Animal Conservation最新文献

{"title":"No quiet after the storm: Emergency forestry operations put Alpine forest biodiversity at risk 5 years after major windstorm","authors":"C. Bettega, L. Marchesi, P. Pedrini, P. Partel, M. Brambilla","doi":"10.1111/acv.13008","DOIUrl":"10.1111/acv.13008","url":null,"abstract":"<p>In forest ecosystems, birds influence forest structure and functioning through seed dispersal, pollination, predation and/or ecosystem engineering (Fraixedas <i>et al</i>., <span>2020</span>). Among forest birds, woodpeckers are key species of forest ecosystems: the cavities they build for nesting are used by many other species including birds, mammals and many insects (Martin, <span>2015</span>; Edworthy <i>et al</i>., <span>2018</span>). Woodpeckers are ecosystem engineers that modify the forest environment, supporting richer and complex biological communities, limiting demographic explosions of insects and enhancing sap availability for other organisms (Martin, <span>2015</span>). Thus, they foster biodiversity, especially in cold environments like the alpine forests where conifers, which normally lack natural cavities originating from decay, are dominant.</p><p>Among European woodpecker species, the black woodpecker, <i>Dryocopus martius</i>, is particularly relevant for forest biodiversity, since it provides large cavities (Gorman, <span>2011</span>). These holes are essential for large and mid-size secondary cavity nesters, for example, the boreal owl <i>Aegolius funereus</i>, a species that occurs as a relic of a colder past in the Alps, where its distribution range is shrinking towards higher elevation (Brambilla <i>et al</i>., <span>2020</span>). Recent trends have led to an improvement in the European forests' management techniques: some key forest elements, such as dead wood and tree-related microhabitats (Martin <i>et al</i>., <span>2022</span>), are now preserved in different areas (including in the Trento province where our study area is located), favouring forest biodiversity.</p><p>Large-scale natural disturbances, such as fires, windstorms and insect outbreaks, represent some of the main factors influencing the composition and structure of temperate forests (Fischer, Marshall, & Camp, <span>2013</span>; Senf & Seidl, <span>2021</span>). In October 2018, large portions of the forests covering North-Eastern Italy were severely damaged by the windstorm Vaia. Immediately after the storm, forest owners, in agreement with the local forestry authorities, removed an enormous amount of wood. In the subsequent years, there occurred the rapid diffusion of the European spruce bark beetle <i>Ips typographus</i>: the amount of windthrown stands on the ground triggered an epidemic cycle of the parasite, also favoured by mild winters and extremely warm and dry summers and autumns (Marini <i>et al</i>., <span>2012</span>). At the time of writing (September 2024), the bark beetle has damaged more than 2 million m<sup>3</sup> of wood in the Trento province (which is among the areas most severely hit by the Vaia storm), resulting in at least half the amount of damage caused by Vaia (Servizio Foreste Provincia Autonoma Trento, <span>2023</span>). To reduce the impact of the bark beetle outbreak, dried-out forest patches have been generally","PeriodicalId":50786,"journal":{"name":"Animal Conservation","volume":"28 3","pages":"329-331"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2024-12-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/acv.13008","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144519772","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"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":"Prioritizing future evidence needs for marine and freshwater mammal conservation action","authors":"E. Hordern,&nbsp;T.B. White,&nbsp;A. Berthinussen,&nbsp;R.K. Smith,&nbsp;W.J. Sutherland,&nbsp;A.P. Christie","doi":"10.1111/acv.13003","DOIUrl":"10.1111/acv.13003","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Marine and freshwater mammals are increasingly threatened due to human activity. To improve conservation practice, decisions should be informed by the available evidence on the effectiveness of conservation actions. Using a systematically collated database of studies that test the effectiveness of actions to conserve marine and freshwater mammals, we investigated the gaps and biases in the available scientific evidence base. While there is a growing evidence base covering actions to address key threats (e.g. fisheries and bycatch) to marine and freshwater mammal populations, we identified large geographic and taxonomic biases. There was no relationship between the number of studies and marine mammal species per ecoregion and we found biases towards coastal areas of the Global North, with many regions and species having little or no evidence available. The number of studies per species did not correlate with (1) the threat level, (2) evolutionary distinctiveness or (3) the public ‘popularity’ of the study species. We also found a mismatch between actions tested and the actions suggested as needed in the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List. Several of these gaps and biases likely reflect the feasibility of researching marine mammal populations; many species can be difficult to access, with limited baseline information on populations and threats, and testing actions can require costly long-term monitoring. Prioritizing the most cost-effective conservation strategies for marine and freshwater mammal species will require a comprehensive evidence base on the effects of actions. Continuing to build the necessary baseline data, and focusing future research and funding towards the priority gaps identified in this study will be important to deliver this target.