Languages Are Still a Major Barrier to Global Science

While it is recognized that language can pose a barrier to the transfer of scientific knowledge, the convergence on English as the global language of science may suggest that this problem has been resolved. However, our survey searching Google Scholar in 16 languages revealed that 35.6% of 75,513 scientific documents on biodiversity conservation published in 2014 were not in English. Ignoring such non-English knowledge can cause biases in our understanding of study systems. Furthermore, as publication in English has become prevalent, scientific knowledge is often unavailable in local languages. This hinders its use by field practitioners and policy makers for local environmental issues; 54% of protected area directors in Spain identified languages as a barrier. We urge scientific communities to make a more concerted effort to tackle this problem and propose potential approaches both for compiling non-English scientific knowledge effectively and for enhancing the multilingualization of new and existing knowledge available only in English for the users of such knowledge.European Commission’s Marie Curie International Incoming Fellowship Programme (grant number PIIF-GA-2011-303221). Received by TA. The funder had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript. European Commission's Marie Sklodowska-Curie Actions (grant number H2020-MSCA-IF-2014- 656572). Received by JPGV. The funder had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript. Isaac Newton Trust (grant number 15.23(s))

Seed dispersers help plants to escape global warming

Plants are shifting their ranges towards higher elevations in response to global warming, yet such shifts are occurring at a rate slower than is needed to keep pace with a rapidly changing climate. There is, however, an almost complete lack of knowledge on seed dispersal across altitude, a key process to understand what constrains climate-driven range shifts. Here, we report the first direct empirical evidence on altitudinal seed dispersal mediated by two common frugivorous mammals: the red fox Vulpes vulpes and the pine marten Martes martes. We conducted a three-year (bait-marking) experiment in a mountainous region of Spain. We offered experimental fruits containing colour-coded seed mimics at feeding stations that simulated source trees. The colour codes allowed us to identify the exact origin of seed mimics found later in mammal scats. Nearly half (47%) of the dispersal events occurred towards higher elevations, despite only ca 25% of the study area being above the average altitude of the feeding stations (1344 m). Seeds dispersed uphill gained an average of 106 m (median = 111 m) and a maximum of 288 m, greatly exceeding the estimated requirements to escape warming (35.4 m per decade). Yet, foxes mediated much more uphill seed dispersal than martens (57% and 26% of dispersal events, respectively), which can be explained by between-disperser differences in home range size and habitat specificity. Dispersers with larger home ranges move farther and potentially disperse more seeds to higher altitudes, while habitat generalism is necessary to transport seeds above vegetation belts delimiting contrasting habitat types. We discuss how both traits (home range size and habitat specificity) can be used to infer altitudinal seed dispersal across disperser species and mountainous landscapes.This study was funded by the Galician Regional Government (project PGIDIT 05RFO 20001 PR). JPGV 310 was supported by an Individual Fellowship from the Marie Sklodowska-Curie Actions (H2020-MSCA-IF-2014-656572: MOBILELINKS). JVLB was supported by a ‘Juan de la 312 Cierva’ research contract (JCI-2012-13066) from the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness

The Labile Limits of Forbidden Interactions

Forbidden links are defined as pairwise interactions that are prevented by the biological traits of the species. We focus here on the neglected importance of intraspecific trait variation in the forbidden link concept. We show how intraspecific trait variability at different spatiotemporal scales, and through ontogeny, reduces the expected prevalence of forbidden interactions. We also highlight how behavior can foster interactions that, from traits, would be predicted to be forbidden. We therefore discuss the drawbacks of frameworks recently developed to infer biotic interactions using available trait data (mean values). Mispredictions can have disproportionate effects on inferences about community dynamics. Thus, we suggest including intraspecific variability in trait-based models and using them to guide the sampling of real interactions in the field for validation

Interspecific competition for frugivores: population-level seed dispersal in contrasting fruiting communities

Indirect interactions among plant species mediated by frugivorous animals can be central to population and community dynamics, since the successful seed dispersal of species may depend on facilitative or competitive interactions with heterospecific plants. Yet, empirical evidence on these interactions is very scarce and mostly available at small spatial scales, within populations. Because lipid-rich fruits are known to be preferred by migratory birds, here we test our prediction of competitive inferiority of a carbohydrate-rich fruited species (the hawthorn Crataegus monogyna) compared to lipid-rich co-fruiting species in a Mediterranean region where the bulk of seed dispersal relies on migratory birds. We assessed avian seed dispersal in both relative (fruit removal rate) and absolute terms (seed dispersal magnitude) in seven hawthorn populations distributed across an altitudinal gradient encompassing three contrasting fruiting contexts: hawthorn is scarce in the lowlands, common in the midlands, and the dominant fruit species in the highlands. We found evidence of seed dispersal reduction due to interspecific competition in the lowland populations, where lipid-rich fruits dominate. Besides, DNA-barcoding analysis of bird-dispersed seeds revealed that only a small subset of the local frugivore assemblages consumed hawthorn fruits in the lowland communities. Instead, the consumers of hawthorn fruits resembled the local frugivore assemblages where hawthorn fruits were more dominant and frugivore choices more limited. Our study suggests mechanisms by which the rarity or dominance of plant species might be jointly influenced by environmental constraints (here, precipitation along the altitudinal gradient) and frugivore-mediated indirect interactions among plants hindering or facilitating seed dispersal

