The ecology of human-nature interactions

Design and management considerations for the Kenya-Tanzania marine transboundary conservation area

Although transboundary conservation areas (TCAs) are critical tools for protecting ecosystems and ecological processes that transcend national jurisdictions, they are challenging to create due to the differences in governance contexts and capacity and power dynamics among countries. Marine TCAs are also more difficult to enforce relative to terrestrial TCAs because most nations still treat oceans as open access. Current guidelines for TCA development and implementation also focus mostly on terrestrial TCAs, which are not practical for marine TCAs. Hence, we reviewed the challenges associated with the design and management of marine TCAs and devised analytical and practical approaches to support the application of spatial planning frameworks and adaptive governance mechanisms. We used the lessons from the review to examine the decisions made for the proposed marine TCA in the Kenya-Tanzania border region and created options and considerations to promote effective design and management processes. We found the obstacles to marine TCAs in general are related to issues of fit, particularly differences in environmental research capacity, socioeconomic contexts, and internal institutional arrangements. These included differences in knowledge and capacity for marine ecological research and conservation; ability to adjust and update data; differences in values, interests, and resource uses; conservation costs; jurisdictional differences; engagement of multiple levels of organization; and differences in legal bases and policy development processes. Understanding and reconciling these challenges during the TCA development process can help enhance meaningful discussions in the design of the TCA and cultivate the enabling conditions for collaborative governance across countries and within different levels of organization from national to local actors.

Identification, spatial distribution, and associated factors of urban protected areas in China

The increasing proximity between protected areas (PAs) and urban areas, which can lead to urban protected areas (UPAs), is now commonplace. Use of Euclidean distance to measure the distance between PAs and cities has not correctly portrayed the spatial relationship between PAs and cities. We devised an isochronous circle model to accurately measure the distance between 2706 national PAs in 5 categories and 2844 cities in China based on human accessibility to identify urban human activity-influenced protected areas (UHAIPAs) and to quantitatively analyze their distribution patterns and relationships with China's economy, population distribution patterns, and urban development indicators. Most of the PAs in China were established near cities. Of 2746 PAs in China, 18.35% (n = 504) became UPAs, and 58.27% (n = 1600), 16.72% (n = 459), and 3.31% (n = 91) of PAs were within 0-30, 30-60, and 60-90 min, respectively. Both UPAs and UHAIPAs in China in general exhibited obvious spatial aggregation characteristics (e.g., wetland parks and scenic areas), and there was a significant spatial dependence effect among characteristics. The degree of spatial distribution and aggregation of UPAs was correlated with 16 indicators across urban economic development, urban natural substrate, and urban policy support factors. Based on the results of our study, we call for various governments and scholars to focus on areas where wetland parks and PAs overlap with urban boundaries. It is important to emphasize the potential link between the development of agriculture, forestry, livestock and fisheries industries, and UPAs. Overall, we believe that examining the accessibility of PAs can more accurately measure the distance between PAs and cities, and more realistically reflect the possible impacts of urban human activities on PAs, which is helpful for strengthening the conservation and management of PAs.

Current methodologies of greenspace exposure and mental health research-a scoping review

Introduction

Greenspaces can provide an important resource for human mental health. A growing body of literature investigates the interaction and the influence of diverse greenspace exposures. In order to gain a comprehensive understanding of the complex connection between greenspace and mental health, a variety of perspectives and methodological combinations are needed. The aim of this review is to assess the current methodologies researching greenspace and mental health.

Methods

A scoping review was conducted. Four electronic databases (Pubmed, Embase, PsycInfo, Web of Science) were searched for relevant studies. A wide range of greenspace and mental health keywords were included to provide a comprehensive representation of the body of research. Relevant information on publication characteristics, types of greenspaces, mental health outcomes, and measurements of greenspace exposure and mental health was extracted and assessed.

Results

338 studies were included. The included studies encompassed a multitude of methods, as well as outcomes for both greenspace and mental health. 28 combinations were found between seven categories each for greenspace and mental health assessment. Some pairings such as geoinformation systems for greenspace assessment and questionnaires investigating mental health were used much more frequently than others, implying possible research gaps. Furthermore, we identified problems and inconsistences in reporting of greenspace types and mental health outcomes.

