Biological Conservation最新文献

{"title":"Effective cooperation between ecologists and historians for conservation: Documenting a 16th century crayfish introduction","authors":"Miguel Clavero ,&nbsp;Alicia Sempere Marín","doi":"10.1016/j.biocon.2025.111405","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.biocon.2025.111405","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Humans have moved species across biogeographical barriers for millennia, but ancient introduction events often remain unknown due to the lack of primary information. Here, we show that the cooperation between ecologists and historians can undercover relevant past ecological processes, such as species introductions, with high temporal and spatial precision. We were able to locate and study over a dozen 16^th century documents hosted in historical archives and spanning 25 years (1563–1588) that dealt explicitly with crayfish introduction into Spain. Those documents allowed identifying the aims, negotiations, actions and people involved in both failed and successful introduction attempts in king Philip II's court. In the 1560s the Spanish court unsuccessfully tried to import crayfish from Flanders and France to be stocked in Philip II's garden ponds. The king's desires were not fulfilled until 1588, when several Italian crayfish (<em>Austropotamobius fulcisianus</em>) were shipped from Tuscany and successfully transported alive to Madrid. The narrative developed from historical documents fits parsimoniously known biogeographical patterns (i.e. explains widespread the presence of a NW Italian crayfish lineage in Spain) and have straightforward implications for present-day biodiversity management, as the Italian crayfish is currently a conservation priority in Spain. Our work highlights the potential of historical sources to describe long-term human-nature relationships, and calls for collaborations among historians, scholars from other disciplines in the humanities and natural sciences researchers for the development of robust multidisciplinary knowledge.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":55375,"journal":{"name":"Biological Conservation","volume":"311 ","pages":"Article 111405"},"PeriodicalIF":4.4,"publicationDate":"2025-08-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144909008","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":"Beyond climate: Anthropogenic pressures reshape vampire bat distributions across the neotropics","authors":"Diana M. Girón-Juárez ,&nbsp;Rusby G. Contreras-Díaz ,&nbsp;Rodrigo A. Medellín ,&nbsp;Octavio Rojas-Soto ,&nbsp;Sergio Díaz-Martínez ,&nbsp;Javier Nori ,&nbsp;Gerardo Martín ,&nbsp;Luis Osorio-Olvera","doi":"10.1016/j.biocon.2025.111443","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.biocon.2025.111443","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Vampire bats (Desmodontinae) are ecologically unique and epidemiologically significant neotropical mammals whose macroecological distribution patterns remain poorly understood. While abiotic factors (Grinnellian niche) constrain their fundamental distributions, anthropogenic pressures substantially reshape their realized ranges, with critical implications for human-wildlife conflicts and zoonotic disease transmission. Using a two-step ecological niche modeling approach, we assessed how bioclimatic factors and landscape anthropization jointly determine the distribution of three vampire bat species (<em>Desmodus rotundus</em>, <em>Diaemus youngii</em>, and <em>Diphylla ecaudata</em>). First, we modeled fundamental niches using bioclimatic variables; subsequently, we refined projections by incorporating human footprint and tree cover data. Our results demonstrate that while climate defines the biogeographic boundaries of these species, human activities reconfigure habitat suitability patterns. The incorporation of anthropogenic pressures and land-use data into ecological niche models reveals striking interspecific differences: while generalist species like <em>D. rotundus</em> benefit from anthropogenic expansion, more specialized taxa such as <em>D. youngii</em> and <em>D. ecaudata</em> show likely range contractions. These species-specific responses demonstrate that models based solely on climatic predictors may significantly overestimate both the potential distribution and ecological resilience of disturbance-sensitive species, potentially biasing conservation assessments. These findings carry critical implications for conservation biogeography. Our modeling approach identifies two key spatial categories: (1) persistent refugia (areas maintaining suitability under both climatic and anthropogenic pressures) and (2) climatically suitable regions currently compromised by human activity. This distinction provides actionable insights for conservation planning, informing strategies for habitat protection, restoration priorities, and human-wildlife conflict mitigation. Particularly for data-limited species like <em>D. youngii</em>, where range contraction may be substantially underestimated, the incorporation of anthropogenic variables significantly improves IUCN threat assessments and strengthens regional conservation strategies.