The Atlantic Forest is one of the most threatened tropical forests in the world. Many species have declined and become isolated because of pervasive forest loss and degradation. Here we assess the current population status of Atlantic Forest tree species from Santa Catarina state in southern Brazil to inform conservation policies and future management and protection. We used a novel methodology to generate automated conservation assessments from forest surveys and herbaria data, based on IUCN criteria A, B, C and D. We assessed more than 500 tree species whose populations are considered threatened. Population size reduction (i.e. IUCN criterion A) was the main indicator of threat, followed by restricted geographical range (criterion B). We observed population reductions of over 50% over three generations in more than 60% of the assessments. We recommend including taxonomically verified herbaria data to improve the accuracy of conservation assessments. The results obtained here can be used to identify important and potential regions for creating protected areas and implementing forest restoration programmes.

Seabirds are excellent ecosystem indicators and are amongst the most threatened taxa globally. Aldabra Atoll, Seychelles, supports significant breeding colonies of seabirds, especially red-footed boobies Sula sula. The population was surveyed by boat during 1968–1969 and in 2000, over which period the population grew from c. 6,500 to 10,000 breeding pairs. In 2022–2023, we monitored five subcolonies across Aldabra to determine breeding phenology and breeding success. In August 2022 and February 2023, we surveyed the atoll-wide population using the boat-based survey methodology followed in earlier studies. We also carried out unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) surveys in February 2023 to compare the results with the boat-based counts and to quantify inland colonies undetectable by boat. Boat surveys revealed that Aldabra’s red-footed booby population had grown to 36,720 pairs by 2023, an increase that is intrinsically possible based on our population model but only if the much lower count in 2000 was an underestimate. The UAV and boat counts were closely aligned in our study, and aerial images captured a similar number of nests to boat surveys for shoreline colonies. However, UAV surveys revealed several undocumented inland colonies. An additional 5,574 inland breeding pairs of red-footed boobies were counted from images captured inland during aerial surveys in the 2023 wet season, bringing the atoll-wide population to at least 45,817 pairs. We recommend UAVs for surveys of large, conspicuous seabird species at low-lying mangrove colonies. Our study highlights the global importance of Aldabra as the most significant red-footed booby colony in the Indian Ocean and possibly the world.

In central Argentina there is intense conflict between productive livestock activities and wild carnivores, particularly the puma Puma concolor. Livestock guarding dogs are one of the most effective non-lethal tools for reducing predation on livestock, and their use has increased globally, and in this area recently. Using 5 years (2018–2022) of camera-trap data, we analysed the daily activity patterns of pumas and a guarding dog, identified the major factors affecting puma habitat use, and examined puma–dog interactions in a human-dominated landscape in central Argentina. In a total sampling effort of 23,738 trap-days, we recorded 212 events of pumas and 166 of the dog. Pumas had a nocturnal activity pattern, whereas the guarding dog was mostly diurnal, with activity peaks in the early morning and afternoon. The intensity of habitat use by pumas increased with the proportion of scrubland cover and the distance from points where human activity was the greatest but was not affected by the presence of the dog. We found that the interactions between pumas and the guarding dog were infrequent and limited in space, and some evidence that pumas may avoid the presence of the dog. This exploration of puma–livestock guarding dog interactions contributes to knowledge of how guarding dogs work as a non-lethal measure to mitigate human–carnivore conflicts and what their effects are on wildlife in a modified rural landscape where ranching is the main economic activity.

Despite significant efforts to assess conservation status, many endemic plants in Brazil remain largely unstudied, including Stachytarpheta, a genus of Verbenaceae with 90 species in the country, of which 82 are endemic. Working with the Brazilian National Center for Plant Conservation, we evaluated all endemic Stachytarpheta for the IUCN Red List. We concluded that 57% of endemic species are threatened (Critically Endangered, Endangered, Vulnerable), 6% are Near Threatened, 22% are Least Concern and 10% are Data Deficient. Threatened species are found exclusively in the Cerrado, Caatinga and Atlantic Forest biomes, where they face threats from livestock farming and ranching, agroindustry, mining and an increased frequency and intensity of wildfires. These species predominantly grow in campos rupestres and savannahs, especially in the Espinhaço Range in Bahia and Minas Gerais states and Chapada dos Veadeiros in Goiás state. At least 68% of the threatened species have one record within a protected area. We highlight the importance of Chapada Diamantina in Bahia and the Diamantina Plateau in Minas Gerais within the Espinhaço Range for the conservation of threatened and unprotected species. This study underscores the important role of taxonomists in the assessment of threatened species, emphasizes the need for further field surveys to gather key information about Data Deficient species and highlights the restricted distribution of several Stachytarpheta species in Brazil.