</p>","PeriodicalId":50786,"journal":{"name":"Animal Conservation","volume":"28 4","pages":"542-552"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2024-11-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://zslpublications.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/acv.13003","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144920609","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"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":"Climate change and cetacean habitat suitability in the Mediterranean Sea: a challenge for Marine Strategy Framework Directive D1C4, D1C5 criteria","authors":"M. D'Amen,&nbsp;C. M. Fortuna,&nbsp;D. Holcer,&nbsp;S. Panigada,&nbsp;N. Bonora,&nbsp;G. Lauriano","doi":"10.1111/acv.13002","DOIUrl":"10.1111/acv.13002","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Climate change is known to have a range of impacts on the marine environment, including the continuous variation of the distribution of species, and can cause significant challenges in planning conservation measures. This study focuses on the current and future habitat suitability of the striped dolphin (<i>Stenella coeruleoalba</i>), the common bottlenose dolphin (<i>Tursiops truncatus</i>) and the fin whale (<i>Balaenoptera physalus)</i> in the Mediterranean Sea. We integrated data collected in the Mediterranean Sea between 2009 and 2021 from official National and International research programs with public datasets and considered Earth Observation variables from the Copernicus Programme. We applied an ensemble of Species Distribution Models to predict their current and future potential distribution at the Mediterranean subregional scale under two climate change scenarios in the 2045–2055 period. Results suggest a reduction in suitable habitat for the three species. The fin whale and the bottlenose dolphin would be forced outside large portions of their current range and would have to deal with new conditions outside their ‘range of tolerance’. For the striped dolphin, the loss of a portion of suitable habitat would be compensated by the potential colonization of new suitable areas. This work draws attention to the dynamism of species distribution under shifting climatic conditions, a usually underestimated aspect, and highlights the importance of potential future patterns of species distribution in addressing the MSFD D1C4 and D1C5 criteria. This will support decision-makers in planning long-term sustainable management of European Seas.</p>","PeriodicalId":50786,"journal":{"name":"Animal Conservation","volume":"28 4","pages":"515-528"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2024-11-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144920602","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"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":"Quantifying the impacts of stoat and cat incursions on reintroduced bird populations in a predator-fenced wildlife sanctuary","authors":"K.A. Parker,&nbsp;T.G. Lovegrove,&nbsp;M. Maitland,&nbsp;E. Parlato,&nbsp;Z. Stone,&nbsp;D.P. Armstrong","doi":"10.1111/acv.13000","DOIUrl":"10.1111/acv.13000","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Control of introduced predators is essential for conserving many threatened species, but species range in vulnerability. Therefore, efficient conservation management requires estimating the vulnerabilities of different threatened species to introduced predators. Here, we quantify population responses of reintroduced toutouwai (<i>Petroica longipes</i>), popokatea (<i>Mohoua albicilla</i>) and tīeke (<i>Philesturnus rufusater</i>) to incursions of stoats (<i>Mustela erminea</i>) and cats (<i>Felis catus</i>) to a 588-ha predator-fenced sanctuary in Aotearoa New Zealand. There were fewer than 0.5 detections per year for both predator species from 2004 to 2016, but stoat detections increased &gt;10-fold from 2017 to 2019 and cats &gt;30-fold from 2020 to 2021. We estimated the growth and persistence of each bird population pre- and post-2017. This involved fitting integrated population models to survival, reproduction and count data for toutouwai and tīeke, and fitting a variation of the Moran–Ricker model to 5-min point counts for popokatea. We used these models to derive <i>λ</i>_max, the finite rate of increase at zero density, which must be &gt;1 for a population to persist. Popokatea showed no sign of impacts, with <i>λ</i>_max estimated to be 1.68 (95% CRI 1.49–1.97) up to 2017 and 1.87 (1.42–2.62) after 2017. Toutouwai had tentative decreases in survival and reproduction, dropping the estimated <i>λ</i>_max from 1.28 (1.10–1.51) to 1.06 (0.83–1.41). Tīeke survival dropped dramatically from 2017 to 2019, but returned to pre-2017 levels when stoats were reduced, but recruitment was reduced and remained low, presumably due to cats. <i>λ</i>_max was estimated to be 1.74 (1.04–2.70) on pre-2017 rates; 1.14 (0.80–1.71) if only recruitment were predator-affected; and 0.79 (0.36–1.36) if both adult survival and recruitment were predator-affected. Our results therefore indicated that this level of stoat and cat incursion was inconsequential for popokatea, tentatively reduced toutouwai persistence from safe to marginal, and would have driven tīeke to extinction.