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1. Principles for area‐based biodiversity conservation

   https://doi.org/10.1111/ele.14459  

   Riva, Federico; Haddad, Nick; Fahrig, Lenore; Banks‐Leite, Cristina (June 2024, Ecology Letters)

   Abstract Recent international agreements have strengthened and expanded commitments to protect and restore native habitats for biodiversity protection (“area‐based biodiversity conservation”). Nevertheless, biodiversity conservation is hindered because how such commitments should be implemented has been strongly debated, which can lead to suboptimal habitat protection decisions. We argue that, despite the debates, there are three essential principles for area‐based biodiversity conservation. These principles are related to habitat geographic coverage, amount, and connectivity. They emerge from evidence that, while large areas of nature are important and must be protected, conservation or restoration of multiple small habitat patches is also critical for global conservation, particularly in regions with high land use. We contend that the many area‐based conservation initiatives expected in the coming decades should follow the principles we identify, regardless of ongoing debates. Considering the importance of biodiversity for maintenance of ecosystem services, we suggest that this would bring widespread societal benefits. 

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2. Emerging threats and persistent conservation challenges for freshwater biodiversity

   https://doi.org/10.1111/brv.12480  

   Reid, Andrea J.; Carlson, Andrew K.; Creed, Irena F.; Eliason, Erika J.; Gell, Peter A.; Johnson, Pieter T. J.; Kidd, Karen A.; MacCormack, Tyson J.; Olden, Julian D.; Ormerod, Steve J.; et al (November 2018, Biological Reviews)

   ABSTRACT In the 12 years since Dudgeonet al. (2006) reviewed major pressures on freshwater ecosystems, the biodiversity crisis in the world's lakes, reservoirs, rivers, streams and wetlands has deepened. While lakes, reservoirs and rivers cover only 2.3% of the Earth's surface, these ecosystems host at least 9.5% of the Earth's described animal species. Furthermore, using the World Wide Fund for Nature's Living Planet Index, freshwater population declines (83% between 1970 and 2014) continue to outpace contemporaneous declines in marine or terrestrial systems. The Anthropocene has brought multiple new and varied threats that disproportionately impact freshwater systems. We document 12 emerging threats to freshwater biodiversity that are either entirely new since 2006 or have since intensified: (i) changing climates; (ii) e‐commerce and invasions; (iii) infectious diseases; (iv) harmful algal blooms; (v) expanding hydropower; (vi) emerging contaminants; (vii) engineered nanomaterials; (viii) microplastic pollution; (ix) light and noise; (x) freshwater salinisation; (xi) declining calcium; and (xii) cumulative stressors. Effects are evidenced for amphibians, fishes, invertebrates, microbes, plants, turtles and waterbirds, with potential for ecosystem‐level changes through bottom‐up and top‐down processes. In our highly uncertain future, the net effects of these threats raise serious concerns for freshwater ecosystems. However, we also highlight opportunities for conservation gains as a result of novel management tools (e.g. environmental flows, environmental DNA) and specific conservation‐oriented actions (e.g. dam removal, habitat protection policies, managed relocation of species) that have been met with varying levels of success. Moving forward, we advocate hybrid approaches that manage fresh waters as crucial ecosystems for human life support as well as essential hotspots of biodiversity and ecological function. Efforts to reverse global trends in freshwater degradation now depend on bridging an immense gap between the aspirations of conservation biologists and the accelerating rate of species endangerment. 

