Alpine biodiversity does not follow a latitudinal gradient: topography, past climate dynamics, glaciations and isolation all matter. Climate change is shrinking suitable habitat while many alpine specialist sp. are moving upslope—toward smaller and fragmented mountaintops #MountainConservation

Neotropical alpine ecosystems in the Andes consistently emerge as global hotspots with high richness and proportion of alpine specialists. While, some temperate alpine regions (i.e. European Alps and North European Highlands) emerge as relative coldspots #Macroecology #BiodiversityPatterns

We also identified 14,649 vascular plant species in alpine ecosystems. Of these, 2,554 are alpine specialists. High mountain ecosystems are far richer—and more unique—than many global assessments have captured. #PlantDiversity #AlpinePlants

We found 2,165 vertebrate species in the alpine biome: 🦅 1,173 birds 🐐 711 mammals 🦎 281 reptiles Among them, 360 are alpine specialists—species restricted to high-elevation alpine zones. #Biodiversity #MountainEcology

The alpine biome occurs above the upper forest line in cold and extreme landscapes where life persists under harsh conditions. We built a global alpine biodiversity dataset including: ✔️ 32 mountain ranges ✔️ vascular plants ✔️ mammals ✔️ birds ✔️ reptiles #Biogeography #TropicalAndes #Páramo

🌎 Where is alpine biodiversity concentrated across the world’s mountains? Our study in @natcomms.nature.com shows that alpine biodiversity hotspots are concentrated in Neotropical regions, especially the Andes 🌐 🔗 doi.org/10.1038/s414... 🧵👇 #MountainBiodiversity #AlpineBiodiversity

Conservation actions to protect mammal´ functional diversity should: ✅ protect small fragments ✅ restore corridors ✅ improve matrix permeability ✅ promote agroforestry and live fences ✅ include configuration metrics in land-use planning #LandUsePlanning #Conservation

Important clarification: This does NOT mean “fragment more forests.” It means that in landscapes already transformed by people, small remnants, edges, live fences, corridors, and agroforestry matrices can still support functional diversity. #RestorationEcology

The strongest positive responses appeared in the Atlantic Forest and Southwestern Amazonia. In highly transformed tropical hotspots, heterogeneous mosaics may help sustain critical ecosystem functions. #TropicalEcology #BiodiversityHotspots

Configuration also matters. At the patch scale, patch size, patch shape, and proximity among patches positively influenced mammal functional diversity. Small fragments can act as ecological stepping stones—if they remain connected. #Connectivity #LandscapePlanning

Landscape composition metrics—such as habitat cover and patch size—had positive effects, especially on functional richness. So yes: habitat amount still matters. But it is not the whole story. #FunctionalEcology #ConservationBiology #LandscapeEcology

Tropical landscapes are rarely simple. They are mosaics of crops, pastures, and cities; and for mammals, this spatial arrangement can shape which ecological functions persist. Functional diversity is not just about how many species live in a landscape. It asks: what do species do? #FunctionalTraits

🌐 Is conserving tropical mammals only about protecting more forest?🌎 Our study in @jappliedecology.bsky.social shows that habitat amount matters—but so does how habitat patches are arranged, connected, and embedded in human-modified landscapes besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/... 🧵👇

Edges are not merely lines that delineate land cover types on a map; they are transition zones, or ecotones, where it is determined which species can survive, move, reproduce, or disappear following changes to the #landscape. #landscapeecology #conservationbiology #biologicalconservation

⚠️ Why does this matter? Because conservation guidelines cannot rely on evidence from a narrow set of regions, taxa, ecological variables and edge types. Not all edges are equal. Not all species respond the same way. #ConservationScience

🌱 Knowledge gap 5: Edge contexts. Most studies focus on exotic pasture–old-growth forest ecotones. Urban, road, infrastructure, plantation, and agroforestry edges remain understudied. #HabitatFragmentation #UrbanEcology

📊 Knowledge gap 4: We still mostly count species. Most studies focus on abundance and species richness. But we know far less about functional traits, thermal tolerance, biotic interactions, and phylogenetic diversity. #FunctionalEcology #EcoPhysiology

🐸🦎 Knowledge gap 3: Forgotten lineages. Research is dominated by anurans and squamates. Turtles and salamanders are rarely studied, while caecilians and crocodilians are entirely absent from the reviewed literature. #Herpetofauna #SpeciesConservation

⛰️ Knowledge gap 2: Elevation. 74% of studies were conducted below 500 m a.s.l. mainly in tropical rainforest and temperate mixed forests. Highland systems remain one of the largest blind spots in edge-effect research. #MountainEcology #TropicalEcology

🔍 Knowledge gap 1: Geography. Most studies are concentrated in the Nearctic and Neotropical regions. The Palearctic, Oriental, Sino-Japanese, and Madagascan regions remain poorly studied. #Biodiversity #GlobalChange

Why are amphibians and reptiles so vulnerable to edge effects? 🐸 Many depend strongly on humidity and temperature. 🦎 Many have limited dispersal. 🌡️ Small microclimatic shifts can affect movement, reproduction, and persistence. #Amphibians #Reptiles #herpetology #herpetofauna

When forests, savannas, wetlands, or mountain habitats are fragmented, edges emerge: transition zones between natural habitats and transformed matrices such as pastures, roads, crops, cities, or plantations. For herpetofauna, these edges can reshape dispersal and survival. #LandscapeEcology

🌎 Why it matters: Rare species occupy unique ecological niches and support functions that others cannot replace. 👉 Losing them means losing hidden ecosystem processes. Biodiversity is not just about how many species exist — it’s about how different they are.

🔍 What we found: • Species that diverge more from the community’s “functional average” are less abundant • Traits linked to flight and echolocation drive this pattern • Functional divergence can reduce abundance by up to 57% #FunctionalEcology #Biodiversity #Conservation #Bats

🦇🌿 Why are most species in nature rare?🌐 Our new study on Neotropical bats 🌎reveals a key insight: Rare species are not less successful, they are more functionally different. besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/... @funecology.bsky.social @batconservation.bsky.social #Bats #Ecology

🌱 Species like Dendrobates truncatus have great potential to become flagship species in environmental education. ✅ Turning fear into knowledge is key for amphibian conservation and their habitats. #Education #ScienceForConservation 🔗 Read the full article here: journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...

💡 What are the challenges? ✔️ Low participation in conservation activities like monitoring, despite support for protection. ✔️ Women and people with higher education tend to recognize more the ecological importance of amphibians. #SocialChange #CommunityConservation

🔍 Key findings: ✔️ Skin color and leg function are key to associating amphibians with danger or usefulness to the ecosystem. ✔️ While fear and disgust remain common, over 85% support amphibian protection. #Conservation #EnvironmentalEducation

🌍🐸 🌐Amphibian conservation also depends on how we perceive them. Our study in the tropical dry forests of the Colombian Caribbean explores how morphological traits and sociodemographic factors influence people's perceptions and attitudes toward amphibians 🧵 #Amphibians #Biodiversity #TropicalEcology

Las perturbaciones naturales no solo cambian el paisaje, también reconfiguran la función ecológica de las comunidades animales. Conservar la heterogeneidad estructural del bosque es clave para mantener la diversidad funcional. 🌳 onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...