Volume 3 Issue 12, December 2019

Volume 3 Issue 12

Glaciers in retreat

A Patagonian gull (Chroicocephalus maculipennis) flies over the Perito Moreno Glacier in southern Argentina. Glacier retreat causes extensive changes to glacier-fed biota across marine, freshwater and terrestrial systems worldwide. This will impact the structure of aquatic food webs, with potentially significant consequences for predators such as fish, mammals and birds. As generalist feeders, gulls should be able to adapt to these changes.

See Cauvy-Fraunié & Dangles

Image: Olivier Dangles, IRD. Cover Design: Lauren Heslop.

Editorial

  • Editorial |

    A new study strengthens the evidence base for declining trends in insect abundance, but also adds some much-needed nuance to the apocalyptic narrative.

Correspondence

Comment & Opinion

  • Comment |

    Private-sector capital is needed to scale-up forest and landscape restoration initiatives globally. To ensure the delivery of social and environmental restoration objectives, investors need to be matched appropriately to different types of restoration projects, while policies need to realign investment incentives away from degradation-driving activities.

    • Sara Löfqvist
    •  & Jaboury Ghazoul

News & Views

  • News & Views |

    Analysis of the world’s longest-running insect monitoring programme finds little evidence to support steep declines in biomass across the United Kingdom over the past 50 years. Moth biomass showed a net increase, but a gradual post-1982 decline was found in certain land uses and for some moth families.

    • Manu E. Saunders

  • News & Views |

    Temperature differences between cities and the countryside have been regarded as useful surrogates for ecological responses to climate warming. However, research reveals mismatch between the phenological responses to spatial and temporal temperature gradients as well as complex interactions between urbanization and climate.

    • Constantin M. Zohner

  • News & Views |

    A field test suggests that orally ingestible, spreadable vaccines to combat rabies will transmit widely among vampire bats in the wild, offering a more humane — and effective — alternative to the bat culling practiced throughout Latin America today.

    • Cara E. Brook

Reviews

Research

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