Selected publications

The new global biodiversity framework (GBF) must drive action to reverse the decline of biodiversity. However, the draft goals and targets fail to set out these clear outcomes. The authors propose modifications that would help to reveal the specific contribution of each action and provide clarity on whether the achievement of action targets would be adequate to achieve the outcome goals.

The authors investigated the genetic basis underpinning the adaptation of prey to predation. The expansion of multiple gene families might be a key evolutionary event for Daphnia to survive in a habitat containing predators. For example, the expansions of gene families associated with chemoreception and vision allow Daphnia to enhance detection of predation risk.

The authors compiled global economic cost data of invasive species from non-English sources. A large number of costs were added for new invasive species and new countries. As a result, global cost estimates of invasions increased by 16.6% (US$ 214 billion). Multi-language collaborations are necessary to enrich scientific knowledge, to enhance data completeness and reduce knowledge gaps.

The new global biodiversity framework (GBF) must drive action to reverse the decline of biodiversity. However, the draft goals and targets fail to set out these clear outcomes. The authors propose modifications that would help to reveal the specific contribution of each action and provide clarity on whether the achievement of action targets would be adequate to achieve the outcome goals.

The authors examined different facets of β-diversity of stream benthic algae in northeastern China. They found that local environmental and spatial factors are more important than geo-climatic variables in structuring taxonomically and trait-based β-diversity of benthic algae.

The study shows: if all the proposed dams were built, 19 percent of free-flowing rivers that are longer than 500 km and inhabited by freshwater megafauna will lose their free-flowing status. The study also finds that freshwater megafauna diversity is higher in future fragmented free-flowing rivers than in rivers that would remain free-flowing in the future or that are already fragmented.

Explosive growth in “environmental DNA” studies has led to inconsistent use of the term “eDNA”. The confusion could jeopardize research, conservation, and management efforts. The authors argue that eDNA should be defined by its origin rather than by methods used to detect it, and that studies must clearly distinguish between eDNA from whole organisms and from trace amounts found in shed cells.

The study provides insights into how large-bodied marine predators react toward wildlife tourism associated provisioning and allows further discussion about daily energy uptake during provisioning dives, its potential impacts on the ecological role of the target species and associated management measures.