Andrea Fernanda Vallejo Vargas

Ecological condition assessments can guide conservation priorities yet often neglect pervasive stressors such as noise pollution. We examined whether assessed ecological condition reflects exposure to transportation noise exceeding 50 dB Lden (day–evening–night levels), a conservative threshold given documented negative effects on wildlife at lower levels. Using site‐level data from assessments in Norway, based on the EcoSyst framework, which relies on structural field parameters, we analyzed noise exposure across ecological condition classes (good, moderate, poor, very reduced). This revealed a critical mismatch: noise‐exposed area and the proportion of habitat exposed were both higher, or similar, in “good” condition habitats than in poorer condition classes—contrary to expectation. Current frameworks, which focus solely on structural indicators, risk overstating ecosystem integrity by failing to account for acoustic degradation. We recommend integrating noise exposure into ecological condition assessment protocols and ecosystem accounting frameworks to strengthen their validity and relevance for conservation planning and policy.

Studies can only guide conservation if their findings are informative at the scales at which practitioners and policy-makers operate. Yet, it is rarely tested whether large-scale studies reach similar conclusions to the smaller-scale studies on which conservation traditionally relies. We examine whether predictors of extinction risk are consistent across global, regional, and local scales, for 210 tropical forest mammal species (≥1 kg) that existed during the last 130,000 years, in 64 tropical forests, across three biogeographical realms. We found consistent predictors of extinction risk (body mass, generation length, diet, brain volume, and scansoriality) when analyses differed only in their spatial resolution. However, predictors differed when analyses also varied in their temporal extent. Macroecological findings about extinction risk can, thus, inform conservation at smaller scales, but they risk misidentifying threatened species if differences in temporal extent are not recognized.

Summary: Protected areas usually have conservation regulations designed to minimize physical disturbances, yet wildlife within them remains vulnerable to external factors such as noise pollution. We assessed transportation noise in over 2400 protected areas across Norway – Europe’s second least populated country – by overlaying protected area maps with publicly available noise zone data modelled down to 50 dB for Lden (day–evening–night) and Lnight. Road traffic was the dominant noise source. As wildlife can be affected at levels below 50 dB and by short bursts of high noise, we also examined road noise modelled down to 40 dB in two national parks and 15 smaller protected areas, and we conducted field measurements at a Ramsar site to capture peak noise events. Road noise at Lden ≥50 dB impacted 176 (7.1%) areas, increasing to 229 (9.2%) areas when multiple sources were considered; 126 (5.1%) areas were exposed to Lnight road noise. Smaller protected areas were more exposed. Including noise down to 40 dB raised the average affected area from 39.6%/18.6% to 56.6%/45.0% for Lden/Lnight. Field data revealed frequent peak noise events exceeding 80 dB, even at night. We recommend ecologically sensitive noise mapping using lower thresholds and consideration of frequencies inaudible to humans to better inform conservation planning.

Studies can only guide conservation if their findings are informative at the scales at which practitioners and policymakers operate. Yet, it is rarely tested whether large-scale studies reach similar conclusions to the smaller-scale studies on which conservation traditionally relies. We examine whether predictors of extinction risk are consistent across global, regional, and local scales, for 210 tropical forest mammal species (≥ 1 kg) that existed during the last 130,000 years, in 64 tropical forests, across three biogeographical realms. We found consistent predictors of extinction risk (body mass, generation length, diet, brain volume and scansoriality) when analyses differed only in their spatial resolution. However, predictors differed when analyses also varied in their temporal extent. Macroecological findings about extinction risk can, thus, inform conservation at smaller scales, but they risk misidentifying threatened species if differences in temporal extent are not recognised.

Understanding how predators and their prey coexist in space and time is a core interest in ecology. Vast amounts of photographic detection data are now available from a growing number of camera‐trap studies worldwide. These data boost our ability to study an elusive yet important topic in ecology: species interactions in space and time. Here, we investigated the spatiotemporal configuration of the activity of a typically nocturnal and crepuscular predator and a diurnal prey in protected areas. We explored whether agoutis (Dasyprocta leporina) respond to predation risks by adjusting the timing of activity to the occurrence and timing of activity of its potential predator, the ocelot (Leopardus pardalis) and whether the ocelot's occurrence responds to that of the prey. Using a custom Bayesian occupancy model for two species, we analysed camera‐trap data collected over three protected tropical forests from Brazil and Suriname (2 to 9 years). Our model distinguishes between occupancy (i.e. spatial distribution) and detection (i.e. activity in space and time). We detected a positive spatial association between predator and prey, suggesting that ocelots seek places where agoutis are present. Instead of segregating in space, agoutis appeared to respond to increased predation risk by reduced activity. The most pronounced reduction in agouti activity (i.e. probability of detection) was during twilight in sites where ocelots occurred. Our results illustrate how jointly modelling interactions in both space and time informs our understanding of predator‐prey coexistence.

