Lost species are those that have not been observed in the wild for over 10 years, despite searches to find them. Lost tetrapod species (four-limbed vertebrate animals including amphibians, birds, mammals and reptiles) are a global phenomenon—there are more than 800 of them, and they are broadly distributed worldwide.

Our research, published today in the journal Global Change Biology, attempts to pin down why certain tetrapod species are rediscovered but others not. It also reveals that the number of lost tetrapod species is increasing decade-on-decade. This means that despite many searches, we are losing tetrapod species at a faster rate than we are rediscovering them. In particular, rates of rediscovery for lost amphibian, bird and mammal species have slowed in recent years, while rates of loss for reptile species have increased.

An international research group led by Tel Aviv University and Ben-Gurion University of the Negev tried to answer the centuries-long question: why there are more animal and plant species in the tropics?

In the most comprehensive study to this date on species richness of land vertebrates, the researchers explored patterns in the number of species—all across the world—using comprehensive data for tens of thousands of species of amphibians, birds, mammals, and reptiles.

The researchers highlighted again the dominance of tropical regions close to the equator as centers of high biodiversity. When investigating the reasons behind these patterns, they found that the combination of climate and topography was key in explaining them.

Insects and spiders often receive little attention from people, except when we're swatting them away. However, as arthropods—creatures distinguished by a hard exoskeleton and jointed legs— they play an essential role in sustaining the ecosystems humans rely on. Remarkably, arthropods make up approximately 84% of all known animal species.

A study published recently in Scientific Reports reveals how human activity affects biodiversity among arthropods and how nonbiological factors, such as daily temperature swings and proximity to the ocean, affect arthropod biodiversity in urban areas.

All organisms are made of living cells. While it is difficult to pinpoint exactly when the first cells came to exist, geologists' best estimates suggest at least as early as 3.8 billion years ago. But how much life has inhabited this planet since the first cell on Earth? And how much life will ever exist on Earth?

In our new study, published in Current Biology, my colleagues from the Weizmann Institute of Science and Smith College and I took aim at these big questions.

Just 2% of rainforest tree species account for 50% of the trees found in tropical forests across Africa, the Amazon and south-east Asia, a new study has found.

Mirroring patterns found elsewhere in the natural world, researchers have discovered that a few tree species dominate the world’s major rainforests, with thousands of rare species making up the rest.

Led by University College London researchers and published in the Nature journal, the international collaboration of 356 scientists uncovered almost identical patterns of tree diversity across the world’s rainforests, which are the most biodiverse places on the planet. The researchers estimate that just 1,000 species account for half of Earth’s 800 billion trees in tropical rainforests, with 46,000 species making up the remainder.

From an underground "forest" to spectacular orchids, scientists at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, discovered 74 new plants and 15 fungi last year.

Many of the mysterious species were found in unlikely places, such as on the top of a volcano or clinging to Antarctic rocks.

The new finds need immediate protection and at least one will probably already have been lost, the scientists say.

About three-quarters of undescribed plants are threatened with extinction.

Agriculture is the foundation of human civilization and a prime example of our impact on Earth. Almost 40% of our planet's ice-free land surface, most of which was previously forested, is now dedicated to agriculture. As our demand for food increases, so does agricultural deforestation, which is widely viewed as one of the greatest threats to global biodiversity.

Yet, the magnitude of agriculture's impact on biodiversity varies widely across the world. Take birds, for example. While many species in the Ecuadorian Amazon are highly sensitive to deforestation, most birds in Costa Rican agricultural landscapes seem more tolerant.

Research from the Indian Himalayas has reported some bird species even benefit from agriculture at certain times of the year. So far, this variation has mostly been explained by how 'natural' the agricultural landscapes are, for instance, how much forest cover remains, or how frequently synthetic fertilizers are used. But this reasoning does not adequately explain the full story.

A new study led by Peking University and involving 49 institutions from around the world reports that, beyond the 'naturalness' of agricultural landscapes, regions differ inherently and predictably in how sensitive their bird communities are to agricultural deforestation.

