Tokay geckos are traded in large volumes in Hong Kong, though the sustainability and legality of this trade are unclear. Two studies have been published on Hong Kong’s tokay gecko trade. We examine the findings of both and make consolidated recommendations to ensure trade is not detrimental to this species.

Plants receive significantly less attention in conservation efforts than other groups. Conservation and funding are often directed towards more charismatic animal groups. Considering that two out of every five plant species face the risk of extinction, the limited expenditure on plant conservation is particularly concerning. An unbiased distribution of funding across conservation priorities is urgently needed.

Globally, population declines of freshwater animals have been consistently greater than counterparts in other realms, making fresh waters hot spots of endangerment–particularly for larger species. Furthermore, biotas have become increasingly homogenized as invasions by non-native species proceed. These trends are particularly evident in Anthropocene China, where humans have profoundly altered freshwater ecosystems, with serious consequences for fishes and other aquatic vertebrates. Here, I examine the prospects for ‘bending the curve’ or reversing the trend of freshwater fish biodiversity loss in China, focusing on examples from the Yangtze and further south. Much of China’s rich fish biodiversity is threatened, but a lack of contemporary surveys means that the conservation status of many species is uncertain, and ~40% of fishes are data deficient. Although nutrient pollution of major rivers has abated recently, poor water quality remains a concern, and the widespread proliferation of emerging contaminants and microplastics can be expected to have unpredictable (but detrimental) effects on the biota. Warmer temperatures will exacerbate the toxicity of micropollutants, and facilitate the spread of non-native species that have been supplanting native fishes. Extensive dam construction has fragmented major rivers, and has blocked fish migrations, preventing access to spawning sites and leading to population extirpations. Dams limit the ability of fishes to adjust their ranges to compensate for global warming, with increased drought severity and frequency under climate change representing an existential threat. Overexploitation will be reduced by the recent introduction of a 10-year fishing ban in the Yangtze basin, but dams, flow regulation, emerging contaminants and continuing habitat degradation will stymie any population recovery or significant recovery of biodiversity as a result of the ban. Furthermore, captive breeding and release programmes have failed to restore populations of threatened fishes because poor management of breeding stock has allowed inbreeding or hybridization leading to genetic pollution of wild populations. Other anthropogenic activities, such as large-scale mining of river sand on the Yangtze flood plain– exacerbated by the sediment-trapping effects of upstream dams– are persistent obstacles to reversing the trend of fish biodiversity loss in China.

Biosphere reserves (BRs) aim to protect global biodiversity alongside social and economic development. Each BR is composed of a core area where biodiversity conservation is maximal. Surrounding this zone is a buffer and then a transition zone where agroecological farming and other low-intensity land-uses are undertaken to an increasing degree. The Cape Floristic Region (CFR) is a biodiversity hotspot at the southern tip of Africa, extremely rich in endemic plants and arthropods. We review the instigation of four CFR BRs for effective conservation to protect this unique biodiversity, and where new species are regularly being discovered. Core areas protect many endemic and rare arthropod species with impacts from human activities in these critical areas being softened by the outer zones. Within the buffer and transition zones, agroecological approaches are advancing arthropod conservation, largely through maintenance of natural patches in the agricultural matrix. While larger patches are better, small patches also have high value for arthropods, especially when functionally connected. Other biodiversityfriendly farming methods such as high vegetation cover between vine rows are also proving to be effective for indigenous arthropod conservation, as is an ecologically sensitive pest management strategy. Furthermore, a national programme aimed at removal of invasive alien trees is enabling arthropod recovery, especially endemic stream insects. Although fire is a natural CFR phenomenon, increased fire frequency is of concern. Nevertheless, natural fire refuges remain vitally important and are playing a critical role, especially for vulnerable species-rich groups like pollinators. Overall, there is optimism that most arthropod species will remain at effective population levels in this megadiversity hotspot by putting in place effective precautionary measures. Here we show that the BR model contributes towards the protection of the CFR’s endemic arthropod fauna, with potential to expand the BRs beyond the four official reserves.

Pollination is a dynamic ecological interaction, that has evolved to promote the survival and reproductive success of flowering plants and their pollinators. Human-induced environmental changes in recent decades have reduced the density and diversity of pollinators and have resulted in a global pollinator crisis. Western countries have realized this problem since the beginning of this century and extensive research has been going on to study pollinators and pollination in both wild and crop species. To mitigate the crisis, considerable success has been achieved in these countries. In India, investigations on plantpollinator interaction, as well as global pollinator-crisis have received very little attention in spite of its rich biodiversity. So far, the contribution from the Indian region towards pollination biology is merely 5% of the world. This review summarizes limited data available on pollination ecology, analyses possible reasons for this situation, highlights the importance of initiating serious studies on pollinators and pollination and provides a roadmap. It is concluded that a collaborative initiative involving the scientific community, society and policymakers is a prerequisite to achieve the objectives of biodiversity conservation and crop productivity in the country.