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3. Resurrection genomics provides molecular and phenotypic evidence of rapid adaptation to salinization in a keystone aquatic species

   https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2217276120  

   Wersebe, Matthew J.; Weider, Lawrence J. (February 2023, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences)

   Ecologists and evolutionary biologists are increasingly cognizant of rapid adaptation in wild populations. Rapid adaptation to anthropogenic environmental change is critical for maintaining biodiversity and ecosystems services into the future. Anthropogenic salinization of freshwater ecosystems is quickly emerging as a primary threat, which is well documented in the northern temperate ecoregion. Specifically, many northern temperate lakes have undergone extensive salinization because of urbanization and the associated increase in impervious surfaces causing runoff, and the extensive use of road deicing salts (e.g., NaCl). It remains unclear whether increasing salinization will lead to extirpation of species from these systems. Using a “resurrection genomics” approach, we investigated whether the keystone aquatic herbivore,Daphnia pulicaria,has evolved increased salinity tolerance in a severely salinized lake located in Minnesota, USA. Whole-genome resequencing of 54Daphniaclones from the lake and hatched from resting eggs that represent a 25-y temporal contrast demonstrates that many regions of the genome containing genes related to osmoregulation are under selection in the study population. Tolerance assays of clones revealed that the most recent clones are more tolerant to salinity than older clones; this pattern is concomitant with the temporal pattern of stabilizing salinity in this lake. Together, our results demonstrate that keystone species such asDaphniacan rapidly adapt to increasing freshwater salinization. Further, our results indicate that rapid adaptation to salinity may allow lakeDaphniapopulations to persist in the face of anthropogenic salinization maintaining the food webs and ecosystem services they support despite global environmental change. 

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4. Soil biodiversity and function under global change

   https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.3003093  

   Delgado-Baquerizo, Manuel; Eldridge, David J; Liu, Yu-Rong; Liu, Zhong-Wen; Coleine, Claudia; Trivedi, Pankaj (March 2025, PLOS Biology)

   Soil organisms represent the most abundant and diverse organisms on the planet and support almost every ecosystem function we know, and thus impact our daily lives. Some of these impacts have been well-documented, such as the role of soil organisms in regulating soil fertility and carbon sequestration; processes that have direct implications for essential ecosystem services including food security and climate change mitigation. Moreover, soil biodiversity also plays a critical role in supporting other aspects from One Health—the combined health of humans, animals, and the environment—to the conservation of historic structures such as monuments. Unfortunately, soil biodiversity is also highly vulnerable to a growing number of stressors associated with global environmental change. Understanding how and when soil biodiversity supports these functions, and how it will adapt to changing environmental conditions, is crucial for conserving soils and maintaining soil processes for future generations. In this Essay, we discuss the fundamental importance of soil biodiversity for supporting multiple ecosystem services and One Health, and further highlight essential knowledge gaps that need to be addressed to conserve soil biodiversity for the next generations. 

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5. Integrating multiple dimensions of biodiversity to inform global parrot conservation

   https://doi.org/10.32800/abc.2022.45.0189  

   Burgio, K R; Davies, K E; Dreiss, L M; Cisneros, L M; Klingbeil, B T; Presely, S J; van_Rees, C B; Willig, M R (June 2022, Animal Biodiversity and Conservation)

   In addition to changes associated with climate and land use, parrots are threatened by hunting and capture for the pet trade, making them one of the most at risk orders of birds for which conservation action is especially important. Species richness is often used to identify high priority areas for conserving biodiversity. By definition, richness considers all species to be equally different from one another. However, ongoing research emphasizes the importance of incorporating ecological functions (functional diversity) or evolutionary relationships (phylogenetic diversity) to more fully understand patterns of biodiversity, because (1) areas of high species richness do not always represent areas of high functional or phylogenetic diversity, and (2) functional or phylogenetic diversity may better predict ecosystem function and evolutionary potential, which are essential for effective long–term conservation policy and management. We created a framework for identifying areas of high species richness, functional diversity, and phylogenetic diversity within the global distribution of parrots. We combined species richness, functional diversity, and phylogenetic diversity into an Integrated Biodiversity Index (IBI) to identify global biodiversity hotspots for parrots. We found important spatial mismatches between dimensions, demonstrating species richness is not always an effective proxy for other dimensions of parrot biodiversity. The IBI is an integrative and flexible index that can incorporate multiple dimensions of biodiversity, resulting in an intuitive and direct way of assessing comprehensive goals in conservation planning. 

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