</p>","PeriodicalId":50786,"journal":{"name":"Animal Conservation","volume":"28 1","pages":"135-146"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2024-11-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143521858","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"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":"Wildlife mammal communities in post-war Angola are depleted and simplified: Implications for biodiversity conservation","authors":"F. Rocha,&nbsp;M. Chicomo,&nbsp;E. Lutondo,&nbsp;P. Monterroso","doi":"10.1111/acv.13004","DOIUrl":"10.1111/acv.13004","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Armed conflicts are recognized to significantly impact wildlife, as they are particularly prevalent in biodiversity hotspot areas. Understanding these impacts on biodiversity is important for comprehending the indirect consequences for ecosystem processes and promoting their rehabilitation. Although the impact of warfare on protected areas (PAs) has been a target of research, its understanding remains limited. Additionally, the influence of armed conflicts on biodiversity in non-protected lands has been largely overlooked and underexplored. We aim to assess the impact of almost 40 years of armed conflicts on intermediate- and large-sized mammals in two communities in southern Angola: a National Park with limited management capacity—Bicuar National Park (BNP)—and a recently established private ecotourism reserve, without legal protection—Cuatir Conservation Area (CCA). Specifically, we compared contemporary species richness, occupancy probabilities and evenness-weighted diversity between the two areas, and contextualize it relative to historical records. Our results reveal a significant loss of species compared to known mammal species richness prior to the civil unrest, with some remaining species persisting at very low occupancy levels. Furthermore, our findings suggest equivalent contemporary biodiversity levels in both study areas, albeit with distinct community compositions and structures. Although both areas retained a relatively intact small- and intermediate-sized mammal community, the PA better conserved the larger species community. Furthermore, occupancy probabilities of endangered and threatened species were higher in the PA than in the non-PA. Our results underscore the critical role of PAs in conserving threatened species, even amidst limited law enforcement capacity and rehabilitation measures. Additionally, we highlight the significance of the non-PA in conserving wildlife species and ecological processes on a larger scale. Our results support the idea that well-preserved non-PAs often harbor crucial wildlife nuclei and facilitate connectivity between populations, thereby aiding natural recolonizations. As such, these areas should be the focus of policies encouraging restoration and facilitating functional connections with protected areas.</p>","PeriodicalId":50786,"journal":{"name":"Animal Conservation","volume":"28 4","pages":"553-566"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2024-11-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144920596","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"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":"Opposite effects of climate and land-use/cover change on Mediterranean herpetofauna: Insights from the southern Apennines","authors":"D. Biancolini,&nbsp;L. De Riso,&nbsp;A. Romano","doi":"10.1111/acv.12999","DOIUrl":"10.1111/acv.12999","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Climate change and natural land conversion are causing dramatic shifts in species distribution. Amphibians and reptiles, ectothermic animals with limited dispersal ability, and Mediterranean mountain ranges, which are home to numerous locally adapted taxa, are especially vulnerable to these threats. This is the case with Cilento, a highly biodiverse yet under-investigated area in the southern Apennine Mountains that is protected by a National Park and 30 Natura 2000 sites. We used bias-corrected species distribution models and area of habitat (AOH) maps to assess the potential combined impact of climate and land-use change on 11 amphibians and 16 reptiles in the Park and overlapping Natura 2000 sites. The former estimates species climatic suitability (CS) by correlating species presence to climatic characteristics, whereas the latter classifies the land-use types based on species–habitat relationships. We estimated CS and AOH for current conditions and two climate and land-use/cover change scenarios: one of sustainability (SSP1-2.6) and one of fossil-fueled development (SSP5-8.5). Under both scenarios, most species showed significant CS loss, with the greatest declines estimated for amphibians and under SSP5-8.5. Highland species appear to be the most vulnerable, whereas lowland species may gain CS. Given the widespread renaturalization of agricultural land under both scenarios, most species did not show declines in AOH due to land-use change. However, all species were projected to face significant shifts in CS under both scenarios, presenting a crucial challenge to their survival. These findings offer valuable insights for climate mitigation initiatives aimed at securing the long-term protection of herpetofauna within Cilento's protected areas.