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MotivationInformation on species' population trends is essential to assess species' conservation status, make informed environmental decisions and ultimately reduce biodiversity loss. Robust population trends require a long‐term monitoring programme, often using citizen scientists, that ideally generates representative and unbiased data from the study area. Here we present the dataset of the Breeding

AimArbuscular mycorrhizas (AM) and ectomycorrhizas (ECM) have different impacts on nutrient cycling, carbon storage, community dynamics and enhancement of photosynthesis by rising CO2. Recent global analyses have concluded that patterns of AM/ECM dominance in forests worldwide are shaped by climate, with soil nutrients contributing negligible additional explanatory power. However, their reliance on

AimThe goal of this work was to investigate whether the community of avian nest predators shifts from nocturnal to diurnal with changes in latitude. This hypothesis was formulated 70 years ago, under the rationale that longer day length during the bird breeding season at high latitudes increases opportunities for visual predators. Based on other studies investigating the identity of nest predators

AimGlobally, the knowledge of insect distributions is largely insufficient, and that hinders conservation actions against biodiversity loss. Focusing on butterfly diversity, we aimed to fill knowledge gaps and provide new insights into biodiversity conservation in China.LocationChina.Time PeriodOccurrence records from 1950 to 2023.Major Taxa StudiedButterflies, Lepidoptera.MethodsWe collected butterfly

AimPlant recruitment involves both stochastic and deterministic processes. Recruits may establish independently or interact nonrandomly with canopy plants. We explore this deterministic aspect by testing whether recruitment patterns are influenced by the phylogenetic history of canopy and recruiting plants. Since the effect of canopy plants in recruitment can be positive (facilitation), negative (competition)

MotivationSPECTRE is an open‐source database containing standardised spatial data on global environmental and anthropogenic variables that are potential threats to terrestrial species and ecosystems. Its goal is to allow users to swiftly access spatial data on multiple threats at a resolution of 30‐arc seconds for all terrestrial areas. Following the standard set by Worldclim, these data allow full

AimGlobal biodiversity loss resulting from anthropogenic land‐use activities is a pressing concern, requiring precise assessments of impacts at large spatial extents. Existing models mainly focus on species richness and abundance, lacking insights into ecological mechanisms and species' roles in ecosystem functioning. To bridge this gap, we conducted an extensive analysis of the impact of human land

AimUnderstanding the organisation of the wide variety of ecological interactions is crucial to advancing our understanding and management of real ecosystems. We aimed to compile a ‘complete’ network of tetrapod trophic and non‐trophic interactions for the entire North American boreal forest biome that could be analysed to gain insights into community organisation and function. In particular, we aimed

The influences of environmental and spatial processes on species composition have been at the center of metacommunity ecology. Conversely, the relative importance of these processes for species co-occurrences and taxonomic similarity has remained poorly understood. We hypothesised that at a subcontinental scale, shared environmental preference would be the major driver of co-occurrences across species

To characterise the size and geometry of coral reefs on a global scale.

We aimed to delimit hotspots for terrestrial threatened vertebrate species (HTV) through novel macroecological and statistical approaches.

As global change accelerates, accurate predictions of species distributions and biodiversity patterns are critical to limit biodiversity loss. Numerous studies have found that coarse-grain species distribution models (SDMs) perform poorly relative to fine-grain models because they mismatch environmental information with observations. However, it remains unclear how grain-size biases vary in intensity

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Climate-change-induced shifts in the timing of leaf emergence during spring have been widely documented and have important ecological consequences. However, mechanistic knowledge regarding what controls the timing of spring leaf emergence is incomplete. Field-based studies under natural conditions suggest that climate-warming-induced decreases in cold temperature accumulation (chilling) have expanded

Changes in landscape configuration significantly impact ecosystems and the services they provide, including disease regulation for both humans and wildlife. Land use conversion usually favors disturbed-adapted species, which are often known reservoirs of zoonotic parasites, thereby potentially escalating spillover events (i.e., the transmission of parasites to new hosts, including humans). Here we

To determine which riverine invertebrate traits respond consistently to anthropogenic impacts across multiple biogeographic regions.

Identifying the maximum coral cover that a coral community can sustain (i.e., its ‘upper limit’) is important for predicting community dynamics and improving management strategies. Here, we quantify the relationship between estimated upper limits and key environmental factors on coral reefs: hard substrate availability, temperature and water clarity.

