biodiversity

A study published in Science Advances has shown that areas affected by extreme wildfires – characterised by rapid spread and great difficulty in extinguishing them – have lower tree cover and reduced resilience compared to less intense fires, which may lead to long-term changes in vegetation. The team analysed 32.1 million hectares of coniferous forest in Canada and the western United States that were affected by fires between 2012 and 2023. Of this area, more than a third was burnt by extreme fires. In these cases, they observed that the faster the fire front advances, the greater the size and severity of the fire and the greater the distance from seed sources for the surviving trees, paving the way for long-term changes in vegetation.

Next Monday, 17 August, COP17 on desertification gets underway in Ulaanbaatar (Mongolia). This is the first of three environmental summits to be held this year. The next event will be in Yerevan (Armenia), where the COP17 on biodiversity will be held from 19 to 30 October, and the year will conclude with the COP31 on climate change, which will take place in Antalya (Turkey) from 9 to 20 November and will be co-chaired by Australia. Why has there been no proposal for a single summit encompassing all three? Would a climate summit held every two years, like those on biodiversity and desertification, be more appropriate? With the United States out of the picture, who is leading them? To answer these and other questions, SMC Spain organised a briefing session with experts who have extensive experience of this type of summit.

Sea cucumbers are known for their regenerative capacity and for exhibiting minimal cellular ageing. An article published in the journal Science Advances has documented the viability of amputated tissue from the species Psolus fabricii for over three years in natural seawater. Samples taken from three individuals of this species showed cellular diversification, immune activity, tissue reorganisation and the uptake of dissolved amino acids—properties that are unparalleled in the current scientific literature, according to the article. The authors also note that the finding may pave the way for a new experimental model, free from ethical concerns, for regenerative biology, biomedical research and tissue engineering.

Decades ago, concerns began to be raised about the decline in honeybee populations. Although their situation has improved, the same cannot be said for other pollinating insects. Together, they enable the reproduction of nearly 90% of flowering plants and directly contribute to three out of every four crops that feed the world. We examine the causes of this decline, their current situation, and the measures being taken to protect them.

Worldwide, 349 species of migratory freshwater fish are at risk and meet the criteria for inclusion in the Appendices of the United Nations Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS), a global treaty designed to protect migratory animals. These fish are among the vertebrates most threatened by factors such as changes in river flow, habitat degradation, exploitation and pollution, the report warns. Among the priority species are 50 species from Europe, including the following freshwater fish from Spain: Alosa alosa (shad), Lampetra planeri (brook lamprey) and Salmo salar (Atlantic salmon).

Global biodiversity is threatened by human impact, which has already led to the extinction of hundreds of species. However, the known tree of life continues to expand with the discovery of numerous clades (groups of organisms that share a common ancestor and all its descendants), according to a international study pubished in PNAS. According to their estimates, made between 2015 and 2020, more than 700 new genera, more than 20 new families, and more than three new orders are described each year, all based on newly discovered species. According to the authors, many new clades remain undiscovered, and describing them before they become extinct should be a priority for research and conservation.

New research analysing more than 33,000 fish populations in the northern hemisphere between 1993 and 2021 reveals that chronic ocean warming is driving a long-term decline in biomass of up to 19.8% per year for species in the Mediterranean, North Atlantic and North-East Pacific. At the same time, in the short term, more fish are thriving in cold areas due to the heat, but these increases are temporary and the authors warn that relying on them would lead to unsustainable exploitation. The study, by the National Museum of Natural Sciences (MNCN-CSIC) and the National University of Colombia, is published in Nature Ecology & Evolution.

Meeting in Manchester (United Kingdom), the plenary session of IPBES (Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services) ratified its Assessment on Business and Biodiversity, which presents data to understand the dependence and impact of businesses on nature and proposes more than 100 measures to improve the global situation. Three of its representatives explained the main results and proposals at a briefing organized by SMC Spain.

The claim that one type of tree—Picea abies—can anticipate a solar eclipse through electrical signals is based ‘on speculative interpretations and unsupported evolutionary assumptions,’ according to an opinion piece published in the journal Trends in Plant Science. The paper refutes another from 2025 that claimed these trees synchronised their bioelectrical behaviour hours before a solar eclipse in Italy's Dolomite region. According to the authors of the new article, this electrical activity can be explained by temperature changes and atmospheric electrical discharges.

An international team has analysed data from more than 700 mammal populations in zoos since 1970 and concludes that there has been an ageing of the animals and a decline in females of reproductive age. According to the authors, this jeopardises the role of zoos in conserving endangered wildlife species and promoting global biodiversity. The findings are published in the journal PNAS.