is poorly understood. We outline how single processes (e.g., cross-tolerance) can buffer the effects of multiple stressors, whereas multiple buffering processes can act jointly across ecological and temporal scales to reduce the effects of single or multiple stressors. Synergistic interactions between multiple buffering processes can further enhance ecosystem resistance to multiple stressors. A wider awareness of interacting buffering processes in ecosystems will enhance our understanding of ecosystem stability in the face of multiple stressors.</p>","PeriodicalId":23274,"journal":{"name":"Trends in ecology & evolution","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":16.7,"publicationDate":"2025-03-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143743487","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}
Katie I Murray, Kimberley J Hockings, Dave Hodgson
{"title":"The potential for AI to divide conservation: Response to 'The potential for AI to revolutionize conservation: a horizon scan'.","authors":"Katie I Murray, Kimberley J Hockings, Dave Hodgson","doi":"10.1016/j.tree.2025.03.003","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tree.2025.03.003","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":23274,"journal":{"name":"Trends in ecology & evolution","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":16.7,"publicationDate":"2025-03-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143711393","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}
Jakob Thyrring, Philippe Archambault, Michael Burrows, Katrin Iken, Fernando P Lima, Joana Micael, Markus Molis, Catia Monteiro, Sergej Olenin, Paul E Renaud, Ricardo A Scrosati, Rui Seabra, Alexey A Sukhotin, Jan-Marcin Węsławski, Nadescha Zwerschke, Mikael K Sejr
{"title":"A horizon scan for Arctic coastal biodiversity research: understanding changes requires international collaboration.","authors":"Jakob Thyrring, Philippe Archambault, Michael Burrows, Katrin Iken, Fernando P Lima, Joana Micael, Markus Molis, Catia Monteiro, Sergej Olenin, Paul E Renaud, Ricardo A Scrosati, Rui Seabra, Alexey A Sukhotin, Jan-Marcin Węsławski, Nadescha Zwerschke, Mikael K Sejr","doi":"10.1016/j.tree.2025.02.008","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tree.2025.02.008","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Arctic coastal biodiversity faces increasing threats from anthropogenic activities and climate change. However, the effects on biodiversity are still poorly understood, hindering actions aimed at mitigating the impacts at a pan-Arctic scale. We present the results of a horizon scan that provides a road map to address knowledge gaps on the influence of anthropogenic activities, from increased shipping and harvesting to consequences of climate change including increasing temperatures, cryosphere loss, and freshwater runoff. Predictions on ecological change, species range expansions, and anthropogenic impacts on Arctic coasts are hampered by the lack of biodiversity data and scarcity of biological long-term monitoring programs. Filling these knowledge gaps will require coordinated international efforts and standardized experiments across the diverse ecosystems characterizing the Arctic.</p>","PeriodicalId":23274,"journal":{"name":"Trends in ecology & evolution","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":16.7,"publicationDate":"2025-03-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143693393","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}
Kylie L Scales, Jessica A Bolin, Daniel C Dunn, Elliott L Hazen, Lee Hannah, David S Schoeman
{"title":"Climate mediates the predictability of threats to marine biodiversity.","authors":"Kylie L Scales, Jessica A Bolin, Daniel C Dunn, Elliott L Hazen, Lee Hannah, David S Schoeman","doi":"10.1016/j.tree.2025.02.010","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tree.2025.02.010","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Anthropogenic climate change is driving rapid changes in marine ecosystems across the global ocean. The spatiotemporal footprints of other anthropogenic threats, such as infrastructure development, shipping, and fisheries, will also inevitably shift under climate change, but we find that these shifts are not yet accounted for in most projections of climate futures in marine systems. We summarise what is known about threat-shifting in response to climate change, and identify sources of predictability that have implications for ecological forecasting. We recommend that, where possible, the dynamics of anthropogenic threats are accounted for in nowcasts, forecasts, and projections designed for spatial management and conservation planning, and highlight key themes for future research into threat dynamics in a changing ocean.</p>","PeriodicalId":23274,"journal":{"name":"Trends in ecology & evolution","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":16.7,"publicationDate":"2025-03-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143693395","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":"Plant invasion resistance due to 2D native diversity.","authors":"Qiaoqiao Huang, Mark van Kleunen, Yanjie Liu","doi":"10.1016/j.tree.2025.02.009","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tree.2025.02.009","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Biodiversity entails species diversity both within a trophic level (horizontal diversity) and across levels (vertical diversity). While invasion resistance studies usually focus on horizontal diversity, vertical diversity could provide additional biotic resistance to invasion. Quantifying the role of such 2D diversity will provide a more comprehensive understanding of the diversity-invasibility relationship.</p>","PeriodicalId":23274,"journal":{"name":"Trends in ecology & evolution","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":16.7,"publicationDate":"2025-03-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143658682","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}