</p>","PeriodicalId":50786,"journal":{"name":"Animal Conservation","volume":"28 4","pages":"501-514"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2024-11-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://zslpublications.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/acv.12999","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144920595","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"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":"Forest management affects the functional traits of birds and mammals differently","authors":"G.F. Dri,&nbsp;M.L. Hunter,&nbsp;B.W. Rolek,&nbsp;B.E. Evans,&nbsp;A. Mortelliti","doi":"10.1111/acv.13001","DOIUrl":"10.1111/acv.13001","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Forest management is an important component of global change as more than half of the world's forests are managed for human use. Although the effect of forest management on taxonomic diversity is well-studied, we do not fully understand its impact on functional diversity. Understanding this is important to better predict how ecosystem processes will respond to global change scenarios and to implement efficient conservation actions. We conducted two large-scale (~81 800 km²) research projects over 4 years in temperate forests of the northeastern USA to investigate how the functional structure of bird and mammal communities are affected by forest disturbance. We surveyed 85 bird species distributed in 115 sites using point counts, and 14 mammal species across 197 sites using camera traps. For each species, we selected functional traits that summarize key features of their biology, and for each site, we collected data on the level of forest disturbance based on forest loss events. We found that functional richness increased with forest disturbance for mammals but not for birds. Our results also showed that niche breadth (diet), morphological (body mass and wing length), and physiological (litter size) factors were the main determinants of the functional structure of both groups. These findings emphasize the complexity of making predictions about responses to forest management given the heavy dependence on the context and taxa studied. Overall we observed a limited response of functional diversity to forest management, which might indicate that the environmental changes generated by forest management in this region are less extreme than deforestation or conversion of natural forest to plantations of exotic species. Nonetheless, our results underscore the importance of investigating the effects of forestry on individual traits to develop strategies for managing for ecosystem functions.</p>","PeriodicalId":50786,"journal":{"name":"Animal Conservation","volume":"28 4","pages":"529-541"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2024-11-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144920585","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"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":"Past and recent drivers of extinction risk in endemic New Zealand birds","authors":"J. C. Garcia-R,&nbsp;M. Cimatti,&nbsp;M. Di Marco","doi":"10.1111/acv.12996","DOIUrl":"10.1111/acv.12996","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Land-cover change is a major driver of species extinction risk and the overarching loss of biodiversity. However, the impact of such change is nuanced, varying among species due to the mediation of life-history traits and the timing of land transformation. While diverse studies have pinpointed ecological and life-history attributes linked to the decline of bird species, the combined effects of past and recent land-cover change often present a complex picture. In this study, we undertook a modelling approach to assess extinction risk in New Zealand's endemic birds based on life-history traits and past (1996–2008) and recent (2008–2018) land-cover change. Our results suggested specific variables driving extinction risk in endemic New Zealand birds. Notably, incubation length emerged as the most influential factor, trailed by past land-cover change, body size and clutch size. This indicates that past land-cover change in combination with large body sizes and slow life histories, characterized by low fecundity and extended incubation periods, collectively elevates the extinction risk of endemic birds in New Zealand. These results shed light on the conservation priorities for species with specific biological traits potentially exposed to the negative effects of land-cover change.</p>","PeriodicalId":50786,"journal":{"name":"Animal Conservation","volume":"28 3","pages":"436-444"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2024-11-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144519892","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"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":"Changes in waterbird occurrence and abundance at their northern range boundaries in response to climate warming: importance of site area and protection status","authors":"E. Gaget,&nbsp;O. Ovaskainen,&nbsp;U. Bradter,&nbsp;F. Haas,&nbsp;L. Jonas,&nbsp;A. Johnston,&nbsp;T. Langendoen,&nbsp;A. S. Lehikoinen,&nbsp;T. Pärt,&nbsp;D. Pavón-Jordán,&nbsp;B. K. Sandercock,&nbsp;A. Soultan,&nbsp;J. E. Brommer","doi":"10.1111/acv.12998","DOIUrl":"10.1111/acv.12998","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Climate