Protected areas cannot halt biodiversity loss in isolation; integrating them with surrounding human-dominated landscapes is critical. However, this integration is challenged by substantial landscape heterogeneity at protected area borders, making it difficult to determine cross-border changes in ecosystem service provision. To address this knowledge gap, we developed a novel framework for characterizing these dynamics by analyzing ecosystem service gradients along protected area borders. For 16 protected areas in the French Alps, we used a mix of established biophysical models and novel connectivity-based models for mobile species to assess 12 ecosystem services. These services were aggregated into three stakeholder-driven domains reflecting rural, cultural, and urban management priorities. Automated polynomial regression analysis classified borders into five gradient types. The most common types were decreasing gradients, representing a decline in ecosystem services outside the protected area, and increasing gradients with the opposite pattern. Our analysis revealed that these patterns are driven by specific landscape configurations and uncovered frequent trade-offs between the three management priorities; for example, landscapes supporting rural priorities often degrade cultural and urban ones. We also identified key opportunities for synergies by identifying areas where ecosystem services for all three priority domains increased simultaneously outside the protected area. This spatially explicit typology provides a powerful diagnostic tool for designing targeted interventions, such as prioritizing habitat restoration where ecosystem services decline or managing agricultural landscapes to mitigate conflicts across management priorities, supporting a more effective integration of protected areas into the wider landscape.

Michael Soule writes in his foundational article "What is Conservation Biology?" that "in crisis disciplines, one must act before knowing all the facts; crisis disciplines are thus a mixture of science and art, and their pursuit requires intuition as well as information." Since this article was published three decades ago, conservation biology has largely focused its energies on formalizing and memorializing its scientific findings. There is no doubt this empirical turn has developed vital methods and tools, enabled links between science and policy, and fortified the discipline's credibility within the broader biological sciences. Nevertheless, Soule's intuition that conservation biology requires a kinship with art, and particularly with storytelling, remains essential to the discipline-particularly in an information environment saturated by generative artificial intelligence-in at least three important ways. First, as a crisis discipline, conservation biology remains firmly attached to questions of not only valuation but also value, which have always relied on stories and myth for expression and enrichment. Second, conservationists continue to find that stories are at least as effective as logic in communicating results and precipitating action. Fortunately, conservation science lends itself to narrative arcs by demonstrating evidence of change. Revelations of the degradation and restoration of biological diversity rhyme with myths of loss and redemption and create important roles for storytelling in conservation projects. Third, as the conservation tent continues to expand beyond understanding what humans have done to understanding why, there is an increasingly pressing need to listen to the stories that accompany human behavior. Conservation continues to thrive as an empirical discipline. Embracing the opportunities and obligations of storytelling will allow conservation to engage even more deeply with a complex world.

The current climate crisis, driven by greenhouse gas emissions, threatens global biodiversity, including that in marine ecosystems. However, projections for the western Atlantic Ocean that jointly quantify species richness and endemism while accounting for spatially biased and incomplete occurrence data remain limited. We addressed this gap across the western Atlantic from 57°S to 40°N, within 1500 km of the coast and on the continental shelf in waters shallower than 150 m. Using broad taxonomic coverage across vertebrates, invertebrates, and algae, we modeled biodiversity metrics directly as species richness and the corrected weighted endemism index (WEIc), applied uniform sampling from sampling effort (USSE) to minimize the effects of spatially biased and incomplete occurrence records on predictions, and tested multiple algorithms to project these metrics under Shared Socioeconomic Pathway (SSP) scenarios SSP2-4.5 and SSP5-8.5 for 2050 and 2100. The results indicated a significant reduction in species richness and endemism, with up to 69% of the study area projected to experience a reduction of more than 5% in species richness under the high-emissions scenarios. The most affected areas included the coast of Florida, the Gulf of Mexico, the Caribbean, the northern region of South America, and southern Brazil. The decrease in endemism was equally concerning, with significant reductions predicted in areas of high diversity, threatening species adapted to specific ecological niches and increasing the risk of local extinctions. Vertebrates and invertebrates showed the greatest reductions in richness in the Gulf of Mexico, the Caribbean, northeastern Brazil, and northern Argentina. For algae, the most significant decreases were predicted for Florida and southern Brazil. This loss of biodiversity could compromise the resilience of marine ecosystems and the availability of fishery resources, highlighting the urgent need for coordinated global actions.