Increasing evidence shows that genuine collaboration between scientists and Indigenous Peoples and local communities can deepen global understanding of species’ ecological distribution ranges, baselines and trends. In this study, we explore trends in bird body mass as reflected in the collective biocultural memory of 10 place-based communities on three continents. To do so, we conducted a globally coordinated survey, asking 1,434 adult participants about the most common bird species around their territories both at present and during their childhood. The survey resulted in 6,914 unique bird reports, corresponding to 283 bird species and covering an 80-year period (1940–2020). By combining our ethno-ornithological dataset with scientific data on species’ body mass, we assessed whether the composition of locally abundant bird assemblages has shifted towards smaller-bodied species over time. Our results show a general shift in the bird species observed over the participants’ lifetimes, with recent species assemblages being composed of species with smaller body sizes than those in the past. Despite variation among sites, we find an overall statistically significant body mass reduction of 72% across all sites over 80 years. This work illustrates that the depth of the current avian extinction crisis, which has been well documented by scientists, is also widely acknowledged by Indigenous Peoples and local communities through their deep ecological knowledge and place-based observations. It highlights the substantial benefits of establishing meaningful collaborations across different knowledge systems to increase the evidence basis that underpins biodiversity policy and practice.

Prevailing narratives within the conservation decision-making literature argue conservation professionals should utilize rational, objective methods that do not engage emotion to make decisions. However, as conservation professionals are emotional beings, it is inevitable that emotion will be present during such processes. Perpetuated narratives and limited investigation into the involvement of conservation professionals’ emotion in decision-making processes mean the emotional selves of conservationists continue to be denied and unexplored, potentially hindering transformative change. To trouble these prevalent narratives, I investigate if and how conservationists’ emotion is involved in decision-making and whether external structures influence this involvement. Sixteen conservation professionals took part in this study. The data were gathered through semi-structured interviews, the diary method and a workshop, and were subjected to a thematic analysis. The findings demonstrate that conservationists’ emotion plays three roles within conservation decision-making processes: as a way of knowing, as a (de)motivator, and as a relationship shaper. These roles are not recognized or nurtured, and this is predominantly influenced by organizational culture. These findings indicate the need for conservation organizations to create healthy emotional cultures, to in turn enable professionals to acknowledge, and utilize, the roles of emotion within their work. Additionally, creating organizational cultures that encourage and enable the expression of, engagement with, and reflection on emotion could support conservationists to enact transformative change and transform the field of conservation itself.

The Manapany day gecko Phelsuma inexpectata is a Critically Endangered species endemic to Réunion Island in the Indian Ocean. Studying its geographical distribution and its evolution is important for developing effective biodiversity conservation strategies. We evaluated past and current distributions of P. inexpectata using records from 2008–2020 and through recent, intensive field surveys (230 person-days, 2020–2022). We found that its past distribution has declined by more than 28% (5.12 ha), from 19.44 ha to 14.32 ha. In natural habitats, the distribution of P. inexpectata has been strongly affected, declining by c. 45%, but we identified new areas of occurrence (10.72 ha) through field surveys. Most of these new areas (79%) were found in anthropogenic habitats where the species had not been documented before. The current distribution of P. inexpectata covers c. 24 ha, of which 75% is located in urban areas such as gardens and green urban spaces. Moreover, our field survey showed that at least 10% of its range is now colonized by the invasive gold-dust day gecko Phelsuma laticauda. This survey provides an essential baseline for tracking the future distribution of this threatened species and its potential invasive competitor, and for monitoring how changes to its habitat affect the distribution of P. inexpectata.