Discussion

The identified methodological variety is a potential for researching the complex connections between greenspace and mental health. Commonly used combinations can provide important insights. However, future research needs to emphasize other perspectives in order to understand how to create living environments with mental health benefits. For this purpose, interdisciplinary research is necessary.

Mental health and natural land cover: a global analysis based on random forest with geographical consideration

Natural features in living environments can help to reduce stress and improve mental health. Different land types have disproportionate impacts on mental health. However, the relationships between mental health and land cover are inconclusive. In this study, we aim to accurately fit the relationships, estimate the impacts of land cover change on mental health, and demonstrate the global spatial variability of impacts. In the analysis, we show the complex relationships between mental health and eight land types based on the random forest method and Shapley additive explanations. The accuracy of our model is 67.59%, while the accuracy of the models used in previous studies is usually no more than 20%. According to the analysis results, we estimate the average effects of eight land types. Due to their scarcity in living environments, shrubland, wetland, and bare land have larger impacts on mental health. Cropland, forest, and water could improve mental health in high-population-density areas. The impacts of urban land and grassland are mainly negative. The current land cover composition influences people's attitudes toward a specific land type. Our research is the first study that analyzes data with geographical information by random forest and explains the results geographically. This paper provides a novel machine learning explanation method and insights to formulate better land-use policies to improve mental health.

'One River, Two Systems': Hong Kong's River Management

Hong Kong (HK), one of the world's most densely populated metropolises, is home to over 200 rivers and streams extending about 2500 km in length. During the 1970s-1990s, most of these rivers were converted into artificial canals, to which the local society pays little attention. Since the 2010s, the HK government has initiated river revitalization to enhance the social-environmental roles of rivers. This study employed a mixed research method, including literature and policy analysis, expert interviews, field visits, and a public survey, to identify key challenges in HK's Integrated River Basin Management (IRBM). The findings highlighted the lack of IRBM's institutional arrangements in HK, characterized by a fragmented 'one river, two systems' approach without both coordination and collaboration. The Water Supplies Department (WSD) impounds upland streams as reservoirs for securing the local water supply, while the Drainage Service Department (DSD) manages heavily channelized, culverted downstream serving as storm drains with diminished ecological functionality. One significant barrier to the implementation of IRBM in HK was the limited public participation, although our survey revealed a high level of public willingness to participate in river management. Presently, river revitalization efforts have achieved limited success, with ecological measures appearing mostly "cosmetic" and the conservation of freshwater biodiversity neglected. This further underscored the pressing need for the embracement of IRBM in HK to safeguard basin-wide freshwater ecosystems. Our survey also indicated low public awareness of river revitalization initiatives and widespread dissatisfaction with their outcomes. In conclusion, we proposed the development of IRBM in HK by instituting river basin coordination, prioritizing river ecosystem restoration in revitalization projects, and involving the public through tailored strategies.

The benefits of nature exposure: The need for research that better informs implementation

Concern about humanity's detachment from nature has spawned a global push to increase the availability of green spaces within cities. One impetus for this movement is a growing collection of studies documenting an association between improved human well-being and exposure to nature. The challenge lies in translating this research into pragmatic recommendations for cities. The usefulness of the existing research portfolio is diminished by the limitations of prevailing research designs. For example, most nature exposure studies (>80%) are observational. The rare randomized manipulative experiments tend to be indoors or virtual and rely on nature exposures on the order of ten to fifteen minutes. "Nature" and "biodiversity" are commonly invoked together as benefiting human well-being despite little evidence that biodiversity has particular importance for human psychological and emotional health. The most glaring gap in nature exposure research is the neglect of differences among cultures and ethnic groups with respect to the nature they prefer. In the few cases where researchers looked for differences among groups, they often found heterogeneous responses. Finally, few studies have compared greening interventions to other possible efforts to improve urban life. Thus, the utopian city of the future might be resplendent with urban parks on every block, but it is not clear whether those parks should offer basketball and pickleball courts, or small woodlands with a cornucopia of birds. We advocate for the next generation of nature exposure research that better informs the envisioning of our future sustainable cities with enhanced and equitable access to nature.

