New Research on Biodiversity and Nature

A round-up of recent work published in scientific journals

Migrant bird mortality. Conflict-stricken biodiversity. Lingering oil impacts. Ocean philanthropy. Under-staffed protected areas. Gentrification and wild mammals. Plastic perils. And much more...

What kills birds trying to migrate between Africa and Eurasia? Researchers gathered data from studies of birds wearing tracking devices to assess patterns of mortality for species migrating between Africa and Eurasia. They found 1,704 mortality records for 45 bird species including raptors, storks, and cranes. Confirmed human-caused deaths were 1.64 times more common than known natural deaths. The three main reasons for human-caused deaths were electrocution (40.5 percent), illegal killing (21.7 percent), and poisoning (16.3 percent). The authors highlight solutions such as insulating power lines and stopping wind turbines during bird migrations, as well as improving law enforcement and public awareness of threats to birds. Read the full paper in Biological Conservation.

How conflict affects biodiversity conservation in the Philippines: Sociopolitical conflict has long afflicted Mindanao, the second largest island in the Philippines. This study shows that areas with higher levels of conflict had less forest cover, few species and fewer records of where species occur. It shows that as well as harming biodiversity directly, conflict limits knowledge about biodiversity and hinders conservation efforts such as monitoring and the implementation of protective measures. The authors identify ten ways to fill gaps in biodiversity knowledge in conflicted areas. Read the full paper in npj Biodiversity.

Fish not seen since the world’s worst oil spill: The Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010 was the biggest pollution incident of its kind. Little is known about its long-term impacts on fish. To address this, researchers compared data from ten years either side of the oil spill to assess what effect the event had on fish that are endemic — meaning that they live nowhere else. The researchers show that 29 of the 78 endemic species have not been collected or recorded since the oil spill. They note that some of these species were already in decline before the oil spill. Read the press release or the full paper in Biodiversity Data Journal.

Gentrified parts of US cities have more wild mammal species: Gentrification is the term for what happens when relatively wealthy people move to an area and displace the existing inhabitants as prices for property and services rise. This study shows that the process also affects wildlife. It showed that gentrified areas in the United States have more an average of 13 percent more species of wild mammal than ungentrified parts of the same city. The research is based on data from motion-detecting cameras at 999 sites in 23 cities. The authors discuss their findings in terms of how people’s wealth shapes their opportunities to encounter wildlife and connect with nature. Read the press release or find the full paper in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Communities have little say in philanthropic funding for marine conservation: Philanthropic foundations funding marine conservation rarely engage local communities when deciding how and where to allocate finance, according to this study. The researchers interviewed 46 individuals from 32 foundations. Only 11 of the foundations reported some level of community engagement in their decision-making processes. Just two of them actually empowered communities to shape funding priorities and projects. The researchers say the lack of community involvement reinforces unequal power relations so may undermine the legitimacy and effectiveness of conservation projects. Read the full paper in Conservation Biology.

High concentrations of plastic precursors threaten a wide variety of marine species: Nurdles are the tiny pieces of plastic used to many plastic products. In January 2024, millions of them spilled into the ocean from a cargo ship off the coast of Portugal. In this study, researchers assessed the effects of such high levels of plastic pollution on marine life. They showed that exposure to high concentrations of nurdles and pellets of polyvinylchloride (PVC) affect the development and kill the embryos of a wide variety of invertebrate species, including species of sea urchin, mussel, worm, crustacean and starfish. Read the press release or the full paper in Chemosphere.

Madagascar’s protected areas are severely understaffed: Madagascar is rich in biodiversity, with many plants and species that occur nowhere else on Earth. This biodiversity is at high risk from deforestation, climate change and unsustainable practices linked to poverty. In 2015, the government tripled the country’s number of protected areas. But as this study show, they are poorly staffed. The researchers calculated that the protected areas have just one staff member for every 37.3 km² of area — just one third of the globally recommended staffing level. Read the full paper in Conservation Science and Practice.

See also, new papers on:

• How to engender social cohesion needed to address planetary crises (see also the press release)

• Attitudes toward biodiversity offsets and markets in online media articles

• An association between natural diversity on mental wellbeing (see also the press release)

• Mammal recovery inside and outside terrestrial protected areas

• Navigating ecological novelty towards planetary stewardship

• Balancing protection and sustainable production in ocean conservation

• Where best to protect plant life across Africa?

• Preventing extinction in an age of species migration and planetary change

• What social media posts tell us about how visitors perceive rainforests

In case you missed it…

Earlier this week, I published Nature Beat #25— full of news, resources, jobs, great stories, and more.

Nature Beat #25

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