Terrestrial, freshwater, and marine transportation are fundamental to modern human life, but vehicle collisions with wildlife inadvertently kill hundreds of millions of animals across 2000 vertebrate and invertebrate species annually; however, a comprehensive framework to assess and mitigate these mortalities is missing. We identified and compared the most up-to-date information regarding the impacts of transportation on wildlife mortality to determine cross-cutting solutions to this challenging problem. For example, numerous strategies, such as under- or overpasses traversing roads and railways that increase wildlife-habitat connectivity, policies that enforce reduced speed in areas with active wildlife, and passive sensors that detect wildlife to alert nearby ships and vehicles and enable mandatory speed reductions, can reduce wildlife-vehicle collisions. We explored emerging technological advances that could help further reduce future wildlife-vehicle conflicts and provide a path forward for transportation systems. Specifically, we described how the combination of citizen science, artificial intelligence, targeted studies on wildlife demographic impacts, and cost-effective mitigation efforts will be powerful tools to inform needed future policies to decrease ship speed in areas with threatened whale species and reduce rates of wildlife mortality across ecosystems in a fast-moving world.

Biodiversity loss is considered a major global issue, but at the same time, scientists interpret it differently, identifying varied drivers, solutions, and responsibilities in their published works. These interpretations shape the scientific narratives these scientists use to discuss biodiversity loss, which, in turn, affects policy through the biodiversity science-policy interface. However, a comprehensive overview of these different narratives within biodiversity loss literature is lacking. To address this gap in knowledge, we conducted a literature review of contemporary, global biodiversity literature and a discursive network analysis based on biodiversity loss drivers, solutions, and responsibilities. We identified seven narratives that represent an overview of the scientific discourse on biodiversity loss. We determined that the narratives identify different key drivers of biodiversity loss and often focus primarily on either drivers, solutions, or responsibilities, whereas some neglect societal dimensions. Moreover, our research showed that the commonly used Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) categorization of direct drivers of biodiversity loss is reflected in only one of the seven narratives, thereby indicating its limited prevalence across the literature. Thus, this study will help biodiversity scientists develop more holistic biodiversity loss narratives by recognizing the limitations of the narratives they currently use. Additionally, our findings can assist policymakers in identifying relevant but less common narratives in the biodiversity science-policy literature that may help them develop policies.

Many of the most challenging decisions facing natural resource managers today can be understood as time dependent. The concept of time-dependent decisions is useful when considering natural resource management decisions that are characterized by nonstationarity in the underlying ecological system, uncertainty surrounding key ecological relationships, efficacy of management interventions, and difficult trade-offs between the present and the future. In a time-dependent decision, the optimal action changes depending on when the decision is made. We surveyed literature from the fields of cognitive psychology, environmental decision-making, and natural resource management to identify a key set of cognitive and institutional barriers that prevent decision makers from recognizing their decisions as time dependent. This failure obscures the complexity of nonstationarity, uncertainty, and intertemporal choice in natural resource management and facilitates assumptions of stationarity and time independence. We used land acquisition in the context of climate change as an example to explore the barriers to effective time-dependent decision-making at both individual and institutional scales. Using a theoretical model of land acquisition, we quantified the value of accounting for time dependence by comparing the performance of time-dependent, nonstationary decision models with models that assume time independence and stationarity. We found that the conservation value of land acquisition decisions was significantly improved through the use of time-dependent optimization models and that this improvement increased as nonstationarity increased. Finally, explicitly recognizing the time dependence of many natural resource management decisions will help improve the utility of existing decision tools and frameworks.

In multiuse areas outside formal protection, sustaining both wildlife and people is critical to wildlife conservation and coexistence efforts. Botswana's Kalahari hosts one of sub-Saharan Africa's largest unprotected areas supporting free-ranging wildlife. The role of multiuse areas as a wildlife habitat and movement corridor is increasingly threatened by land-use change, particularly the expansion of sedentary livestock farming. In light of these changes, updated information on wildlife status and their use of these areas is lacking. Leveraging the Kalahari's sandy substrate and Indigenous tracking skills, we demonstrated the potential of animal track surveys for large-scale wildlife monitoring. We conducted biannual surveys over 3 years across 22,000 km[2] of multiuse wildlife management areas and used the Formozov-Malyshev-Pereleshin formula approach-a population density estimator-to collect large herbivore and carnivore track data. We analyzed 22,793 tracks from 13 species collected over 6222 km of transects with three objectives: estimate species population densities, identify key environmental predictors of their spatial variation, and derive predictive maps to highlight higher wildlife density areas. Although some herbivores declined, no changes in carnivore densities were detected over the study period. Cattleposts were negatively associated with most species, whereas burned areas showed contrasting associations with herbivore and carnivore densities. Vegetation characteristics and distance to mineral pans were also often associated with species density. The region still supports large wildlife and potential movement pathways-albeit less than in the past-especially away from human activity. We identified key areas for preservation in future land-use planning, with potential to also support nature-based livelihood development. Where tracking substrates and Indigenous knowledge coexist around the world, track-based monitoring can effectively inform conservation. Its cultural and economic benefits to local communities, in addition to relational engagement with the natural world, may also contribute to human-wildlife coexistence, uphold land rights, and support community-led resource management.