The Effects of Anthropogenic Disturbances on the Spatiotemporal Patterns of Medium-Large Mammals in Tropical Volcanic Landscapes

A comprehensive understanding of the consequences of human interactions with mammals is a critical factor in supporting and conserving species in landscapes dominated by humans, which are increasingly threatened. This study aimed to identify the spatial and temporal interactions between humans and mammals. A non-parametric statistical approach with kernel density was used to detect human-mammal temporal interactions. The species interaction factor (SIF) was applied to calculate the spatial overlap based on the two-species occupancy detection model. The activity patterns of medium mammals were nocturnal, diurnal, and cathemeral. The human-medium mammal pairs with SIF values that were <1 and statistically significant included the human-long-tailed macaque (Macaca fascicularis) pair, the human-leopard cat (Prionailurus bengalensis) pair, and the human-barking deer (Muntiacus muntjac) pair. Based on their SIF values and the high overlap in their activity times, the human-macaque pairings had a high risk of conflict. Barking deer and leopard cats displayed a coexistence with humans via time-sharing activities. Due to temporal niche variations with human activities, the existence of nocturnal mammals was relatively uninterrupted. This study showed that most mammals are able to adapt spatially and temporally to various human activities. Nonetheless, efforts to mitigate human-wildlife conflict must be maintained, particularly in the case of severely endangered species, such as the Sunda pangolin.

Factors affecting the occupancy of sloth bear and its detection probability in Parsa-Koshi Complex, Nepal

Understanding factors associated with coexistence of human and wildlife in human-dominated landscapes is crucial for effective species conservation. Among the wildlife species, the sloth bears Melursus ursinus are found both inside and outside the protected areas of Nepal, and with increasing cases of human and bear conflicts in both areas. This highlights the necessity for a comprehensive understanding of anthropogenic and ecological factors that affect the occurrence of sloth bear. The understanding of these factors is important for its coexistence and conservation in human-dominated areas through establishing management and conservation action plan. We studied the sloth bear's occupancy and their coexistence in human-dominated environments with other large predators in the Parsa-Koshi Complex of Nepal using camera traps from December 2022 to March 2023. We identified the occupancy and detection probability of the sloth bear as 0.12 and 0.31, respectively. Our analysis reveals a positive relationship between sloth bear occurrence and the presence of large predators (βpredators = 3.104 ± 0.968), such as tigers (Panthera tigris) and leopards (Panthera pardus), as well as the number of humans detected (βhuman = 1.428 ± 1.216) and canopy cover percentage (βcc = 1.002 ± 0.737). However, the number of livestock detected shows a negative interaction with the occurrence of sloth bears (βlivestock = -2.240 ± 1.467). There was insignificant interaction between sloth bear occupancy and distance to human settlements, roads, and water bodies. These findings underscore the complex dynamics between sloth bears, humans, large predators, and livestock in human-dominated landscapes. To ensure the long-term survival of sloth bear populations and promote species conservation, comprehensive conservation strategies that account for both ecological and socio-economic factors are essential.

Exploring the Impact of Human-Animal Connections and Trust in Labeling Consumers' Intentions to Buy Cage-Free Eggs: Findings from Taiwan

Recently, interest in animal welfare has steadily increased, driven by a growing focus on environmental, social, and governance (ESG) issues. This trend aligns with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) set by the United Nations. This underscores the importance of comprehending consumer attitudes towards products that are respectful to animal welfare. This research aims to employ the Value-Attitude-Behavior (VAB) model as a theoretical basis to explore the behavioral intentions of Taiwanese consumers to buy cage-free eggs. To provide comprehensive insights into consumer behavior in this domain, the study examines key variables such as 'human-nature connectedness', 'trust in labels', and 'attitude towards animal welfare'. By addressing an existing research gap in the literature and exploring consumer behavior in relation to animal welfare-friendly products, the research contributes to an area that has received limited attention. We gathered a total of 341 valid questionnaires for this research. Employing Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) along with Maximum Likelihood Estimation (MLE), we investigated the causal connections between variables. The study presents three key observations: First, consumers who value sustainability and ethics tend to maintain a positive perspective on free-range eggs. Second, a favorable stance towards cage-free eggs directly correlates with positive future behaviors. Lastly, label trustworthiness and a supportive view towards animal welfare heavily affect behavioral intentions in consumers. Given these insights and the growing significance of animal welfare in consumer choices, we recommend that participants in the food and livestock sector earnestly advocate for and back practices that prioritize animal well-being.

What can drawings tell us about children's perceptions of nature?