Intense human disturbances, including changes in the balance between open and forested habitats, have impacted squamate reptile populations in the western Mediterranean. This region has experienced a notable increase in woodland cover, driven by the gradual abandonment of traditional agriculture, native forest regeneration and intensive reforestation. Microclimatic changes associated with dense canopies in native forests or tree plantations could affect squamate assemblages. In this study, we tested the hypothesis that squamates (amphisbaenians, lizards and snakes) would respond negatively to denser crown canopies and taller vegetation. Our study focused on the Iberian and Italian Peninsulas and included 56 squamate species. The analyses indicated that forests (>50% canopy cover) support a limited number of squamate species (24–26 species). The greatest species richness and phylogenetic diversity were found in low woodland formations (2–9.9m stand height and 20–49% canopy cover) and areas with scattered trees and shrubs (5–19% canopy cover), supporting 40–46 species. To balance reforestation efforts with squamate conservation, areas with low diversity or lack of threatened species should be prioritised.

Currently, 41% of amphibian species are threatened with extinction, leading to the ongoing amphibian crisis. In Myanmar, the amphibian diversity is still poorly understood, and, as a result, many conservation gaps remain. To increase the knowledge about Myanmar’s amphibians and thus provide an opportunity to fill the gaps in conservation in the country, we assess the species in greater detail. To do so, we compile a species list of the amphibians of Myanmar through various sources and evaluate their threat status using the IUCN Red list. We perform richness analyses to compare the distribution areas of the amphibian species of Myanmar to the distribution of the protected areas (PAs) in the country. We evaluate the representation of Myanmar’s amphibians in zoos worldwide through the Zoological Information Management System (ZIMS) to check the implementation of the One Plan Approach to Conservation. Our results suggest that there are 152 amphibian species extant in Myanmar, of which 25 are endemic to the country. 4.6% (n = 7) of all species are classified as threatened, but counting those with insufficient available data as possibly threatened increases the number to 44.1% (n = 67). Of them, 40 species are not covered by any of Myanmar’s PAs. That includes 28.6% of the threatened, 35.7% of the potentially threatened, and 48% of the endemic species. According to the ZIMS database, none of Myanmar’s threatened, potentially threatened, or endemic amphibian species are kept in any zoo or aquarium worldwide, suggesting that the One Plan Approach is not sufficiently implemented as a conservation measure for Myanmar’s amphibians. With this study, we show conspicuous gaps in the protection of Myanmar’s amphibians and provide a list of the 36 most threatened species, recommending a possible prioritization for upcoming conservation actions.

Climate change is a primary threat to biodiversity, but formany species, we still lack information required to assess their relative vulnerability to changes. Climate change vulnerability assessment (CCVA) is a widely used technique to rank relative vulnerability to climate change based on species characteristics, such as their distributions, habitat associations, environmental tolerances, and life-history traits. However, for species that we expect are vulnerable to climate change yet are understudied, like many amphibians, we often lack information required to construct CCVAs using existing methods. We used the CCVA framework to construct trait-based models based on life history theory, using empirical evidence of traits and distributions that reflected sensitivity of amphibians to environmental perturbation.We performed CCVAs for amphibians in 7 states in the northcentral USA, focusing on 31 aquatic-breeding species listed as species of greatest conservation need by at least 1 state. Because detailed information on habitat requirements is unavailable for most amphibian species, we used species distributions and information on traits expected to influence vulnerability to a drying climate (e.g., clutch size and habitat breadth). We scored species vulnerability based on changes projected for midcentury (2040–2069) from 2 climate models representing “least-dry” and “most-dry” scenarios for the region. Species characteristics useful for discriminating vulnerability in our models included small range size, small clutch size, inflexible diel activity patterns, and smaller habitat breadth. When projected climate scenarios included a mix of drier and wetter conditions in the future, the exposure of a species to drying conditions was most important to relative rankings. When the scenario was universally drier, species characteristics were more important to relative rankings. Using information typically available even for understudied species and a range of climate projections, our results highlight the potential of using life history traits as indicators of relative climate vulnerability. The commonalities we identified provide a framework that can be used to assess other understudied species threatened by climate change.