Algal overgrowth on coral reefs threatens reef fish species richness worldwide, yet the variation in this pressure across gradients of coral cover remains unclear. Using a global dataset spanning 2006-2023, we examined how cover by low-lying algae and macroalgae modulates the relationship between live hard coral cover and fish species richness. Our results demonstrated that overgrowth of both algal groups attenuated the positive contribution of coral cover to fish species richness, with context-dependent thresholds: the effects of low-lying algae were observed when coral cover was below 45%, whereas the effects of macroalgae persisted until 65% coral cover. Notably, within these ranges, the negative impact of algal overgrowth on fish richness was linearly amplified as coral cover increased. Trait analyses showed that the attenuation strength varied among fish species according to their diet and body size. By synthesizing findings on specific coral-cover thresholds for algal impacts and fish trait-mediated vulnerabilities, our study provides a strategic basis for algal management designed to prevent rapid declines in fish species richness and protect highly sensitive functional guilds, thereby ensuring the stability of coral reef ecosystems.

AI platforms, while offering many positive applications, also present new risks to society, including the facilitation of trade in threatened and illegal wildlife. Although these platforms employ safeguards to block harmful or criminal requests, studies show such protections are imperfect and can be easily bypassed. To better understand these risks, we investigated the potential for AI platforms to enable wildlife trafficking, evaluated their safeguards, and tested how easily those safeguards might be circumvented. We applied a test set/case methodology based on three prompts across seven AI platforms (plus a Google earch) for 20 taxa. Further, we analyzed the outputs based on four emergent themes: statements of legality, conservation status, suggested substitutions, and welfare concerns. Overall, AI platforms performed better than a standard Google search at preventing potentially illegal wildlife trade, with the highest overall scores for Gemini, closely followed by DeepSeek, Grok, and ChatGPT. However, AI platforms were not infallible, as observed when a prompt was given in an attempt to circumvent the platform's safeguards, which resulted in links to potential websites trading in possibly illegal wildlife. However, AI platforms provided additional information, particularly on legality, that informed would-be consumers. The strongest safeguarding responses were seen for charismatic taxa such as slow loris (Nycticebus spp.), chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes), and tiger (Panthera tigris), whereas the weakest responses were for taxa that are less charismatic but of equal concern, such as corals, tarantulas, and orchids. This finding may reflect societal and political interests, given that AI platforms based on large language models are trained with online information. Although AI has the potential to provide a route for consumers to purchase illegal wildlife, platforms currently appear to provide additional information to would-be consumers, allowing them to make a more informed purchasing decision than they would with a standard Google search.

The scale of amphibian and reptile translocations over the past 16 years necessitates a reassessment of current practices since the last major review in 2009. We conducted a literature review of translocations from 2007 to 2023 and identified 313 case studies encompassing conservation-, mitigation-, and research-related translocations. Most published efforts were conservation-driven, focusing primarily on reptiles in North America, Oceania, and Europe. We evaluated translocation success with both authors' self-assessments and a standardized success-stage framework (Stages 0-4), where Stage 4 represents the highest level of long-term success. Success rates differed substantially between translocation types. High success (Stages 3 and 4) was achieved in 19% of conservation case studies; however, only 6% of mitigation case studies reached Stage 3, and none reached Stage 4. Mitigation translocations also had approximately double the failure rate of conservation translocations. Conservation translocations more frequently incorporated pretranslocation threat removal and long-term postrelease monitoring, both significantly associated with higher success stages (threat removal: estimate = 2.43, p < 0.001; monitoring duration: estimate = 0.93, p < 0.001). In contrast, mitigation translocations were less consistent in implementing and evaluating these practices. Overall, success rates across all translocation types were lower than in previous reviews, likely reflecting the inclusion of a substantially larger number of projects, including some that have not yet been monitored long enough to reach later success stages. Our findings indicate that mitigation translocations, under current practices, rarely achieve conservation objectives, highlighting the need for greater emphasis on proactive habitat protection and restoration.

Handling wild reptiles is common among amateur herpetology enthusiasts, professional researchers, social media influencers, and photographers. However, the potential for these interactions to spread diseases that threaten wild reptiles remains underappreciated. With the rise in such interactions due to today's socially connected landscape and the offering of an increased number of wildlife-focused ecotourism trips, the possibility of increased spread of human-vector-mediated reptile diseases is substantial. This spread is a concern, especially for novel and emerging potentially catastrophic fungal diseases such as ophidiomycosis (snake fungal disease). We summarized the current knowledge on the main fungal taxa of concern and associated disease, highlighting the threat of spreading reptile fungal diseases to new geographic regions and species via current practices, including direct- and indirect-handling and describing current mitigation strategies; developed key guidelines for practitioners and enthusiasts to reduce the risk of spread of disease; and identified areas of future research. This information will raise awareness and improve hygiene practices across the herpetology community to reduce the spread of disease and improve conservation.