The major barriers to evidence-informed conservation policy and possible solutions

Conservation policy decisions can suffer from a lack of evidence, hindering effective decision-making. In nature conservation, studies investigating why policy is often not evidence-informed have tended to focus on Western democracies, with relatively small samples. To understand global variation and challenges better, we established a global survey aimed at identifying top barriers and solutions to the use of conservation science in policy. This obtained the views of 758 people in policy, practice, and research positions from 68 countries across six languages. Here we show that, contrary to popular belief, there is agreement between groups about how to incorporate conservation science into policy, and there is thus room for optimism. Barriers related to the low priority of conservation were considered to be important, while mainstreaming conservation was proposed as a key solution. Therefore, priorities should focus on convincing the public of the importance of conservation as an issue, which will then influence policy-makers to adopt pro-environmental long-term policies.NERC (1653183) Grantham Foundation for the Protection of the Environment Kenneth Miller Trust (unknown) NERC (1653183) NERC (NE/L002507/1) European Commission (308454

Neonicotinoid Insecticides and Their Impacts on Bees: A Systematic Review of Research Approaches and Identification of Knowledge Gaps

It has been suggested that the widespread use of neonicotinoid insecticides threatens bees, but research on this topic has been surrounded by controversy. In order to synthesize which research approaches have been used to examine the effect of neonicotinoids on bees and to identify knowledge gaps, we systematically reviewed research on this subject that was available on the Web of Science and PubMed in June 2015. Most of the 216 primary research studies were conducted in Europe or North America (82%), involved the neonicotinoid imidacloprid (78%), and concerned the western honey bee Apis mellifera (75%). Thus, little seems to be known about neonicotinoids and bees in areas outside Europe and North America. Furthermore, because there is considerable variation in ecological traits among bee taxa, studies on honey bees are not likely to fully predict impacts of neonicotinoids on other species. Studies on crops were dominated by seed-treated maize, oilseed rape (canola) and sunflower, whereas less is known about potential side effects on bees from the use of other application methods on insect pollinated fruit and vegetable crops, or on lawns and ornamental plants. Laboratory approaches were most common, and we suggest that their capability to infer real-world consequences are improved when combined with information from field studies about realistic exposures to neonicotinoids. Studies using field approaches often examined only bee exposure to neonicotinoids and more field studies are needed that measure impacts of exposure. Most studies measured effects on individual bees. We suggest that effects on the individual bee should be linked to both mechanisms at the sub-individual level and also to the consequences for the colony and wider bee populations. As bees are increasingly facing multiple interacting pressures future research needs to clarify the role of neonicotinoids in relative to other drivers of bee declines

Forest biodiversity, ecosystem functioning and the provision of ecosystem services

Forests are critical habitats for biodiversity and they are also essential for the provision of a wide range of ecosystem services that are important to human well-being. There is increasing evidence that biodiversity contributes to forest ecosystem functioning and the provision of ecosystem services. Here we provide a review of forest ecosystem services including biomass production, habitat provisioning services, pollination, seed dispersal, resistance to wind storms, fire regulation and mitigation, pest regulation of native and invading insects, carbon sequestration, and cultural ecosystem services, in relation to forest type, structure and diversity. We also consider relationships between forest biodiversity and multifunctionality, and trade-offs among ecosystem services. We compare the concepts of ecosystem processes, functions and services to clarify their definitions. Our review of published studies indicates a lack of empirical studies that establish quantitative and causal relationships between forest biodiversity and many important ecosystem services. The literature is highly skewed; studies on provisioning of nutrition and energy, and on cultural services, delivered by mixed-species forests are under-represented. Planted forests offer ample opportunity for optimising their composition and diversity because replanting after harvesting is a recurring process. Planting mixed-species forests should be given more consideration as they are likely to provide a wider range of ecosystem services within the forest and for adjacent land uses. This review also serves as the introduction to this special issue of Biodiversity and Conservation on various aspects of forest biodiversity and ecosystem services

Contrasting heterozygosity-fitness correlations between populations of a self-compatible shrub in a fragmented landscape

The mechanisms underlying heterozygosity-fitness correlations (HFCs) are subject of intense debates, especially about how important population features such as size or degree of isolation influence HFCs. Here, we report variation in HFCs between Large and Small populations of a self-compatible shrub (Myrtus communis) occurring within an extremely fragmented landscape. In each of the five study populations, we obtained data on both heterozygosity and fitness for 9-12 maternal families (i. e. offspring from the same mother plant). Whereas heterozygosity explained most of the variance (60-86 %) in growth rate of seedling families within Large populations, this relationship was absent within Small populations. Our results suggest that inbreeding may explain the observed HFCs within Large populations, and that different genetic processes (such as genetic drift and/or selection) could have overridden HFCs within Small populations. While it is difficult to draw general conclusions from five populations, we think our results open new research perspectives on how different genetic processes underlie variation in HFCs under different population contexts. Our study also points to a need for further attention on the complex relationships between heterozygosity in self-compatible plants and their progeny in relation to mating system variation. Finally, our results provide interesting new insights into how population genetic diversity is maintained or lost in a highly fragmented landscape.Ministerio de Educación y Ciencia CGL2008-000938/BOSJunta de Andalucía P06-RNM-01499, P07-RNM-02869, P09-RNM-528