Freshwater ecosystems have been heavily impacted by land-use changes, but data syntheses on these impacts are still limited. Here, we compiled a global database encompassing 241 studies with species abundance data (from multiple biological groups and geographic locations) across sites with different land-use categories. This compilation will be useful for addressing questions regarding land-use change

Human activities have been reshaping the natural world for tens of thousands of years, leading to the extinction of hundreds of bird species. Past research has provided evidence of extinction selectivity towards certain groups of species, but trait information is lacking for the majority of clades, especially for prehistoric extinctions identified only through subfossil remains. This incomplete knowledge

Population density is a fundamental parameter in ecology and conservation, and taxonomic and geographic patterns of population density have been an important focus of macroecological research. However, population density data are time-consuming and costly to collect, so their availability is limited. Leveraging decades of research, TetraDENSITY 1.0 was developed as a global repository containing over

Ecological state shifts that alter the structure and function of entire ecosystems are a concerning consequence of human impact. Yet, when, where and why discrete ecological states emerge remains difficult to predict and monitor, especially in high-diversity systems. We sought to quantify state shifts and their drivers through space and time in the most ecologically complex marine ecosystem: tropical

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Mycorrhizal fungi play key roles in the functioning of terrestrial ecosystems. The main types of mycorrhizal associations are arbuscular mycorrhizae, ectomycorrhizae, ericoid mycorrhizae and orchid mycorrhizae. Previous studies have shown that the abundance of plants with different types of mycorrhizal associations change gradually along latitudinal and altitudinal gradients driven by the effects of

Biogeographers have believed for a long time that the geographical distributions of protists are only determined by environmental conditions, because dispersal is not limited. During the past two decades, the field has come a long way to show that historical and spatial factors also significantly contribute to shaping protist distributions, calling for a reappraisal of our understanding of protist

Ecological theory suggests that dispersal limitation and selection by climatic factors influence bacterial community assembly at a continental scale, yet the conditions governing the relative importance of each process remains unclear. The carnivorous pitcher plant Sarracenia purpurea provides a model aquatic microecosystem to assess bacterial communities across the host plant's north–south range in

The global, human-mediated dispersal of invasive insects is a major driver of ecosystem change, biodiversity loss, crop damage and other effects. Trade flows and invasive species propagule pressure are correlated, and their relationship is essential for predicting and managing future invasions. Invaders do not disperse exclusively from the species' native range. Instead, the bridgehead effect, where

To quantify the intra-community variability of leaf-out (ICVLo) among dominant trees in temperate deciduous forests, assess its links with specific and phylogenetic diversity, identify its environmental drivers and deduce its ecological consequences with regard to radiation received and exposure to late frost.

Seasonality governs species composition at a given place and time. However, the effects of climate and land-use change can vary by season, altering species composition. These changes can lead to a loss of distinct seasonal community composition, representing a novel form of biotic homogenisation. We ask if breeding and winter bird communities are becoming more similar over time. If so, is homogenisation

Climate change is altering forest communities at an unprecedented pace. Current knowledge on trees' responses to climate shifts is based mostly on adults. Yet, germination traits and intraspecific variation can notably modulate species niches. This paper provides a quantitative review about warming effects on tree species' germination, the role of population effects and its implications under future

To evaluate the patterns of stream diatom beta diversity in islands versus continents across scales, to relate community similarities with spatial and environmental distances and to investigate the role of island characteristics in shaping insular diatom beta diversity.

The species that compose local communities possess unique sets of functional and ecological traits that can be used as indicators of biotic and abiotic variation across space and time. Body size is a particularly relevant trait because species with different body sizes typically have different life history strategies and occupy distinct niches. Here we used the body sizes of non-volant (i.e., non-flying)

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Habitat loss is the dominant cause of biodiversity decline around the world, yet the complexity and stability of terrestrial assemblages related to suitable habitats have been almost unknown on a global scale.

Termites are a crucial group of macroinvertebrates regulating rates of deadwood decomposition across tropical and subtropical regions. When examining global patterns of deadwood decay, termites are treated as a homogenous group. There exist key biogeographical differences in termite distribution. One such clear distinction is the distribution of fungus-growing termites (FGT, subfamily Macrotermitinae)

Species distribution models (SDMs) are powerful tools for assessing suitable habitats across large areas and at fine spatial resolution. Yet, the usefulness of SDMs for mapping species' realised distributions is often limited since data biases or missing information on dispersal barriers or biotic interactions hinder them from accurately delineating species' range limits. One way to overcome this limitation

To describe worldwide distribution of mammalian cradles and museums using the rates of phylogenetic lineage turnover as a surrogate. Additionally, we investigated the influences of current water–energy dynamics, climate instability, past climate changes and elevational ranges on the distribution of these evolutionary zones.

As global climate changes, there is a clear mismatch between the temporal and spatial characteristics of body temperature and environmental temperature, confounding the assessment of thermal stress for organisms in many ecological studies. Here, we hindcast the hourly body temperatures of intertidal molluscs to explore the differences between them and environmental temperatures (air and water temperatures)

Terrestrial predators play key roles in cycling nutrients, as well as limiting prey populations, and shaping the behaviour of their prey. Prehistoric, historic and ongoing declines of the world's predators have reshaped terrestrial ecosystems and are a topic of conservation concern. However, the availability of ecologically relevant predator functional traits is limited, hampering efforts to understand

The relative importance of traits and phylogeny to predict species extinction risk is unclear and it depends on which traits are measured and their phylogenetic conservatism. Here, we evaluate the power of functional traits, ecological characteristics, such as range size and specialization, and phylogeny to predict climatic risks in European butterflies.