The growing disconnect between children and nature has led to concerns around the loss of ecological knowledge and reduced nature connection. Understanding children's perceptions of nature is vital for engaging them with local wildlife and mitigating this growing disconnect. This study investigated children's perceptions of nature by analysing 401 drawings made by children (aged 7-11) of their local green spaces, collected from 12 different English schools, including state-funded and privately funded. We assessed which animal and plant groups were drawn the most and least often, quantified each drawing's species richness and community composition, and identified all terms used in the drawings to the highest taxonomic resolution possible. The most commonly drawn groups were mammals (80.5% of drawings) and birds (68.6% of drawings), while herpetofauna were the least commonly drawn (15.7% of drawings). Despite not explicitly being asked about plants, 91.3% of drawings contained a plant. Taxonomic resolution was highest for mammals and birds, with 90% of domestic mammals and 69.6% of garden birds identifiable to species, compared to 18.5% of insects and 14.3% of herpetofauna. No invertebrates other than insects were identifiable to species. Within plants, trees and crops were the most identifiable to species, at 52.6% and 25% of terms respectively. Drawings from state-school children had higher plant richness than those from private-school children. Animal community composition differed between school funding types, with more types of garden birds drawn by private-school than state-school children, and more types of invertebrates drawn by state-school than private-school children. Our findings indicate that children's perceptions of local wildlife are focused on mammals and birds. While plants feature prominently, plant knowledge is less specific than animal knowledge. We suggest that this skew in children's ecological awareness be addressed through better integration of ecology within national curricula and more funding for green space within schools.

Evaluation of Satisfaction with the Built Environment of University Buildings under the Epidemic and Its Impact on Student Anxiety

Anxiety on college campuses has increased due to the COVID-19 epidemic's profound effects on society. Much research has been conducted on how the built environment influences mental health; however, little has been undertaken on how it affects student mental health in the context of the epidemic from the architectural scale perspective of academic buildings. Based on online survey data, this study develops multiple linear regression and binary logistic regression models to investigate students' satisfaction ratings of the academic buildings' physical environments during the epidemic and how these satisfaction ratings affect students' anxiety tendencies. According to the study's findings regarding the natural exposure perspective, students who perceived the academic building's poor semi-open space view (p = 0.004, OR = 3.22) as unsatisfactory factors were more likely to show anxiety tendencies. In terms of the physical conditions, students who were dissatisfied with the noise level in the classroom (p = 0.038, OR = 0.616) and the summer heat in semi-open spaces (p = 0.031, OR = 2.38) were more likely to exhibit anxiety tendencies. Additionally, even after controlling for confusing distractions, the general satisfaction rating of the academic building's physical environments (p = 0.047, OR = 0.572) was still able to significantly and negatively affect students' anxiety tendencies. The study's findings can be used in the architectural and environmental planning of academic buildings focusing on mental health.

Place-Based Bias in Environmental Scholarship Derived from Social-Ecological Landscapes of Fear

Historical perspectives (e.g., moments of social, political, and economic significance) are increasingly relevant for developing insights into landscape change and ecosystem degradation. However, the question of how to incorporate historical events into ecological inquiry is still under development, owing to the evolving paradigm of transdisciplinary thinking between natural science and the humanities. In the present article, we call for the inclusion of negative human histories (e.g., evictions of communities and environmental injustices) as important factors that drive landscape change and shape research questions relevant to environmental conservation. We outline the detrimental effects of conservationists not addressing negative human histories by likening this social phenomenon to the ecological concept of landscapes of fear, which describes how not acknowledging these histories produces a landscape that constrains where and how research is conducted by scientists. Finally, we provide three positive recommendations for scholars or practitioners to address the manifestation of historic place-based bias in ecological research. What we call the social-ecological landscapes of fear provides a conceptual framework for more inclusive practices in ecology to increase the success of environmental and conservation goals.

Does catching more fish increase the subjective well-being of fishers? Insights from Bangladesh

Small-scale fisheries have been associated with the subjective well-being of coastal communities through their links with culture, identity, and social cohesion. But although fish catches are usually considered the primary ecosystem service that benefits fishers, little is known about how subjective well-being is influenced by the fishing activity itself. Here, we applied the experience sampling method in two small-scale fisheries in Bangladesh to assess the effects of fishing on fishers' occurrence of positive and negative affect, two measures of subjective well-being. We found that fishing activities were not directly associated with increased momentary affect and that the frequency of positive affect actually decreased as the fishing trip progressed. Furthermore, although very low catches were associated with less positive affect, the highest frequency of positive affect was achieved with relatively small catches. Our results imply that the benefits provided by small-scale fisheries to the momentary subjective well-being of fishers are not strongly related to the actual catching of fish.

