The rate of extinction is increasing with little reversal of negative trends, prompting a need for conservation scientists and practitioners to rethink approaches to aid the recovery of threatened species. Many extinctions could be prevented if impediments to protecting these species were addressed effectively. This article considers how current policies and practices are failing an endangered species and how biodiversity conservation is fraught with barriers such as rhetorical adoption, policy dismantling, circumvention of legislative obligations, and the deliberate disregard of scientific evidence. These issues became evident while researching the endangered Spectacled Flying-fox ( Pteropus conspicillatus Gould 1850), which, despite over a decade of recognized decline, received little attention from authorities who could have acted to stabilize or recover its populations. Recovery plans are often the primary means used by many countries to help threatened species recover and typically fall under government responsibility for implementation. For these plans to be effective, they should be mandatory, well-funded, and subject to stringent monitoring and reporting requirements. However, the implementation of such plans is often inconsistent, with many not meeting these criteria. The scientific basis for recovery actions is usually well-researched, although uncertainties around outcomes remain since these actions are experimental and success is not guaranteed. The failure to implement recovery plans can be highly frustrating for conservation scientists and practitioners, often stemming from policy failures. For those involved in conservation research and practice, learning how to identify and overcome policy impediments would help to ensure the successful implementation of recovery plans. Vigilance is required to ensure that recovery teams function effectively, that recovery actions are executed, that decision-makers are held accountable for endangering species, and that legislation includes merits review provisions to challenge poor decision-making. Conservation scientists who monitor species of concern are often best placed to track the progress of recovery actions. When they detect insufficient action, they have a responsibility to intervene or to notify the responsible authorities. Ultimately, government policies should prioritize the protection of threatened species over economic and political interests, recognizing that extinction is irreversible and the stakes are high for biodiversity conservation.

Pollinators provide important pollination services for crops around the world. In China, numerous studies have been conducted on pollinators within agroecosystems, yet a comprehensive review of such research remains to be completed. This study discusses the existing knowledge of pollinator diversity in Chinese agroecosystems, examines the provision of pollination services, and identifies key achievements and limitations. We propose a series of conservation and management actions to promote pollinator health and ecosystem services in these agroecosystems: (1) long-term monitoring of pollinator populations, (2) designing agricultural landscapes that are conducive to pollinators, and (3) implementing microscale habitat modifications to improve conditions for pollinators.

Understanding the distribution of rare species is important for conservation prioritisation. Traditionally, museums and other research institutions have served as depositories for specimens and biodiversity information. However, estimating abundance from these sources is challenging due to spatiotemporally biased collection methods. For instance, large-bodied reptiles that are found near research institutions or in popular, easily accessible sites tend to be overrepresented in collections compared to smaller species found in remote areas. Recently, a substantial number of observations have been amassed through citizen (or community) science initiatives, which are invaluable for monitoring purposes. Given the unstructured nature of this sampling, these datasets are often affected by biases, such as taxonomic, spatial and temporal preferences. Therefore, analysing data from these two sources can lead to different abundance estimates. This study compiled data on Brazilian reptile species from the Global Information Biodiversity Facility (GBIF). It employed a community-ecology approach to analyse data from research institutions and citizen science initiatives, separately and collectively, to assess taxonomic and spatial species coverage and predict species rarity. Using a 1-degree hexagonal grid, we analysed the spatial distribution of reptile communities and calculated rarity indices for 754 reptile species. Our findings reveal that 87 species were exclusively recorded in the citizen science subset, while 212 were recorded only by research institutions. The number of observations per species in the citizen science data followed a Gambin distribution, which aligns with the expected pattern of abundance in natural communities, unlike the data from research institutions. This suggests that citizen science data may be a more accurate source for estimating species abundance and rarity. The discrepancies in rarity classifications between the datasets were likely due to differences in sample size and potentially other sampling parameters. Nevertheless, combining data collected by both research institutions and citizen science initiatives can help to fill knowledge gaps in reptile species occurrence, thus enhancing the foundation for conservation efforts on a national scale.

In the current era of rapid online information growth, distinguishing facts from sensationalized or fake content is a major challenge. Here, we explore the potential of large language models as a tool to fact-check fake news and sensationalized content about animals. We queried the most popular large language models (ChatGPT 3.5 and 4, and Microsoft Bing), asking them to quantify the likelihood of 14 wildlife groups, often portrayed as dangerous or sensationalized, killing humans or livestock. We then compared these scores with the “real” risk obtained from relevant literature and/or expert opinion. We found a positive relationship between the likelihood risk score obtained from large language models and the “real” risk. This indicates the promising potential of large language models in fact-checking information about commonly misrepresented and widely feared animals, including jellyfish, wasps, spiders, vultures, and various large carnivores. Our analysis underscores the crucial role of large language models in dispelling wildlife myths, helping to mitigate human–wildlife conflicts, shaping a more just and harmonious coexistence, and ultimately aiding biological conservation.

Ophiophagus hannah, commonly known as the king cobra, is listed as vulnerable by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and is protected under national laws in most countries. This charismatic species faces multiple threats, including habitat loss, human persecution, illegal trafficking, and climate change. Due to the king cobra’s sensitivity to environmental conditions, its population status and trends are barely understood. This study used the MaxEnt algorithm to predict the potential distribution of king cobras across Asia, a method that has been successfully implemented in modeling distributions of various species in the region. The findings showed that Evergreen Broadleaf Trees emerged as the most influential variable for the distribution of Ophiophagus hannah with a 27.3% contribution, followed by the Mean Diurnal Range and Urban/Built-up areas. Jackknife analysis identified the Mean Diurnal Range as having the highest testing gain. Approximately 413,268 km ² were found to have the most suitable climatic conditions for sustaining this species. Countries such as India, Myanmar, Bangladesh, Vietnam, Cambodia, Indonesia, and Malaysia were identified as having favorable conditions. Under the future climate scenario SSP5-8.5, the extent of suitable habitats (maximum) for the king cobra is projected to decrease in the periods 2041–2060 and 2081–2100. This report provides valuable insights that could inform conservation strategies for O. hannah in these regions.

Spatial contradictions between nature conservation and social development are prominent in the integration and optimization of nature reserves (NRs) in China. Due to restrictions from the farmland “red line” policy and territorial spatial planning, scattered urban areas and farmland distributed within NRs form many “skylights”. Perforating NRs alters their shape and continuity and may have negative effects on long-term conservation. Through remote sensing data, we identified urban areas and farmland “skylights” in NRs in Guangdong Province, China. This study evaluated four scenarios: maintaining both urban areas and farmland (current state), maintaining farmland while removing urban areas, maintaining urban areas while removing farmland, and removing both urban areas and farmland. Two indicators, the exposure level and the maximum depth of NRs, were used to preliminarily assess the impacts of “skylights”. We found that urban “skylights” accounted for a relatively low proportion (5.81%) of total “skylights” and farmland “skylights” accounted for 94.19%. The current exposure level of NRs in Guangdong Province was very high, and approximately 82.83% of the NR areas were within 1 km of an unprotected matrix. If “skylights” were removed without exception, the 1 km exposure level would decrease to 61.37%, and the maximum depth would significantly increase.We recommend further assessment of the influence of “skylights” on the conservation effect of NRs and suggest first removing small “skylights” to reduce their negative impact.