Digital technologies offer a powerful toolkit to protect our planet's biodiversity. From satellite imagery to citizen science apps, they can help us monitor ecosystems, track species, and understand the impact of human activities. However, challenges like data access and environmental costs must be addressed. By working together, scientists, policymakers, communities, and technology experts can use digital solutions to safeguard our planet's biodiversity and ensure a sustainable future.

Plant-feeding insects can have large impacts on the photosynthetic rate of their host plants. Through reducing photosynthesis, and thus carbon assimilation by the plant, these impacts might have large-scale influences on ecosystem carbon cycling. Nevertheless, these effects are rarely considered in ecosystem-level studies. Here we propose an approach to incorporating these changes in plant physiology into estimates of ecosystem productivity.

We quantify the extent to which forested Natura 2000 sites are affected by tree species distribution shifts in a changing climate. As ecosystems of any type are highly dynamic, climate change can lead to additional severe pressure on statically defined conservation goals and management activities associated with this. We utilised 26 bio-climatic variables and analysed the climate-induced change of tree species distribution at Natura 2000 sites, the largest conservation area network worldwide.

Machine learning models outperform simple mechanistic models in predicting pollinator visitation rates. We use deep learning to infer rules from land cover maps to estimate pollination services globally. Results suggest deep learning can improve predictions by identifying complex patterns in landscape composition, especially in data-rich but knowledge-poor areas. The challenge is to make deep learning algorithms more interpretable so that experts can validate prediction rules for pollination.

We evaluated shifts in plant–pollinator communities between two years with different precipitation patterns on a mountain gradient in Arizona. We found that plant richness decreased, pollinator generalization increased at the highest life zone, and plant and pollinator activity was less consistent in the dry year. As drought is expected to increase worldwide, understanding local-scale plant–pollinator interactions may highlight which species will be critical in times of lower precipitation.

Ranavirus infections in amphibians, especially anurans, have been increasingly documented, raising concerns over their role in population declines. This integrative review examines the prevalence, epidemiology, and global distribution of ranavirus in anurans over the past decade. The study concludes with recommendations for enhancing global surveillance and risk assessment strategies, particularly in biodiversity hotspots, where vulnerable species face a high risk of extinction.

Insects are the most abundant and diverse animals on Earth, playing a key role in ecosystem stability. Their success is partly due to mutualistic relationships with microorganisms, which provide nutrients inaccessible due to their limited enzymatic capacity and specialized diets. Microorganisms also produce antimicrobial compounds that protect insects from pathogens. Understanding these interactions is crucial for the sustainable management of insects and their microbial partners.

We used simulations to analyze the dynamics of an intertidal predator and its prey, which also engage in non-trophic interactions. These interactions create strong dependencies between predator and prey, shifting dynamics from being driven mainly by new individuals arriving from external sources to an interplay between regional and local processes. Our findings highlight the importance of considering multiple interaction types to understand population and community structure.

The results of a recent paper on the modeling of a honey bee colony have been supplemented and strengthened by showing that the domain of biological validity of a mathematical model with unstable singularity removed is contained in the domain of attraction of positive stable equilibrium.

We studied the current and future distribution of four potentially invasive crab species in Europe using species distribution models. The models showed that potential distributions for all species are larger than currently known. Conditions for three species will improve in most of the Mediterranean Sea, particularly in the Adriatic and Aegean seas. These seas are highly suitable and will become more favourable, highlighting the need for monitoring these species.

Since 1850, glaciers have retreated in the Alps, providing ground for vegetation succession. Such systems were studied intensively in other parts of the Alps, but excluding the Northern Limestone Alps. Hence, we initiated a long-term research programme, which we introduce here. Initial findings show an increase in plant species richness and cover with age since deglaciation. This is, however, by far slower than observed elsewhere in the Alps, likely due to the specific geology and geomorphology.

Braided rivers are very dynamic ecosystems. Arthropods inhabiting these areas use various strategies to survive floods. This study showed a different repertoire of survival strategies during floods and a significantly altered distribution of the studied species by floods and highlights the crucial role of elevated areas and riverbanks as refuges for arthropods during floods.

It is well known that the spatial distribution of micro-organisms is heterogeneous. Taking spatiality into account allows for better modelling of the environmental parameters that drive the distribution of living organisms. We show that geographically weighted models perform much better in reconstructing water table depth in peatlands based on testate amoeba communities. The method (R package) can be used for any application of a regression model in the case of heterogeneous spatial distribution.

Our study analyzed the distribution of 356 hedgehog and 918 badger sightings from 2012 to 2023 in Vienna, Austria. Both species were reported in areas with a mix of built-up spaces and green areas but not arable land, which can have ecological and methodological reasons. Moreover, hedgehogs and badgers were mostly reported from different areas. Our findings suggest that citizen science can be a good data source to analyze urban human–wildlife interactions.

Horizon scanning (HS) applied to invasion processes plays a crucial role in the early identification of new pests and serves as a valuable complement to monitoring efforts. Here, an analysis of the HS activity during the last 7 years is conducted. The data obtained reflect patterns about the monitoring phases, their outcomes, and the way such outputs are communicated. These results show how effective the methodology has been in detecting not-listed pests as emerging pests over the period.

Citizen science involves people from outside of academia in data collection and research, for example, taking photographs of insects or birds that are then shared with other users and used for biodiversity and conservation purposes. However, these apps require large servers to function, which can be very costly. In this paper, we present serverless peer-to-peer alternatives and suggest best practices for user interface design so that these apps remain easy to adopt.