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1. IUCN Conservation Status Does Not Predict Glucocorticoid Concentrations in Reptiles and Birds

   https://doi.org/10.1093/icb/icy102  

   Martin, Lynn B ; Vitousek, Maren ; Donald, Jeremy W ; Flock, Travis ; Fuxjager, Matthew J ; Goymann, Wolfgang ; Hau, Michaela ; Husak, Jerry ; Johnson, Michele A ; Kircher, Bonnie ; et al ( July 2018 , Integrative and Comparative Biology)
2. Western Monarch Population Plummets: Status, Probable Causes, and Recommended Conservation Actions

   https://doi.org/10.3389/fevo.2019.00258  

   Pelton, Emma M. ; Schultz, Cheryl B. ; Jepsen, Sarina J. ; Black, Scott Hoffman ; Crone, Elizabeth E. ( July 2019 , Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution)
3. Nomenclatural changes and two new species in the leafhopper genus Usanus DeLong (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae) with notes on conservation status

   https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.4822.4.6  

   PINEDO-ESCATEL, J. ADILSON ; DIETRICH, CHRISTOPHER H. ( August 2020 , Zootaxa)

   null (Ed.)

   The Mexican leafhopper genus and species Devolana hemicycla DeLong, 1967 syn. nov., is recognized as a junior synonym of Usanus stonei DeLong, 1947. Three previously described species, U. tuxcacuensis (Pinedo-Escatel & Aguilar-Pérez, 2019) comb. nov., U. youajla (Pinedo-Escatel, 2019) comb. nov., and U. xajxayakamej (Pinedo-Escatel, 2019) comb. nov. are transferred to Usanus. Two new species, U. xochipalensis sp. nov. and U. igualaensis sp. nov. from Guerrero, are described and illustrated. An updated key to all known species of Usanus is provided. 

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4. Quantifying the conservation status and abundance trends of wildlife communities with detection–nondetection data

   https://doi.org/10.1111/cobi.13934  

   Farr, Matthew T. ; O'Brien, Timothy ; Yackulic, Charles B. ; Zipkin, Elise F. ( August 2022 , Conservation Biology)

   Effective conservation requires understanding species’ abundance patterns and demographic rates across space and time. Ideally, such knowledge should be available for whole communities because variation in species’ dynamics can elucidate factors leading to biodiversity losses. However, collecting data to simultaneously estimate abundance and demographic rates of communities of species is often prohibitively time intensive and expensive. We developed a multispecies dynamicN‐occupancy model to estimate unbiased, community‐wide relative abundance and demographic rates. In this model, detection–nondetection data (e.g., repeated presence–absence surveys) are used to estimate species‐ and community‐level parameters and the effects of environmental factors. To validate our model, we conducted a simulation study to determine how and when such an approach can be valuable and found that our multispecies model outperformed comparable single‐species models in estimating abundance and demographic rates in many cases. Using data from a network of camera traps across tropical equatorial Africa, we then used our model to evaluate the statuses and trends of a forest‐dwelling antelope community. We estimated relative abundance, rates of recruitment (i.e., reproduction and immigration), and apparent survival probabilities for each species’ local population. The antelope community was fairly stable (although 17% of populations [species–park combinations] declined over the study period). Variation in apparent survival was linked more closely to differences among national parks than to individual species’ life histories. The multispecies dynamicN‐occupancy model requires only detection–nondetection data to evaluate the population dynamics of multiple sympatric species and can thus be a valuable tool for examining the reasons behind recent biodiversity loss.

    

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5. Longevity, climate sensitivity, and conservation status of wetland trees at Black River, North Carolina

   https://doi.org/10.1088/2515-7620/ab0c4a  

   Stahle, D. W. ; Edmondson, J. R. ; Howard, I. M. ; Robbins, C. R. ; Griffin, R. D. ; Carl, A. ; Hall, C. B. ; Stahle, D. K. ; Torbenson, M. C. A. ( May 2019 , Environmental Research Communications)

   Bald cypress trees over 2,000-years old have been discovered in the forested wetlands along Black River using dendrochronology and radiocarbon dating. The oldest bald cypress yet documented is at least 2,624-years old, makingTaxodium distichumthe oldest-known wetland tree species, the oldest living trees in eastern North America, and the fifth oldest known non-clonal tree species on earth. The annual ring-width chronology developed from the ancient Black River bald cypress trees is positively correlated with growing season precipitation totals over the southeastern United States and with atmospheric circulation over the Northern Hemisphere, providing the longest exactly-dated climate proxy yet developed in eastern North America. The Nature Conservancy owns 6,400 ha in their Black River Preserve and the North Carolina legislature is considering establishment of a Black River State Park, but ancient forested wetlands are found along most of this 106 km stream and remain threatened by logging, water pollution, and sea level rise.

    

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