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1. The Sponges of the Carmel Pinnacles Marine Protected Area

   https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5318.2.1  

   TURNER, THOMAS L.; LONHART, STEVE I. (July 2023, Zootaxa)

   California's network of marine protected areas was created to protect the diversity and abundance of native marine life, but the status of some taxa is very poorly known. Here we describe the sponges (phylum Porifera) from the Carmel Pinnacles State Marine Reserve, as assessed by a SCUBA-based survey in shallow waters. Of the 29 sponge species documented, 12 (41%) of them were previously unknown. Using a combination of underwater photography, DNA sequencing, and morphological taxonomy, we greatly improve our understanding of the status and distribution of previously described species and formally describe the new species as Hymedesmia promina sp. nov., Phorbas nebulosus sp. nov., Clathria unoriginalis sp. nov., Clathria rumsena sp. nov., Megaciella sanctuarium sp. nov., Mycale lobos sp. nov., Xestospongia ursa sp. nov., Haliclona melissae sp. nov., Halichondria loma sp. nov., Hymeniacidon fusiformis sp. nov., Scopalina carmela sp. nov., and Obruta collector gen. nov., sp. nov. An additional species, Lissodendoryx topsenti (de Laubenfels 1930), is moved to Hemimycale, and H. polyboletus comb. nov., nom. nov. is created due to preoccupation by H. topsenti (Burton, 1929). Several of the new species appear to be rare and/or have very restricted distributions, as they were not found at comparative survey sites outside of Carmel Bay. These results illustrate the potential of qualitative presence/absence systematic surveys of understudied taxa to discover and document substantial novel diversity.  

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2. Protected area characteristics that help waterbirds respond to climate warming

   https://doi.org/10.1111/cobi.13877  

   Gaget, Elie; Johnston, Alison; Pavón‐Jordán, Diego; Lehikoinen, Aleksi S.; Sandercock, Brett K.; Soultan, Alaaeldin; Božič, Luka; Clausen, Preben; Devos, Koen; Domsa, Cristi; et al (January 2022, Conservation Biology)

   Protected area networks help species respond to climate warming. However, the contribution of a site's environmental and conservation-relevant characteristics to these responses is not well understood. We investigated how composition of nonbreeding waterbird communities (97 species) in the European Union Natura 2000 (N2K) network (3018 sites) changed in response to increases in temperature over 25 years in 26 European countries. We measured community reshuffling based on abundance time series collected under the International Waterbird Census relative to N2K sites’ conservation targets, funding, designation period, and management plan status. Waterbird community composition in sites explicitly designated to protect them and with management plans changed more quickly in response to climate warming than in other N2K sites. Temporal community changes were not affected by the designation period despite greater exposure to temperature increase inside late-designated N2K sites. Sites funded under the LIFE program had lower climate-driven community changes than sites that did not received LIFE funding. Our findings imply that efficient conservation policy that helps waterbird communities respond to climate warming is associated with sites specifically managed for waterbirds. 

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3. Subfossil lemur discoveries from the Beanka Protected Area in western Madagascar

   https://doi.org/10.1017/qua.2019.54  

   Burney, David A.; Andriamialison, Haingoson; Andrianaivoarivelo, Radosoa A.; Bourne, Steven; Crowley, Brooke E.; de Boer, Erik J.; Godfrey, Laurie R.; Goodman, Steven M.; Griffiths, Christine; Griffiths, Owen; et al (January 2020, Quaternary Research)

   A new fossil site in a previously unexplored part of western Madagascar (the Beanka Protected Area) has yielded remains of many recently extinct vertebrates, including giant lemurs (Babakotia radofilai, Palaeopropithecus kelyus, Pachylemur sp., and Archaeolemur edwardsi), carnivores (Cryptoprocta spelea), the aardvark-like Plesiorycteropus sp., and giant ground cuckoos (Coua). Many of these represent considerable range extensions. Extant species that were extirpated from the region (e.g., Prolemur simus) are also present. Calibrated radiocarbon ages for 10 bones from extinct primates span the last three millennia. The largely undisturbed taphonomy of bone deposits supports the interpretation that many specimens fell in from a rock ledge above the entrance. Some primates and other mammals may have been prey items of avian predators, but human predation is also evident. Strontium isotope ratios (87Sr/86Sr) suggest that fossils were local to the area. Pottery sherds and bones of extinct and extant vertebrates with cut and chop marks indicate human activity in previous centuries. Scarcity of charcoal and human artifacts suggests only occasional visitation to the site by humans. The fossil assemblage from this site is unusual in that, while it contains many sloth lemurs, it lacks ratites, hippopotami, and crocodiles typical of nearly all other Holocene subfossil sites on Madagascar. 

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4. Land use-induced spillover: priority actions for protected and conserved area managers

   https://doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.CH.2021.PARKS-27-SIJKR.en  

   Reaser, Jamie K.; Tabor, Gary M.; Becker, Daniel J.; Muruthi, Philip; Witt, Arne; Woodley, Stephen J.; Ruiz-Aravena, Manuel; Patz, Jonathan A.; Hickey, Valerie; Hudson, Peter J.; et al (March 2021, PARKS)
5. Leveraging Climate and Governance Variability to Support Future Protected Area Risk Assessments

   Amina Ly1 and Noah Diffenbaugh1, 2 (April 2023, EGU General Assembly 2023)

   Protected areas are a critical tool for managing and ensuring the persistence of species biodiversity and land conservation. Their spatial extents are used to measure progress towards land protections by several international targets. However, governance type, management, and enforcement of these protected areas vary sub-nationally, and can influence the efficacy of the designation. Simultaneously, climatic conditions are coupled with species resilience, and changes in climate can be associated with shifts, expansions, and contractions of viable areas for habitat maintenance. Climate change is expected to change baseline climatic conditions globally and is likely to limit the benefits of terrestrial protected areas. Improved understanding of the relationship between governance, regional climate change, and protected areas can further enhance tracking of land cover change and inform protection strategies implemented across spatial scales. To aid in informed decision making at sub-national scales, we combine information on terrestrial sites in the World Database on Protected Areas, historic and future climate projections from CMIP6, and remotely sensed data on vegetation cover (NDVI). We leverage categorical differences in protected area management, as well as climate anomalies through time to explore their relationship to land cover change, and create additional tools for risk assessment that may be used in conjunction with local governance processes 

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