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":55375,"journal":{"name":"Biological Conservation","volume":"311 ","pages":"Article 111443"},"PeriodicalIF":4.4,"publicationDate":"2025-08-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144909025","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":"Contrasting vital rate contributions across interconnected populations of a highly vagile avian scavenger: A multisite modelling approach","authors":"Diego J. Arévalo-Ayala ,&nbsp;Joan Real ,&nbsp;Antoni Margalida ,&nbsp;Jaume A. Badia-Boher ,&nbsp;Santi Mañosa ,&nbsp;Carles Durà ,&nbsp;Joan Aymerich ,&nbsp;Juan Jiménez ,&nbsp;José María Martínez ,&nbsp;Antonio Hernández-Matías","doi":"10.1016/j.biocon.2025.111454","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.biocon.2025.111454","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Identifying the key drivers of population dynamics in long-lived species is critical for understanding their life history and guiding conservation. However, dispersal processes like immigration and emigration are often overlooked in long-term studies of highly vagile, transboundary species such as vultures, despite their role on population trends. Additionally, estimating often-neglected population fractions like non-breeders is essential to assess trends accurately, especially in species of conservation concern. Using the Eurasian griffon vulture (<em>Gyps fulvus</em>) as a model species, we assessed the dynamics of three neighbouring populations in northeastern Iberia (Catalonia -CAT-, Aragon -ARA-, Valencian Community -VAL-) over 14 years using a Bayesian multisite Integrated Population Model (ms-IPM), explicitly incorporating movements between regions. Results showed distinct trends: steady growth (CAT), stabilization (VAL), and decline followed by stabilization (ARA). Adult survival was the key driver of population growth in ARA, despite being the lowest (0.94 vs. 0.97 in VAL and 0.98 in CAT), likely due to mortality from windfarms and electrocution. In contrast, the floater (non-breeder)-to-breeder ratio and immigration were more influential in CAT and VAL, but both were negatively correlated with population size across regions, indicating density dependence. In VAL density dependence suggested that the population was approaching its carrying capacity, increasing dispersal. Our study highlights the importance of ms-IPM for understanding complex demographic processes, such as the role of dispersal and non-breeders, in population dynamics of wide-ranging species. We provide a comprehensive framework to account for spatial and demographic heterogeneity, aimed at improving vulture conservation at both local and transboundary scales.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":55375,"journal":{"name":"Biological Conservation","volume":"311 ","pages":"Article 111454"},"PeriodicalIF":4.4,"publicationDate":"2025-08-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144909022","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":"Revealing the unseen: Shark finning in the Galapagos Marine Reserve through illegal fishers' eyes and a situational crime prevention approach","authors":"Mauricio Castrejón","doi":"10.1016/j.biocon.2025.111452","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.biocon.2025.111452","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing presents a major threat to shark conservation in marine protected areas (MPAs). This study explores the history and evolution of illegal shark fishing in the Galapagos Marine Reserve through the perspectives of former poachers, utilizing a situational crime prevention approach. In depth interviews were conducted to understand the motivations, methods, and socio economic factors that drove illegal shark finning within the GMR. Using these insights, the scale and economic impact of illegal shark finning were quantified for the first time. From the 1980s to 2005, socioeconomic challenges and market demands incentivized local fishers to engage in shark fishing, with weak surveillance and corruption within regulatory bodies exacerbating IUU fishing. However, advancements in surveillance technology, reduction of shark fins price on the black market— likely caused by Decree 486 — and the availability of more stable economic alternatives, such as small-scale tuna fishing significantly reduced the incentives for illegal shark finning. Despite this success, illegal activities shifted to other forms, such as longlining and fuel trafficking, revealing the adaptability of illegal enterprises. To effectively combat IUU fishing, resilient socio-economic conditions, robust legal frameworks, and transparent institutions are required. This study also highlights the role of market dynamics in driving illegal activities, emphasizing the need to adopt a SCP approach to reduce opportunities for illegal fishing. The findings offer valuable lessons for developing effective, adaptive management policies to discourage illegal shark fishing in other multiple-use MPAs.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":55375,"journal":{"name":"Biological Conservation","volume":"311 ","pages":"Article 111452"},"PeriodicalIF":4.4,"publicationDate":"2025-08-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144913546","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":"Toward integrating migration counts and GPS tracking for flyway-scale avian population monitoring — A response to Efrat et al. (2025)","authors":"Bart Hoekstra ,&nbsp;Wouter Vansteelant ,&nbsp;Dries Engelen ,&nbsp;Tohar Tal","doi":"10.1016/j.biocon.2025.111467","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.biocon.2025.111467","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":55375,"journal":{"name":"Biological Conservation","volume":"311 ","pages":"Article 111467"},"PeriodicalIF":4.4,"publicationDate":"2025-08-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145049426","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":"Identifying barriers and drivers that affect company actions on biodiversity","authors":"Ian Trim ,&nbsp;Aled Jones","doi":"10.1016/j.biocon.2025.111462","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.biocon.2025.111462","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Tackling