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When imagining corals, the picture that comes to mind is usually a stationary one: a garden of rock-like structures covering sections of the ocean floor. Reef conservation efforts typically focus on preserving established coral and protecting them from known stressors such as pollution, overfishing and runoff from coastline populations.

However, new research near Miloliʻi in the southwestern part of Hawai'i Island shows that identifying and protecting marine ecosystems, both down-current and up-current of coral reefs, specifically areas where coral larvae are more likely to survive and thrive, is crucial to future coral conservation and restoration efforts—especially as reefs face increasing pressure from the devastating effects of climate change.

The research, completed by Arizona State University scientists and their collaborators, appears in the current issue of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

A paper published in Nature Communications Biology contributes to the growing appreciation for the outsize role that microbes play in everything from human digestion to crop yields: Microbes in the soil—fungi in this case—appear to be influencing forest diversity on a global scale.

Forests on Earth exhibit a marked gradient from the equator toward the poles: Tropical forests near the equator tend to include a large number of different species, whereas forests nearer the poles support less plant diversity.

One explanation for this phenomenon maintains that soil pathogens, including bacteria and fungi, help create this gradient. Species-specific pathogens accumulate near adult trees, and their abundance can diminish the success of juveniles growing near their parents, thus promoting species diversity. This effect is stronger in warm, wet climates, contributing to the greater diversity in forests near the equator.

However, a new study led by Camille Delavaux, a lead scientist at ETH Zurich in Switzerland, adds a twist to this established story. Mycorrhizal fungi—soil fungi that form mutually beneficial relationships with the majority of plant roots globally—appear to be counteracting the effects of harmful soil pathogens in ways that influence global patterns of forest diversity.

Anoxia threatens inland waters worldwide. Once it has occurred in a lake, the lack of oxygen even sets in motion a downward spiral that accelerates with increasing global warming. This is indicated by the results of an international study involving researchers of TU Bergakademie Freiberg, which were published in Global Change Biology.

According to the study, lakes that were once affected by a lack of oxygen in deep water are affected again the following year. As a result, the living conditions for fish and invertebrates continue to deteriorate, greenhouse gases are increasingly released and nutrient cycles are intensified.

Coastal forests in Japan had predominantly been afforested with black pine (Pinus thunbergii), a shade-tolerant tree species that can withstand dry land ecosystems and harsh coastal environments.

This afforestation initiative, dating back to the Edo period (1603~1867), aimed to mitigate the deleterious effects of robust winds and sand blowing. Subsequent to the Great East Japan Earthquake in 2011, interest shifted to the potential protective effects of coastal forests in reducing the destructive power of tsunamis.

The Great East Japan Earthquake tsunami damaged a total of 2,800 hectares of coastal forest. While the damage was immense, the devastation provided an opportunity to study which coastal forests withstood the tsunami impact and why some forests fared better than others.

An international team of researchers has found that Africa's birds of prey are facing an extinction crisis. The study, co-led by researchers from the School of Biology at the University of St Andrews and The Peregrine Fund, warns of declines among nearly 90% of 42 species examined, and suggests that more than two-thirds may qualify as globally threatened.

The article, "African savanna raptors show evidence of widespread population collapse and a growing dependence on protected areas," was published in the journal Nature Ecology & Evolution on 4 January 2024.

At night in the Cerrado, Brazil's savanna and second-largest biome, larvae of the click beetle Pyrearinus termitilluminans, which live in termite mounds, display green lanterns to capture prey attracted by the bright light.

In more than 30 years of expeditions with his students to Emas National Park and farms around the conservation unit in Goiás state to collect specimens, the phenomenon has never been so rare, said Vadim Viviani, a professor at the Federal University of São Carlos's Science and Technology for Sustainability Center (CCTS-UFSCar) in Sorocaba, São Paulo state.

"In the 1990s, we would see many of these termite mounds full of fireflies and other bioluminescent insects, even in pasture areas. Now, sugarcane is grown in most of the areas, and we hardly see any," he noted.

The dearth was one of the main findings of a study published in Annals of the Entomological Society of America.