Inside Biodiversity

Macroecologist Damaris Zurell and host Volker Hahn examine what monitoring data show about bird change worldwide: abundance has fallen in Europe and North America while some species increase, and local species richness can stay stable even as communities are reorganised. They discuss habitat loss, land-use change, climate change and direct exploitation as drivers, and measures from international conservation to better garden habitats.

Hosted by Volker Hahn

Macroecologist Shai Meiri discusses the global status of reptiles: which groups are most threatened, why so little is known about many lizards and snakes, how public perceptions shape research and conservation priorities, and the main threats these often-overlooked animals face.

Hosted by Volker Hahn

Plant ecologists Ute Jandt and Helge Bruelheide explain why a greener planet is not necessarily a more diverse one, covering global greening, the spread of generalist species and the homogenisation of plant communities, and how rewilding, forestry and agriculture can help conserve plant biodiversity.

Hosted by Volker Hahn

Carlo Rondinini, professor of zoology at Sapienza University of Rome, discusses the global fate of mammals: why wolves, beavers, otters and jackals are recovering in parts of Europe while a quarter of mammal species worldwide are at risk of extinction, and how habitat loss, overexploitation and climate change interact as threats.

Hosted by Volker Hahn

Entomologist Roel van Klink explains what long-term datasets reveal about global and local insect trends, why the causes of those changes remain uncertain, and why separating natural fluctuations from human-driven impacts such as land-use and climate change is difficult but central to insect conservation.

Hosted by Volker Hahn

Miguel Bastos Araújo of the Spanish Research Council's National Museum of Natural Sciences in Madrid, an expert on species distributions and climate change, explains how species are shifting their ranges as the climate changes, why traditional protected areas are reaching their limits and how conservation policy should adapt, including how scientific evidence can inform policy among competing rationalities.

Hosted by Volker Hahn