the growing biodiversity crisis requires a clear understanding of why, or why not, companies act on their interactions with biodiversity. By using thematic analysis across an expert practitioner workshop, documentary analysis and interviews with leading companies, this paper identifies and then systematically classifies different barriers and drivers. We find that the key forces are external to a company and go beyond simply a lack of data or tools to include more fundamental barriers such as the prevailing economic and political structures. The key barriers and drivers affecting the way companies interact with biodiversity include undervaluing biodiversity, data challenges, and education. There is a clear need for legislative change to drive forward business action, and this can only happen with bold political leadership backed by business leadership. Where greater action has happened, the research suggests this has been driven by economic, legal and political catalysts.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":55375,"journal":{"name":"Biological Conservation","volume":"311 ","pages":"Article 111462"},"PeriodicalIF":4.4,"publicationDate":"2025-08-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144909024","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":"Imbalanced recovery and depleted baselines of a protected mammal community in post-conflict Angola","authors":"Gonçalo Curveira-Santos ,&nbsp;Filipe Rocha ,&nbsp;Marion Tafani ,&nbsp;Eduardo Lutondo ,&nbsp;Milcíades Chicomo ,&nbsp;Pedro Monterroso","doi":"10.1016/j.biocon.2025.111444","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.biocon.2025.111444","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Armed conflicts have enduring social and ecological impacts, leaving profound imprints on wildlife populations. Angola, having withstood decades of civil unrest (1961–2002), is a post-conflict region characterized by extensive wildlife exploitation, exacerbated by firearm availability and limited conservation management. We explored the defaunation and post-war recovery of Angolan protected areas by examining temporal occupancy dynamics of Bicuar National Park's mammal community, over a decade after armed conflicts ended and formal protection was reinstated. We assessed whether, in absence of active restoration strategies, extant mammal populations are continuing to decline, have stabilized, or exhibit signs of ongoing recovery. Continuous camera-trap monitoring in BNP's core area from 2017 to 2023, across twelve yearly-seasonal survey periods, revealed low mean occupancies (<span><math><mover><mi>ψ</mi><mo>¯</mo></mover></math></span>=0.30 ± 0.17), suggesting the persisting depletion of many of the park's mammal populations. We found no evidence of continued population declines, and 17 out of 27 focal species exhibited signs of recovery (positive occupancy change rates). Yet, asymmetric trajectories raise concerns about the limited recovery potential of multiple mammal species, including all large carnivore and threatened species. Site occupancy dynamics were associated with vegetation biomass and waterhole distribution, highlighting the potential of managing vegetation encroachment and increasing surface water to support mammal populations post-conflict. The natural recovery of mammal populations depauperated by extended periods of armed conflict may be an attainable expectation. However, as the local mammal community reassembles in non-uniform and trait-dependent trajectories, active measures might be necessary to sustain the recovery of populations seemingly persisting at depleted states and restore ecological functionality.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":55375,"journal":{"name":"Biological Conservation","volume":"311 ","pages":"Article 111444"},"PeriodicalIF":4.4,"publicationDate":"2025-08-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144909026","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":"Threats to Australian squamates: A systematic and spatially explicit method to enhance species assessments","authors":"Martín Iglesias ,&nbsp;Carla M. Sgrò ,&nbsp;David G. Chapple","doi":"10.1016/j.biocon.2025.111448","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.biocon.2025.111448","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Conservation assessments, such as those conducted by the IUCN Red List, depend on accurate threat identification and listing. However, due to differences in background and expertise, assessors may introduce inconsistencies during the assessment process, potentially influencing outcomes and undermining conservation efforts. We aimed to reduce these inconsistencies by developing a systematic protocol for quantifying threats, using Australian squamates as a case study. Further, we asked: 1) Which threats might have been potentially overlooked in species assessments? 2) What are the most serious threats to native squamates? 3) Which species are likely to become threatened in the near future? The systematic quantification of threats produced a dataset describing how 957 squamates spatially overlap with 77 threats. By comparing this dataset with previous status assessments, we found numerous discrepancies in species-threat overlaps, with invasive species having discrepancies in 54 % of the comparisons, on average. Feral cat (<em>Felis catus</em>) was the most serious threat, with increased overlap significantly raising the likelihood of squamates being listed as threatened. Conversely, increases in overlap with areas with grazing over native vegetation decreased the likelihood of squamates being listed as threatened. Finally, by identifying squamates with small ranges and an overlap of 80 % or more with key threats, we found 105 squamate species to be potential candidates for threatened statuses. Our study, by providing a dataset of threats to squamates, contributes to improving the consistency of conservation assessments. Our approach for listing threats can be applied in any taxonomic group, and is particularly valuable for understudied taxa.