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Climate warming, nutrient loading, and pesticide pollution are major anthropogenic stressors affecting community dynamics and trophic interactions in aquatic ecosystems. However, the complex interplay among these stressors remains poorly understood as most studies focus on a single stressor and overlook the effects of temporal variations. To address this knowledge gap, we first conducted a long-te
Estimating and monitoring migratory bird populations involves significant challenges, even in the most well-studied and easily-counted species, and can be further complicated by long-held but unverified assumptions and by shifting distributions in changing flyway conditions. We illustrate these challenges using Bar-tailed Godwits Limosa lapponica on the East Atlantic Flyway. The subspecies L. l. l
Despite international commitments to phase out fossil fuel subsidies, OECD countries exhibit substantial variation in subsidy levels. This study examines how governing party preferences and institutional context jointly shape subsidy policy across 28 OECD countries from 2010 to 2022. Integrating party manifesto data with fossil fuel subsidy levels in cabinet-year panels, the analysis reveals condi
The technical development, involving digitalization, artificial intelligence, automation, and machine learning, can challenge the current tax system and consequently the means to finance public sector activities in several ways. If technology replaces labor, a tax base that is taxed relatively hard will be replaced by a tax base (capital) that generates less tax revenue, and consequently, less tot
A forthcoming taxonomic treatment of the genus Verbascum in Greece in the frame of The Flora of Greece Project necessitates the description of one species and two subspecies as new to science, the upgrading to subspecies rank of two taxa formerly recognized as varieties, as well as the formation of two new combinations. Verbascum bolbes from the regional unit Thessaloniki is here described as a ne
Although the moth fauna of South Sweden is relatively well known, information about the habitat preferences of species is scarce. To fill this gap and document the relative richness and conservation value of different habitats, 32,683 moth were caught in light traps at >200 sites in Central Skåne (prov. Scania). The relative frequency of species, major taxonomic groups and species with different f
Nineteen new, presumably apomictic species of Hieracium sect. Tridentata, namely Hieracium anisodontum, H. bicoloriceps, H. disparifolium, H. ditrichum, H. erectifolium, H. ferox, H. lapsanae, H. luteoviride, H. megaplicatum, H. multifolium, H. paer-haraldii, H. perpendiculum, H. phaeochlorum, H. prasiniceps, H. semirigidum, H. serriolum, H. spinophytoides, H. svensonii, H. xantholineatum, and one
Habitat loss and nutrient enrichment are major drivers of plant species declines. However, local extinction risks vary widely and are shaped by life-history trait syndromes. Genomic life-history traits, which are simple, stable and widely available, offer a promising yet underexplored approach to improving extinction risk assessments and informing conservation efforts. Using a spatial comparison a
Anthropogenic stressors such as agricultural intensification, climate change, andincreased densities of non-native managed bees used for crop pollination arecontributing to bee declines. Understanding how and why bees have responded topast environmental changes is crucial for predicting future ones and enablingmitigation to maintain the functioning of both natural and agricultural ecosystems.The a
Seagrass meadows constitute important habitat for a plethora of organisms, rendering them important habitats for conserving biodiversity. Seagrass meadows also modify the environment by attenuating wave and current energy. As a result of this, seagrass meadows trap organic matter and in addition to their high productivity, are able to sequester carbon that is stored in their underlying sediments.
Pesticide use in agricultural landscapes creates environmental contamination that is heterogenous in space and time. Mobile organisms, such as bees, are exposed to multiple contamination sources when visiting patches that vary in the amount, timing and toxicity of pesticides used. Yet, environmental risk assessments (ERA) typically fail to consider this heterogeneity, in part because of the comple
The population dynamics of urban animals has been so far remarkably understudied. At the same time, urban species’ population trends can provide important information on the consequences of environmental changes in cities. We modelled long-term population trends of 93 bird species breeding in urban areas in 16 European countries as a function of species’ traits, characterising variability in their
Due to large losses of seagrass meadows worldwide, restoration is proposed as a key strategy for increasing coastal resilience and recovery. The emergence of a seagrass meadow is expected to substantially amplify biodiversity and enhance benthic metabolism by increasing primary productivity and respiration. Nevertheless, open questions remain regarding the metabolic balance of aging seagrass meado
Despite a global consensus that fossil fuel subsidies should be reformed, limited progress has been made. The study assesses whether domestic political institutions insulating politicians from backlash and compensating those affected by reforms make subsidies easier to dismantle. It was found that proportional representation and corporatism were correlated with lower levels of fossil fuel subsidie
Plant production systems worldwide are struggling to meet the diverse and increasing needs of humankind while also facing challenges such as climate change and biodiversity loss. This, combined with the desirable transition from the use of conventional pesticides to more sustainable plant protection solutions, has led to an urgent, and increasing, need for lowrisk plant protection products (PPPs)
Insects contribute considerably to global crop pollination, with pollination deficits being documented for multiple entomophilous or pollinator-dependent crops. Different cultivars of crops are being cultivated within and across production regions, so it is essential to understand the cultivar variability of pollination deficits. Here, we used a dataset from 286 sites from multiple production regi
Wild bees foraging in contemporary agricultural landscapes are, because of agricultural intensification, faced with the challenges of reduced flower-rich habitats, as well as a changed spatio-temporal distribution of flower resources. As a result of this and other stressors such as pesticide exposure, widespread declines of bees have been reported. However, all bees are not equally affected. To be
Declines in European bird populations are reported for decades but the direct effect of major anthropogenic pressures on such declines remains unquantified. Causal relationships between pressures and bird population responses are difficult to identify as pressures interact at different spatial scales and responses vary among species. Here, we uncover direct relationships between population time-se
Species’ range shifts and local extinctions caused by climate change lead to community composition changes. At large spatial scales, ecological barriers, such as biome boundaries, coastlines, and elevation, can influence a community's ability to shift in response to climate change. Yet, ecological barriers are rarely considered in climate change studies, potentially hindering predictions of biodiv
Climate change has been associated with both latitudinal and elevational shifts in species’ ranges. The extent, however, to which climate change has driven recent range shifts alongside other putative drivers remains uncertain. Here, we use the changing distributions of 378 European breeding bird species over 30 years to explore the putative drivers of recent range dynamics, considering the effect