warming is driving changes in species distribution, but habitat characteristics can interact with warming temperatures to affect populations in unexpected ways. We investigated wintering waterbird responses to climate warming depending on habitat characteristics, with a focus on the northern boundary of their non-breeding distributions where winter climatic conditions are more extreme. At these Nordic latitudes, climate warming is expected to drive positive changes in species occurrence and abundance, with likely differences in species-specific responses. We analyzed the occurrence and abundance of 18 species of waterbirds monitored over 2,982 surveys at 245 inland wetlands over a 25-year period in Sweden. We used hierarchical modeling of species communities (HMSC) which enabled us to relate species-specific changes to both functional traits and phylogenetic relatedness. We investigated occurrence and abundance changes in response to average temperature, temperature anomalies, site area, site protection status (Natura 2000), and land use in agricultural and urban surfaces. Unsurprisingly, both average temperatures and temperature anomalies were the most important variables influencing positively waterbird occurrence and abundance. For 60% of the species, the effect of temperature anomalies was even stronger in large or protected wetlands. Geese and mallard occurred more often at sites surrounded by agricultural and urban surfaces, respectively, but their occurrence in these habitats was not affected by interactive effects with climate warming. Species abundance was greater inside protected areas only for 11% of the species, but occurrence probability was higher inside protected areas for 44% of the species. Overall, we observed that species thermal affinity was a strong predictor for positive species response to temperature anomalies, and that species sharing similar phylogenetic history had similar relationships with environmental variables. Protection of large wetlands and restoration of the surrounding habitats are two targets for climate change adaptation strategies to facilitate future responses of waterbirds to climate warming.</p>","PeriodicalId":50786,"journal":{"name":"Animal Conservation","volume":"28 4","pages":"490-500"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2024-11-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://zslpublications.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/acv.12998","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144920561","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"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":"Trending extinctions: online interest in recently extinct animals","authors":"S. Canavan,&nbsp;D.M. Doyle,&nbsp;A. Kane,&nbsp;G. Nolan,&nbsp;K. Healy","doi":"10.1111/acv.12997","DOIUrl":"10.1111/acv.12997","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Half of all species are predicted to face extinction by the end of the century. Despite this, awareness of certain species' extinctions remains surprisingly muted, highlighting the need to improve and quantify public awareness. We explore the connection between biodiversity loss and public awareness by quantifying the changes in online interest on Twitter (now known as X) and Wikipedia both before and after the extinctions of eight species and following their reclassification in the IUCN Red List. Our findings reveal that extinction announcements generally spike online interest for most species, albeit briefly on Twitter (i.e. tweets and retweets about species), while Wikipedia (i.e. article pageviews of species) exhibits a more prolonged interest. IUCN reports were generally not associated with increased interest. Coordinated media coverage, especially when aligned with broader environmental narratives and key events, enhanced the impact of extinction announcements. On Twitter, spatially we observed a shift from local to global interest of users following extinction. We also found a small subset of influential users on Twitter, including content creators and media organisations, who disproportionately shaped conservation discussions. Environmentally oriented individuals and organisations also play a significant role, collectively comprising a third of the top retweeted users. Overall, these results highlight the need for conservation bodies, such as the IUCN, to engage more directly both with media organisations and content creators in order to drive public interest for conservation efforts, especially for less charismatic species. The tragedy of species extinction necessitates such efforts to ensure sustained and meaningful public awareness. Our findings also show that while social media outlets can generate global interest quickly, which may drive public discussions regarding ongoing extinctions and potential future de-extinctions, this is likely to be short-lived, underscoring the importance of alternative platforms such as Wikipedia, which can foster longer-term engagement.</p>","PeriodicalId":50786,"journal":{"name":"Animal Conservation","volume":"28 3","pages":"445-464"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2024-11-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/acv.12997","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144519884","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"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}