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":55375,"journal":{"name":"Biological Conservation","volume":"311 ","pages":"Article 111448"},"PeriodicalIF":4.4,"publicationDate":"2025-08-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144909023","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":"Range contractions of farmland and steppe birds over two decades in relation to agricultural management in Spain","authors":"Diego Chamizo ,&nbsp;Rocío Tarjuelo ,&nbsp;Manuel B. Morales ,&nbsp;Javier Seoane","doi":"10.1016/j.biocon.2025.111437","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.biocon.2025.111437","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Farmland birds have experienced severe declines across Europe and other world regions because of agricultural intensification. We assessed changes in the breeding-season distributions of farmland birds in Spain between 1998 and 2018, evaluating their responses to agricultural management at the scale of agricultural counties. Using generalized linear mixed models (GLMMs), we quantified distribution shifts and species richness changes for three bird guilds classified by their dependence on steppe-like farmland: strict steppe birds, farmland birds, and extended-farmland birds.</div><div>We found consistent declines over this 20-year period in species richness across all three guilds and widespread contractions in species' distribution ranges. Total utilized agricultural area and agricultural yields exerted generalized negative effects, indicating that the expansion of intensive farming drives pervasive habitat loss for multiple species. In contrast, herbaceous crops had positive effects on the distribution of many species, highlighting the importance of these open habitats in supporting diverse bird communities.</div><div>As expected, steppe specialists—given their strict ecological requirements—showed the most pronounced range declines. However, generalist farmland birds also exhibited substantial contractions, revealing that even less specialized species are highly vulnerable to current levels of land-use intensification. These findings underscore the urgent need to reconcile agricultural production with biodiversity conservation. Policies promoting sustainable land management—such as those outlined in the EU Regulation 2024/1991 on nature restoration (i.e. reestablishment of high diversity landscape features like fallows, rotational grazing or mowing, integrated pest management and/or organic farming leading to pesticide and fertiliser reduction)—will be critical to halting further biodiversity loss in agricultural landscapes.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":55375,"journal":{"name":"Biological Conservation","volume":"311 ","pages":"Article 111437"},"PeriodicalIF":4.4,"publicationDate":"2025-08-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144909021","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The exotic pet craze on Chinese social media: Trends, community dynamics, and conservation implications","authors":"Haozhong Si ,&nbsp;Anna Hausmann ,&nbsp;Zhongqiu Li","doi":"10.1016/j.biocon.2025.111420","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.biocon.2025.111420","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The global rise in the exotic pet trade threatens biodiversity, animal welfare, and public health. Social media platforms have created a dynamic space for sharing exotic pet content, potentially fueling demand and spreading misconceptions about pet care and conservation. Despite these concerns, little is known about the main taxa featured on social media or the trends shaping the online exotic pet community. To address this gap, we analyzed a large dataset from Bilibili, a leading Chinese video-sharing platform. We used culturomics methods to identify prominent exotic pet taxa, thematic and sentiment patterns and the influence of content creators. Our results reveal significant interest in taxa such as Testudines, Arachnida, Lacertilia, Serpentes, and Insecta. Notably, many turtle species featured were of high conservation concern, while most arachnid species were not currently reported in major international conservation databases (e.g., IUCN Red List and CITES Appendices). We also found that exotic pet videos prioritize practical care knowledge over entertainment, promoting virtual communities where users exchange experiences and care knowledge. Comment sentiment fluctuated based on welfare concerns, aesthetic appearance, cultural beliefs and care practices, with community self-regulation potentially helping counter misinformation and harmful practices. Furthermore, a few dominant creators receive most of the attention within the niche online community, highlighting their role in shaping discourses and influencing care norms conservation messages. Leveraging online exotic pet content offers insights for management and conservation. Through collaboration among creators, viewers, and policymakers, social media could be used to encourage responsible practices and support species conservation.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":55375,"journal":{"name":"Biological Conservation","volume":"311 ","pages":"Article 111420"},"PeriodicalIF":4.4,"publicationDate":"2025-08-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144893030","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}