Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain
the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in
Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles
and JavaScript.
Species classified as Critically Endangered are at greatest risk of extinction, and their preservation and recovery are crucial to meeting global biodiversity aims. This Review assesses the geographical and taxonomic distribution of Critically Endangered species, their threats, current and required conservation actions, and strategies to facilitate effective, coordinated conservation.
This Review explores the integration of genomic data and evolutionary history to summarize the state of knowledge surrounding the avian adaptive radiation that gave rise to modern birds.
This Perspective provides guidance about how to select the most appropriate type of interaction network for different research questions in ecology. Networks can vary according to the extent of node aggregation and the information that links represent; each kind of network formulation has advantages in different contexts.
Many plants rely on animals to disperse their seeds, but some groups of these seed-dispersing animals are facing severe declines. This Review summarizes evidence of seed disperser declines and discusses the potential consequences for ecosystem function and long-term resilience.
Glaciers are retreating with global climate warming, which threatens glacier specialists and the functions and stability of glaciers and glacially influenced ecosystems. This Review describes the impacts and consequences of glacier retreat for biodiversity, highlighting species that are likely to thrive or decline with glacier loss, and outlines key challenges and research priorities in conserving and managing biodiversity.
Aquatic eDNA-based technologies offer the potential for universal and standardized biodiversity monitoring. In this Perspective, Altermatt et al. discuss how these technologies can help to achieve the targets of the Kunming–Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework through informing appropriate policy and actions, and describe the next steps required for widespread and equitable use of these technologies.
Parasites and their hosts can have complex ecological interactions and evolutionary histories. This Perspective argues that parasites are a major driver of host speciation and outlines an empirical framework for testing this hypothesis.
Natural regeneration is one way that forests can recover after disturbance or deforestation, in addition to active restoration or reforestation. This Review, focused on tropical forests, discusses what is known about the extent and drivers of natural forest regeneration and its potential to contribute essential functions and services to people.
A crucial element of conservation planning is spatial prioritization: the identification of areas that are high priority for conservation. This Review synthesizes advances in climate-smart spatial prioritization, which takes into account the effects of climate change on biodiversity.
Insect biodiversity in tropical forests is poorly understood but is probably facing declines, with serious consequences for ecosystem functions and services. This Review describes the major threats to insect biodiversity, which include the effects of a burgeoning human population and of climate change. The authors further highlight the urgent need for greater efforts to measure and monitor insect biodiversity in the tropics and discuss emerging approaches to facilitate such studies.
This Review explores the genetic basis of diversification and adaptation in non-human primates, including their responses to ecological and environmental changes.
Urban biodiversity underpins ecosystem services in cities, but faces multiple pressures from human activities, declining engagement of urban residents with nature, and inadequate governance systems. This Review discusses the benefits provided by urban biodiversity, the challenges it faces, and approaches to its promotion and conservation.
Forest restoration has the potential to result in substantial biodiversity gains alongside climate and human well-being benefits; however, biodiversity has historically been neglected in restoration efforts. This Review summarizes how differing forest restoration approaches affect impacts on biodiversity, and key knowledge gaps and research priorities for achieving biodiversity-centred restoration.
This Review explores the utility of palaeogenomics for exploring past biodiversity trends and ecosystem responses to a changing world, including natural climate cycles and increasing human activity.
Biodiversity offsets, applied as part of the mitigation hierarchy, aim to ensure that ‘no net loss’ of biodiversity occurs as a result of human development projects and activities. This Review explores offsetting approaches, their effectiveness in comparison with other conservation mechanisms, and the future of offsetting in the context of ‘nature positive’ goals.
Seagrass ecosystems are increasingly recognized for their importance to biodiversity and marine ecosystem function, but they face many threats. This Review summarizes the contributions of seagrass ecosystems to biodiversity, ecosystem function and ecosystem services, and discusses the most important conservation interventions to mitigate key threats.
The mycorrhizal symbiosis between plants and fungi is critical to the success of both partners. This Perspective explores how plant reliance on mycorrhizae varies across ecological scales and how the relationship shifts with changing ecological conditions.
Seven well defined shortfalls in global biodiversity data must be overcome to meet critical global biodiversity targets. Pollock et al. discuss the current and future roles of AI in bridging these knowledge gaps.
In this Perspective, the authors explore several aspects that have shaped the practice of animal conservation translocation. They describe factors influencing how and where conservation translocation is applied, current challenges in the application and assessment of conservation translocation, and future implications of ‘de-extinction’ and the rise of synthetic biology.
Global insect invasions are increasing, driven by advances in globalization and technology. This Review discusses the effects of increasing trade and transport on insect invasions worldwide, and strategies for mitigation of future insect invasions.