Identifying and investigating global land-use changes triggered by unforeseen events are critically important for sustainable forest management and biodiversity conservation within the global socioecological framework. In this study, we developed a framework to project and validate land-use changes resulting from the agricultural expansion driven by the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Our results revealed that the Russia-Ukraine conflict likely triggered an additional potential demand for 6.28-6.78 million hectares of cropland in 198 countries and regions. The subsequent agricultural expansion was projected to drive a loss of 8.72-8.81 million hectares of forests (approximately 0.28% of global forests) and additional forest fragmentation during forest-to-cropland conversion, primarily for broadleaf evergreen trees in tropical regions and needleleaf evergreen trees in temperate and boreal regions. However, the forest loss trend was projected to be significantly higher in biodiversity hotspots (0.51-0.91%), where fragmentation will be particularly pronounced for broadleaf deciduous trees and shrubs in temperate areas. When the simulation results were overlaid with the actual cropland data, 59.17-69.36% of the simulated cropland pixels had already been converted to cropland, highlighting the effectiveness and reliability of the simulation results. Our findings highlight the critical importance of taking proactive measures to mitigate the telecoupled consequences of land-use changes that are caused by regional sociopolitical disturbances on forest degradation and natural land fragmentation, especially in biodiversity hotspots. Furthermore, our findings suggest that progress toward Sustainable Development Goal 15, Life on Land, requires moving beyond site-based conservation to recognize habitat security as being shaped by interconnected food trade systems and geopolitical relations.

Amid a global biodiversity crisis hastened by climate change, it is urgent that species' declines are halted. To design the most effective conservation strategies to address these declines, the nature and timing of the most probable genetic or nongenetic factors behind population collapses need to be identified. We used high-density RADseq genetic markers to determine the demographic history and track population-level exposure of the Knysna seahorse (Hippocampus capensis), the first syngnathid listed as endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), to historical and current threats. Our results revealed an initial link between sea-level fluctuations and settlement for this estuarine endemic species that occurred on a coastline without obvious alternative habitats that were followed by divergence and progressive isolation of the extant populations. Two of the three extant Knysna seahorse populations, those inhabiting estuaries most affected by floods and natural or human-mediated breaching of the estuary mouths, showed severe and continued contractions in effective population size. We illustrated the potential of genomics for the conservation of the most vulnerable species and their fragile ecosystems and highlighted the urgency and type of measures required to maintain species' persistence and resilience. Our results provide practical insights to help protect this endangered seahorse, namely, the need for proactive management, which is essential for preventing the expected losses of genetic diversity that follow shrinking effective population sizes. Additionally, we showed that hydrological stability and increased substratum availability can foster recoveries without the need for potentially riskier alternatives such as the recently proposed seahorse translocations.

Escalating populations of free-roaming dogs (Canis familiaris) and cats (Felis catus), driven primarily by owner abandonment and unrestricted activity, exert pervasive predatory pressures on wildlife. Predation represents their most direct and destructive ecological impact, contributing significantly to global biodiversity decline. However, a comprehensive understanding of the global spatial patterns and environmental drivers of this threat is lacking, impeding the development of targeted conservation strategies. To address this gap, we conducted a systematic global assessment by analyzing 8933 documented predation events on wild mammals, birds, reptiles, and amphibians, compiled from 53 peer-reviewed studies employing a meta-analysis approach. Results showed pronounced geographical heterogeneity across continental, country, and ecosystem scales. Africa recorded the highest number of dog predation events (1698), whereas Europe was a hotspot for cat predation (2900). Populations of critically endangered (CR) species in Australia and Japan's Okinawa Islands face exceptionally high predation pressure. Dogs' predation impacts varied little across taxonomic levels. Cats, in contrast, had a taxonomically broader prey spectrum than dogs, and their impacts differed significantly among families, with Leporidae (28.49%), Procellariidae (14.79%), and Muridae (10.05%) being the most affected. Moreover, cat predation rates declined significantly with increasing human population density, longitude, and latitude and varied markedly among climate types, whereas dog predation showed no significant correlation with these environmental covariates. Collectively, our findings demonstrated a fundamental divergence in the ecological impacts, foraging behaviors, and adaptive strategies of free-roaming dogs and cats. Our study underscores the necessity for developing differentiated management strategies tailored to geographical hotspots (e.g., dog aggregation zones, islands, and regions with CR species) and to species-specific behavioral traits to mitigate predation risk and help reverse biodiversity loss.