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Extreme events — such as floods, droughts and heatwaves — are escalating in frequency, magnitude and duration. This Review discusses the implications of these global changes for biodiversity in rivers, across population, community and ecosystem scales.
The urban mosaic is a complex assimilation of habitats, biotic and abiotic factors with eco-evolutionary influence on local and regional biodiversity. In this Review, the authors explore this urban mosaic through the lens of island biogeography, describing the eco-evolutionary dynamics influencing species adaptation to urban landscapes.
Butterflies and moths are key indicators of functioning and healthy ecosystems around the world. This Review describes the evolutionary history of the order Lepidoptera and tracks shifts in researchers’ understanding of the clade in the genomic era; it also explores biogeographic patterns and conservation efforts for threatened species.
Climate model intercomparison projects have been essential in identifying mechanisms of human-caused climate change, but similar efforts in biodiversity science have lagged behind. This Perspective discusses existing biodiversity model intercomparison projects and identifies opportunities for their advancement in the future.
Defining non-native populations is essential yet challenging in freshwater systems, where policy relies on administrative borders and science on ecological units. This mismatch complicates regulation, risk assessment and biosecurity. We propose a basin-first, population-level classification that distinguishes intrabasin from interbasin nativity to better support coherent, ecologically grounded policy and management.
Scientists disagree about area-based conservation’s role in addressing biodiversity loss. This Perspective examines how conservation scientists, land systems scientists and political ecologists approach these debates differently and argues that environmental data justice frameworks can bridge epistemic divides, helping researchers to develop more effective and equitable conservation interventions.
Global shark and ray populations have declined sharply, driven by expanding fisheries and inequitable gaps in catch, trade and distribution data. This Review assesses global status, highlights drivers of decline, and outlines the regulatory, market-based and conservation actions needed to reduce mortality and reverse shark and ray biodiversity loss.
Marine spatial planning (MSP) and ecosystem restoration are effective approaches to address marine and coastal biodiversity loss and meet Global Biodiversity Framework targets, but have been applied separately to date. This Perspective outlines how ecoscape restoration and climate-smart MSP can be aligned to deliver reciprocal benefits and accelerate biodiversity recovery.
Our team reflects on a successful first year and discusses our continued aspiration to be an outlet for effective syntheses of essential advances in biodiversity science and policy.
Biodiversity surveys and monitoring programmes hold promise for guiding evidence-based conservation in China, but inconsistent survey methodologies, insufficient oversight and flawed data management undermine the reliability and utility of these datasets. China should draw on international best practices to improve data integration, verification, and management, to ultimately strengthen its conservation outcomes.
The question of how to define a species has a long history and continued relevance for ongoing biological and conservation research. This Review describes the history of the species problem, and explores how novel evolutionary pressures and constraints of the Anthropocene might be complicating species definitions even further.
The new High Seas Treaty presents an unprecedented opportunity to protect and sustainably use the biodiversity in an area that covers nearly half the planet. Jane Lubchenco calls on scientists to help it to succeed by encouraging rapid global ratification, promoting science-based decisions and identifying strong options for effective marine protected areas.