Heterogeneity of the Earth's abiotic surface and subsurface (geodiversity) is increasingly recognised as an important driver of biodiversity. Theoretically, species' traits should match to abiotic conditions in the local environment. Here, we test this for the first time at a continental extent by analysing the relationships between geodiversity and plant trait diversity in forested vegetation plots

The Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework requires that evolutionary histories of species should be considered in conservation planning. The phylogenetic structure of species assemblages quantifies species evolutionary histories and increasingly becomes an endeavour for ecologists. Understanding the geographic patterns of phylogenetic structure of species assemblages and their drivers can

To determine the degree to which assemblages of planktonic foraminifera track thermal conditions.

Accurate estimates of species distributions are crucial for biogeography, spatial conservation, and for assessing the impacts of human activities on species. However, existing approaches to estimate species distributions have typically neglected the influence of land use intensity, potentially overlooking the negative impacts of high-intensity land uses on biodiversity. Here, we build a dataset documenting

Diet is a key aspect of life in animals. There have been numerous independent origins of herbivorous diet across animals, but the factors that explain these origins remain poorly understood. One potentially crucial factor is body temperature (Tb), as the gut-dwelling bacteria that help digest cellulose in many herbivores are thought to require high temperatures. However, analyses in birds, lizards

Long-standing theory predicts that the intensity of biotic interactions increases from high to low latitudes. Studies addressing geographic variation in predation on insect prey have often relied on prey models, which lack many characteristics of live prey. Our goals were to explore global latitudinal patterns of predator attack rates on standardised live insect prey and to compare the patterns in

Climate extremes are becoming more frequent under global warming, with substantial repercussions for vegetation growth. The degree to which climate extremes increase the risk of high-impact events on vegetation growth is of high concern.

Ongoing climate changes represent a major determinant of demographic processes in many organisms worldwide. Birds, and especially long-distance migrants, are particularly sensitive to such changes. To better understand these impacts on long-distance migrants' breeding productivity, we tested three hypotheses focused on (i) the shape of the relationships with different climate variables, including previously

We map global patterns of taxonomic and functional change between past (pre-human impacts) and present (after anthropogenic extinctions and introductions) in large oceanic island bird assemblages and investigate if these patterns can be explained by island characteristics and anthropogenic factors.

Changes in climate are likely to have major impacts on benefits (i.e., biodiversity and ecosystem services) supported by trees. Here we explore the extent to which trees can support multiple benefits, and the potential tradeoffs among them, under increasing dryness.

Understanding the mechanisms promoting resilience in plant communities is crucial in times of increasing disturbance and global environmental change. Here, we present the first meta-analysis evaluating the relationship between functional diversity and resilience of plant communities. Specifically, we tested whether the resilience of plant communities is positively correlated with interspecific trait

Anthropogenic-driven biodiversity loss can impact ecosystem stability. However, most studies have only evaluated the diversity–stability relationship at the local scale and we do not fully understand which factors stabilize animal populations and communities across scales. Here, we investigate the role of species dispersal ability, climate, spatial distance and different facets of biodiversity on the

Substantial progress has been made to map biodiversity and its drivers across the planet at multiple scales, yet studies that quantify the evolutionary processes that underpin this biodiversity, and test their drivers at multiple scales, are comparatively rare. Studying most fish species, we quantify rates of body size evolution to test the role of fundamental salinity habitats in shaping rates of

Ecological and anthropogenic factors shift the abundances of dominant and rare tree species within local forest communities, thus affecting species composition and ecosystem functioning. To inform forest and conservation management it is important to understand the drivers of dominance and rarity in local tree communities. We answer the following research questions: (1) What are the patterns of dominance

Understanding the ecological determinants of interspecific achromatic (light-to-dark) plumage variation in birds is crucial yet challenging due to the complex interplay of climatic, habitat-related, and morphological influences. This study aimed to disentangle the effects of temperature, precipitation, habitat openness, body mass and hand-wing index (HWI, a widely used single-parameter proxy for the

The relationship between body size and trophic position (BS–TP) typically exhibits a positive correlation in aquatic foodwebs, but the strength of this relationship is contingent on ecosystem type and climate. Different hypotheses have been proposed to elucidate climate and ecosystem type effects on the BS–TP relationship for ray-finned fish. However, our understanding of whether such a relationship

Species age, the elapsed time since origination, can give insight into how species longevity might influence eco-evolutionary dynamics, which has been hypothesized to influence extinction risk. Traditionally, species' ages have been estimated from fossil records. However, numerous studies have recently used the branch lengths of time-calibrated phylogenies as estimates of the ages of extant species