The high position of megafauna among the hunting prey of humans in South America reinforces their central role in extinctions.

Machine learning method counts nearly 12 million dead trees, many likely killed by rising seas

Rapid environmental change and anthropogenic activities are reshaping plant distributional patterns and facilitating novel species compositions. The disturbance-tolerant, globally distributed Honey Locust (Gleditsia) provides a compelling case for studying these novel dynamics. In this study we assessed (1) the realized and potential distribution of the North American Gleditsia triacanthos in its native and introduced ranges, (2) ecological range determinants, (3) potential niche shifts between the North and South American populations of G. triacanthos, and (4) overlaps in the introduced distribution of G. triacanthos and native congeners, as an indicator of risks of hybridization or competitive exclusion. These analyses were based on species distribution modelling, using the Maximum Entropy algorithm. Habitat suitability of G. triacanthos was highest in regions with high Human Modification Index values, indicating anthropogenic disturbance as a major driver of its potential range. The results show a niche difference between the native North American and introduced South American populations of G. triacanthos, supporting high plasticity and local adaptive capacity as previously reported. Further, the results show wide potential for overlapping distributions between G. tricanthos and congeneric species outside North America, pointing to substantial potential for hybridization. This likely poses risks to the genetic integrity of geographically restricted taxa, such as G. caspica in the Caucasus region, but might also provide genetic diversity that could help local populations adapt to global change or, alternatively, create new invasive hybrid linages. Understanding the distributional dynamics and biotic interactions of globally expanding species like G. triacanthos is critical for anticipating ecological change and guiding adaptive conservation and management strategies.

Aside from being a delight to watch, flight in birds is regarded by many cultures as a symbol of freedom, and a source of inspiration for humans to build our own flying machines. This makes those bird...

Om under 100 år risikerer Danmark at skulle sige farvel til bøgetræet - og kan man så fortsat kalde det vores nationaltræ?

Beavers reshape ecosystems in ways that benefit bat richness, activity and feeding activity. We linked increased habitat structures (standing deadwood and canopy heterogeneity) and prey abundance to ...

Nature Reviews Biodiversity - The Greater Tropics are under substantial ecological pressure driven by anthropogenic change, including the introduction of alien plants. This Review explores the...

The Greater Tropics are under substantial ecological pressure driven by anthropogenic change, including the introduction of alien plants. This Review explores the pattern of alien plant invasions and their effects on ecosystems across the Greater Tropics, as well as potential avenues for ecosystem recovery and resilience.

An analysis fusing satellite data with a process-based model of plant growth attributes changes in vegetation activity across terrestrial ecosystems to climatic changes.

In just a few decades, the climate in many of the world’s forests will be so changed that many trees will have difficulty surviving. For example, in wide parts of lowland Central Europe, there is a ri...

As an alternative to monetary estimates, this study expresses the costs of climate change in terms of numbers of people left outside the ‘human climate niche’, which reflects the historically highly c...

Tusindvis af træarter og store skovarealer trues af klimaforandringer, viser nyt dansk studie.

An analysis of plant diversity and soil health across the bison migration corridor suggests free-roaming bison lead to more nutrient-rich plants