Indigenous people and local communities have an important role in biodiversity conservation. These communities are a part of most conservation projects, but when it comes to conservation fund management and utilisation, they are overlooked. There is no clear picture of how much conservation funding reaches local communities. A recent assessment by the International Institute for Environment and Development showed that, despite being the main stewards of biodiversity, indigenous people and rural communities got little to no direct support from conservation grants. Most of the time, middlemen or intermediaries handle and utilise the conservation monies. Funding channels are crucial since they regulate how the money is used; for most conservation projects, nongovernmental organisations act as funding channels. Conservation funding should be given directly to local communities. Direct fund transfer to local communities ensures the involvement of these communities in decision-making and fund utilisation, which will ultimately lead to effective biodiversity conservation.

Understanding how bats adapt their overwintering behavior to local environmental conditions is crucial for conservation, especially in subtropical regions where individual strategies remain poorly documented. We tracked six male great evening bats (Ia io) in Guizhou, China, using GPS and tri-axial accelerometry. All individuals remained within 30 km of their summer roosts, confirming a non-migratory overwintering strategy. However, striking individual variation was observed: two bats exhibited continuous torpor lasting over 60 days, while four employed flexible torpor with arousal on warmer nights. The probability of arousal increased by approximately 16% for every 1°C rise in ambient temperature. These results provide the first field-based evidence of individual-level behavioral flexibility in a subtropical bat species and highlight the need to protect critical overwintering roosts and incorporate climate-driven behavioral diversity into conservation planning.

An observational study was conducted to investigate Eimeria species prevalence, fecal shedding, morphometric, and molecular composition in captive Arabian oryx (Oryx leucoryx) bred at the Mammals Breeding Center in Oman. Oryx were sampled in the summer and winter seasons. Eimeria was detected at a prevalence of 26% in summer and 22% in winter, with higher shedding intensity observed during the summer among adult oryx. The isolated Eimeria displayed ellipsoidal oocysts and ovoidal sporocysts with average dimensions of 30.6 × 24.3 μm (ranging from 24.8 to 35.4 × 20.9–26.7) and 14.3 × 7.1 μm (ranging from 11.1 to 18.3 × 6.1–8.6), respectively. Molecularly (18S rRNA, ITS-1), E. saudiensis revealed its unique identity and closest relation (96.7%–99.3%) to E. bovis isolates of bovine origin (MK691697 and AB769578), respectively, in the absence of antelope-derived isolates. The findings serve as a precursor to incorporating Eimeria species derived from Arabian oryx into the molecular map.

Birdwatching contributes to biodiversity conservation through public engagement and ecological data collection. Although birdwatching is becoming increasingly popular in developing countries like Nepal, research on birdwatching practices, motivations, challenges and bird-related environmental concerns remains limited. We surveyed 135 birdwatchers across Nepal and found that about one-third were novices and most preferred birdwatching in small groups, especially in forests and wetlands. Birdwatching specialization increased with age and was higher among males and tourism-involved participants. Birdwatching showed potential to enhance local tourism. Over 60% preferred targeting specific bird species, and nearly half liked to do birdwatching even in poor weather. Data-sharing practices varied: 46% kept records private, while only 25% used platforms such as eBird. Key motivations were conservation, enjoyment, and achievement, while equipment costs and group disturbances were key challenges and most agreed that birds and habitats are declining. Overall, birdwatching in Nepal would benefit from greater public participation and improved data-sharing.

Although once abundant, gray foxes (Urocyon cinereoargenteus) are purported to be experiencing a population decline in the central Great Plains, calling for the need for spatially explicit maps for targeted sampling and conservation action. Using public and state data sources, we developed a habitat suitability model across six central US states to examine distributions of relative habitat suitability and land cover associations for the gray fox. Suitable habitat was discontinuous, with numerous small patches predicted across our study area. Gray fox relative habitat suitability increased with Simpson's diversity of land cover composition and decreased with row crop cover. Our model forecasted an apparent range restriction of the gray fox in comparison to historical maps, with suitable habitat only representing 2% of its historical distribution. Our findings add to the growing body of evidence regarding the purported regional declines of gray foxes.