biodiversity

A study has analyzed how 69 of the tree species present in Europe - such as oaks, ashes or willows - will behave over this century under different climate change scenarios. In the best-case scenario, the number of species able to survive per square kilometer will be reduced by a third, according to their calculations. For the authors, who publish their results in the journal Nature Ecology & Evolution, this could have strong negative repercussions on timber production, carbon storage and biodiversity conservation.

Two-thirds of biological conservation actions improve biodiversity or slow its decline, a meta-analysis claims. The study highlights the effectiveness of interventions focused on invasive species control, habitat loss reduction and restoration, and protected areas. The article, published in the journal Science, brings together the findings of 186 previous studies.   

A study published in Science Advances analyses population data for great ape species in mining areas in 17 African countries and shows that their habitats overlap, endangering the apes' survival. The study also reveals a considerable information gap: 97% of the mining areas contain no population data for these animals. 

In a recent publication, we discovered that efforts to monitor genetic diversity in Europe are incomplete and need to be extended to account for potential climate change impacts on species of conservation interest.

One in five species included in the list of the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS, to which Spain is a party) is in danger of extinction. These are data from the first global monitoring report on these species published by the World Conservation Monitoring Centre, a branch of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). This figure rises to 97% for fish species. The authors warn that the situation has deteriorated in recent decades due to "intense levels of anthropogenic pressure". The presentation of the report coincides with the start of the COP on the conservation of these species in Uzbekistan (COP14).

Research published in PNAS has analysed the conservation status of 5,400 terrestrial vertebrate genera, comprising 34,600 species, between the years 1500 and 2022. The authors found that 73 genera have become extinct since 1500. Birds suffered the greatest losses, with 44 extinct genera, followed by mammals, amphibians and reptiles. The results reveal that the extinction rate was 35 times higher during this period than the average extinction rate over the previous million years. According to the researchers, the genera lost in the last five centuries would have taken 18,000 years to become extinct without human impact.

Invasive species cause great damage to ecosystems, the economy and human health, but their impacts are underestimated. These are the main conclusions of a report published by the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biological Diversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES). Three researchers who participated in the document explained their results in an informative session organized by the Science Media Center Spain.

One of the world's most invasive species is Solenopsis invicta, an ant native to South America with a painful sting. In an article published in Current Biology, experts confirm the first official sighting of this species in Europe: 88 nests spread over five hectares near Syracuse in Sicily, Italy. The ants could soon spread across the continent, causing serious environmental, health and economic problems. The study is led by the Institute of Evolutionary Biology (IBE) of the CSIC and the UPF.

According to a new report from the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES), human activities have introduced over 37,000 exotic species to regions around the world. The document highlights that more than 3,500 of these are harmful invasive exotic species that are often overlooked until it's too late.

A special issue published in the journals Science and Science Advances shares for the first time the genomes of hundreds of primates, representing 86% of known genera. One of the papers -co-led by the Institute of Evolutionary Biology and the Pompeu Fabra University- analyzes the relationship between the genes of these animals and the risk of suffering from certain diseases such as cancer in humans.