We report the rediscovery of two endemic tree species of the genus Myrcia (Myrtaceae) in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest in 2021–2022. Both Myrcia colpodes and Myrcia rubiginosa were previously known from a small number of specimens collected mostly in the 19th century in the Metropolitan Region of Rio de Janeiro state in Brazil. Living specimens had not been recorded since 1958 and 2005, respectively. We provide here photographic documentation and updated risk assessments for both species, which will be submitted to IUCN for a formal assessment. Our findings illustrate that rare species that have not been collected for long periods can sometimes be found in plain sight in urban forest fragments. We also highlight the importance of protected areas for the conservation of forest trees, in particular rediscovered species. We recommend a number of conservation actions and encourage the Brazilian government, scientific institutions and civil society to acknowledge the importance of these species and to act to safeguard their future.

Throughout its range, the Eurasian spoonbill Platalea leucorodia is migratory, but there is a well-documented exception in a population living in the Parc National du Banc d’Arguin in Mauritania. Based on their smaller body size, absence of a yellowish breast band during breeding, and fully black bills, they were assigned subspecies status (Platalea leucorodia balsaci) in 1974. Despite obvious threats (small numbers, and their low-lying breeding islets being under pressure from sea level rise), the Mauritanian spoonbill has not been assessed for inclusion on the IUCN Red List. The nominate subspecies P. leucorodia leucorodia, which joins the Mauritanian subspecies at Banc d’Arguin during the non-breeding season, is categorized as Least Concern. There is genetic and behavioural evidence of gene flow between balsaci and leucorodia, and in December 2023 and 2024, we observed that over half of the spoonbills born at Banc d’Arguin (identifiable by their colour-rings) had the yellow-tipped bill characteristic of leucorodia. As the increase in the marked balsaci population has not resulted in resightings away from Banc d’Arguin in the well-monitored flyway of leucorodia from West Africa to Europe, the introgression of leucorodia genes into balsaci seems to have left the isolating character of residency of the Banc d’Arguin-breeding spoonbills intact. We propose that the subspecies balsaci should be categorized as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List. We recommend continued monitoring of the breeding population of balsaci, with the inclusion of new studies of morphology and genetics.

Armed conflicts in biodiversity hotspots across Africa significantly threaten conservation efforts. The incursion of armed groups since 2017 in the W–Arly–Pendjari Complex in Benin, Niger and Burkina Faso poses a severe threat to conservation efforts in one of West Africa’s largest transboundary natural World Heritage sites. Local conservation managers often have no clear strategies to address such threats. A better understanding of the key drivers of the armed conflict would help them to respond quickly and effectively using adaptive management approaches. We used the participative Delphi technique to identify the factors driving the conflict, the key players contributing to security threats in the region and the stakeholders who could contribute to solving the conservation issues linked to the security crisis. A panel of 20 experts identified the main drivers of the insecurity to be political, economic and social, especially the vulnerability and marginalization of local communities as a consequence of weak government control and limited resources. Violent extremist groups, particularly Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin, pose significant threats to conservation efforts in the region, which our results suggest would be best addressed through military action and regional cooperation to combat terrorism. We recommend that conservation managers adopt a community-focused strategy to reduce the vulnerability of forest-dependent communities and counter local alliances with Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin. Our findings contribute to a wider understanding of how the growing threat of violent extremist groups can negatively affect protected areas and what steps should be taken to counter this.

Biological invasions can impact the dynamics of ecological processes. For primates of the genus Callithrix, congeneric introductions and hybridization are one of the greatest threats to native species. Three species of Callithrix have been recorded in Rio Doce State Park in south-east Brazil: the Endangered native buffy-tufted-ear marmoset Callithrix aurita and two introduced marmosets, the Geoffroy’s tufted-ear marmoset Callithrix geoffroyi and the black-pencilled marmoset Callithrix penicillata, but their relative abundance was unknown. We used the call playback method and adapted N-mixture models to estimate the abundance and of these marmosets in relation to canopy cover, tree circumference, tree density, number of lianas and epiphytes per tree, distances to nearest forest edge, road, tourist area and urban area, and detection probability in relation to survey effort, mean daily precipitation and temperature. We recorded 139 individuals (0.12 individuals/ha), all hybrids except for one C. aurita. Marmoset abundance was higher close to the forest edge, possibly as a result of the greater availability of food and shelter there. Detection probability was positively correlated with daily precipitation, most probably because marmosets foraged more actively when humidity was high. The situation in Rio Doce State Park is critical, with high hybridization levels and potential local extinction of C. aurita. We recommend that a management plan to conserve the remaining C. aurita is implemented urgently.