Nutrients present in the guano of the aquatic birds might alter the water quality and nutrient loading in the wetland ecosystem. We recorded the changes in waterbird abundance for two consecutive wintering seasons, October–March (2018–2019 and 2019–2020), in four wetlands of Bankura and Purulia district, West Bengal, India, on Central Asian and East Asian-Australasian Flyways. The monthly variation in the water parameters, along with total guano and nutrient loadings by waterbirds, were evaluated during the study. Waterbird species varied from 37 to 61 in these wetlands. Guano loading in the study tenure ranged from 50.2 to 2979.1 kg month⁻¹, depending on the wetland resources and the abundance of waterbird species. In most cases, total guano loading showed significant positive correlations with total N and P loading and, consequently, NO₃ and PO₄ concentrations in water. In all four wetlands, guano and nutrients added by herbivorous waterbirds were significantly higher than carnivorous and omnivorous waterbirds due to the much higher abundance of herbivorous waterbirds. Linear regression analyses showed that the abundance of the wintering waterbird community significantly impacted the nitrate and phosphate availability in most of the sites. Sustainable management of these wetlands depends on the delicate balance of guanotrophic nutrient enrichment and habitat fitness to attract migratory waterbirds.

Estimating the potential distribution of climatically suitable habitats for different species is important for developing targeted and adaptable biodiversity conservation strategies. However, such crucial information remains limited for obligate scavengers such as the Critically Endangered (CE) African White-backed Vulture (AWbVs) Gyps africanus. In this study, we applied two Species Distribution Modelling (SDM) algorithms, MaxEnt and BIOCLIM, within the Wallace interface to predict changes in the climatically suitable geographic ranges of the AWbVs under current, 2050, and 2070 climate scenarios in the Hwange ecosystem. Using 19 dynamic bioclimatic variables, five Global Circulation Models (GCMs), and two Representative Concentration Pathways (RCPs), we modelled the potential impacts of climatic changes on AWbVs geographic ranges. This analysis incorporated 89,809 GPS occurrence data points collected from six AWbVs that were captured and tracked in Hwange National Park and its surrounding areas. Model performance was robust, with a high overall mean AUC of 0.89. Our results indicate that climatic suitability within protected areas is expected to remain stable under future climate change scenarios. In addition, models developed in this study suggest that suitable habitats for the AWbVs are expected to expand significantly by 2050 and 2070, extending towards human-dominated landscapes. Given the critical conservation status of the AWbVs, these findings offer valuable insights that can inform current and future conservation strategies.

In tropical rainforests, trees and associated plants create vertically heterogeneous habitats mediated by seasonal changes in climate and plant phenology. Despite extensive studies on the spatiotemporal dynamics of tropical forest ecosystems, insect monitoring programs often neglect the vertical and seasonal dimensions because the relative importance of mutidimensional dynamics of insect diversity has not been well understood. In this study, we employed a spatially explicit sampling design to understand the distribution patterns of Coleoptera, Hymenoptera, and two families (Noctuidae and Nolidae) of Lepidoptera in the canopy and understory during the dry and wet seasons in two tropical rainforests located at lower and higher latitudes in Thailand. We compared the vertical stratification of gamma diversity, alpha diversity, total abundance, and beta turnover and nestedness. We also identified the insect species characteristic of certain vertical strata and/or seasons. Our samples resulted in a total of 4,452 insects (1,622 coleopterans, 1,763 hymenopterans, and 1,067 lepidopterans) representing 437 Coleoptera species, 694 Hymenoptera species, and 98 Lepidoptera species. All insect groups generally displayed moderately higher diversity in the canopy than in the understory, but the significance of this pattern varied among seasons, forests, and insect groups. Over 50% of significant habitat indicator species were restricted to certain vertical strata but were only found in certain seasons. Our findings demonstrate that spatiotemporal dynamics of insect diversity are highly context-dependent and are not as clearly discernible as we hypothesized in three major insect groups, suggesting the importance of monitoring insects across vertical strata and seasons, even in low-latitude tropical rainforests.

Large carnivores are keystone for ecosystems and flagships for conservation efforts but face severe threats globally. Protected areas are vital for the conservation of these charismatic species along with a host of ecological processes. However, the extent and scope of protected areas for conservation of all threatened species is limited, especially in the global south. Considering larger landscapes that can be compatible with large carnivore conservation goals is an alternative approach to ensure their persistence. This study explores the potential of multi-use landscapes for the persistence of a globally threatened large felid, the Indian leopard (Panthera pardus fusca). This study investigated the spatial variability of leopard densities across a land-use gradient using spatially explicit capture-recapture framework in a tea-plantationdominated forest-production landscape mosaic in the Duars region of northeastern India. While the density of leopards in this landscape was estimated to be 7.96 ± 1.56 (SE) per 100 km², significant (p = .048, t = 2.02, df=61) differences in estimates were observed between teaplantations (11.53 ± 2.72 (SE) leopards per 100 km²) and the forested habitats (4.67 ± 2.07 (SE) per 100 km²). Densities between tea plantations and protected areas (a subset of the forested habitat) were found to be comparable (9.19 ± 4.55 (SE) per 100 km2). The study posits that conservation-compatible land use in landscapes shared with people can host a higher density of adaptable large felids like leopard than forested areas and that conservation planning needs to move beyond the dominant PA-centric paradigm. The study also reinforces the importance of multi-use landscapes for wildlife conservation, especially for an adaptable large felid.