Multiple management strategies have been put in place in Madagascar to slow down biodiversity loss, but evidence for their effectiveness remains scarce. Using a long-term monitoring dataset and a custom-built capture-mark-recapture model, we evaluated the effect of a protected area and translocations on the survival of mouse lemurs (Microcebus murinus) in the littoral forests of southeastern Madagascar. We found that female mouse lemurs had overall higher apparent survival than males, that annual survival probabilities were higher for both sexes in protected forest fragments compared to degraded ones, and that survival of translocated individuals was on average 66% lower than residents. We also evidenced a positive effect of monthly temperature on female survival in protected fragments but found no temporal trend in survival. This study confirms the importance of protected areas as a conservation tool and calls for careful planning of translocation efforts for conservation of short-lived primate species.

Changes in lunar illumination alter the balance of risks and opportunities for animals, influencing activity patterns and species interactions. We examined if and how terrestrial mammals respond to the lunar cycle in some of the darkest places: the floors of tropical forests. We analysed long-term camera trapping data on 86 mammal species from 17 protected forests on three continents. Conservative categorization of activity during the night revealed pronounced avoidance of moonlight (lunar phobia) in 12 species, compared with pronounced attraction to moonlight (lunar philia) in only three species. However, half of all species in our study responded to lunar phases, either changing how nocturnal they were, altering their overall level of activity, or both. Avoidance of full moon was more common, exhibited by 30% of all species compared with 20% of species that exhibited attraction. Nocturnal species, especially rodents, were over-represented among species that avoided full moon. Artiodactyla were more prominent among species attracted to full moon. Our findings indicate that lunar phases influence animal behaviour even beneath the forest canopy. Such impacts may be exacerbated in degraded and fragmented forests. Our study offers a baseline representing relatively intact and well-protected contexts together with an intuitive approach for detecting activity shifts in response to environmental change.

Changes in lunar illumination alter the balance of risks and opportunities for animals at night, influencing activity patterns and species interactions. Our knowledge about behavioral responses to moonlight is incomplete, yet it can serve to assess and predict how species respond to environmental changes such as light pollution or loss of canopy cover. As a baseline, we wish to examine if and how wildlife responds to the lunar cycle in some of the darkest places inhabited by terrestrial mammals: the floors of tropical forests. We quantified the prevalence and direction of activity responses to the moon in tropical forest mammal communities. Using custom Bayesian multinomial logistic regression models, we analyzed long-term camera trapping data on 88 mammal species from 17 protected forests on three continents. We also tested the hypothesis that nocturnal species are more prone to avoiding moonlight, as well as quantified diel activity shifts in response to moonlight. We found that, apparent avoidance of moonlight (lunar phobia, 16% of species) is more common than apparent attraction (lunar philia, 3% of species). The three species exhibiting lunar philia followed diurnal or diurnal-crepuscular activity patterns. Lunar phobia, detected in 14 species, is more pronounced with higher degree of nocturnality, and is disproportionately common among rodents. Strongly lunar phobic species were less active during moonlit nights, which in most cases also decreases their total daily activity. Our findings indicate that moonlight influences animal behavior even beneath the forest canopy. This suggests that such impacts may be exacerbated in degraded and fragmented forests. Additionally, the effect of artificial light on wild communities is becoming increasingly apparent. Our study offers empirical data from protected tropical forests as a baseline for comparison with more disturbed areas, together with a robust approach for detecting activity shifts in response to environmental change. Open Research statement: The data and code for performing the analyses described in this article are available at https://github.com/richbi/TropicalMoon .

An animal’s daily use of time (their “diel activity”) reflects their adaptations, requirements, and interactions, yet we know little about the underlying processes governing diel activity within and among communities. Here we examine whether community-level activity patterns differ among biogeographic regions, and explore the roles of top-down versus bottom-up processes and thermoregulatory constraints. Using data from systematic camera-trap networks in 16 protected forests across the tropics, we examine the relationships of mammals’ diel activity to body mass and trophic guild. Also, we assess the activity relationships within and among guilds. Apart from Neotropical insectivores, guilds exhibited consistent cross-regional activity in relation to body mass. Results indicate that thermoregulation constrains herbivore and insectivore activity (e.g., larger Afrotropical herbivores are ~7 times more likely to be nocturnal than smaller herbivores), while bottom-up processes constrain the activity of carnivores in relation to herbivores, and top-down processes constrain the activity of small omnivores and insectivores in relation to large carnivores’ activity. Overall, diel activity of tropical mammal communities appears shaped by similar processes and constraints among regions reflecting body mass and trophic guilds.