Principles for urban nature-based solutions

Nature-based solutions (NBS) were introduced as integrated, multifunctional and multi-beneficial solutions to a wide array of socio-ecological challenges. Although principles for a common understanding and implementation of NBS were already developed on a landscape scale, specific principles are needed with regard to an application in urban areas. Urban areas come with particular challenges including (i) spatial conflicts with urban system nestedness, (ii) specific urban biodiversity, fragmentation and altered environments, (iii) value plurality, multi-actor interdependencies and environmental injustices, (iv) path-dependencies with cultural and planning legacies and (v) a potential misconception of cities as being artificial landscapes disconnected from nature. Given these challenges, in this perspective paper, we build upon and integrate knowledge from the most recent academic work on NBS in urban areas and introduce five distinct, integrated principles for urban NBS design, planning and implementation. Our five principles should help to transcend governance gaps and advance the scientific discourse of urban NBS towards a more effective and sustainable urban development. To contribute to resilient urban futures, the design, planning, policy and governance of NBS should (1) consider the need for a systemic understanding, (2) contribute to benefiting people and biodiversity, (3) contribute to inclusive solutions for the long-term, (4) consider context conditions and (5) foster communication and learning.

How Is Connectedness With Nature Linked to Life Satisfaction or Depression Among Chinese People Living in Rural Low-Income Households? A Serial Mediation Model

Objectives

In this study a serial multiple mediation model is tested to investigate the potential sequentially-mediating effect of affect balance and social cohesion on the association between connectedness to nature and life satisfaction or depression.

Methods

A total of 675 Chinese people from Jiangsu province living in rural low-income households participated in the study. The Connectedness to Nature Scale (CNS), the Positive Affect and Negative Affect Scale (PANAS), the Social cohesion scale (SCS), the Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS), and the Patient Health Questionnaires (PHQ9) were measured in this paper.

Results

Results indicated that the multiple serial mediation of affect balance and social cohesion on the association between connectedness to nature and life satisfaction was significant among the full-size sample, the adult-report, and the old people report, but that this effect is relatively small. Specifically, serial mediation accounted for 2.01, 1.69, 2.67% of the total effect explained by connectedness to nature on life satisfaction, while it accounted for 2.66, 2.35, 2.91% of the total effect explained by connectedness to nature on depression among the full sample population, adults, and old people, respectively.

Conclusions

The findings corroborate the important roles of affect balance and social cohesion in activating connectedness to nature. We discussed the possible ways that affect balance and social cohesion might enhance life satisfaction and decrease depression for Chinese people living in rural low-income households. We also discussed the limitations of this study. More mechanisms could be considered in future studies.

Management and Mapping Ecosystem Services in a Privately Owned Natura 2000 Site: An Insight into the Stellantis–La Mandria Site (Italy)

The Natura 2000 network is an ecological network covering the whole territory of the European Union to ensure the long-term maintenance of threatened or rare natural habitats and species of flora and fauna, including in metropolitan and rural areas. Some of the Natura 2000 sites have been subject to changes in ownership that have led to a fragmentation of the territory. Private entities may own areas within a Natura 2000 site and must ensure sustainable management of their property, especially from an ecological point of view. The case study is the Stellantis–La Mandria site, a private area owned by Stellantis, within the Natura 2000 site “ZSC IT1110079 La Mandria”, near Turin. The research proposes a participatory methodology, mainly addressed in this first phase to experts and professionals and aimed at the valorisation and management of private Natura 2000 sites previously considered as industrial sites, to allow a careful fruition and safeguarding of the natural heritage. The aim of the research is to provide a methodological approach and the first qualitative results useful to providing the owners with an indication for a more targeted management of the site; mapping the areas that provide ecosystem services (ES, especially cultural ones); mapping the areas that could be subject to future fruition; collaborating with the managing body to collect useful data for the future drafting of a new area plan. Two main research activities were carried out, a SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats) analysis concerning the management and possible future fruition of the site and a participatory mapping of ES. It should be emphasised that the research allowed the first results to be obtained, which, on the one hand, make it possible to validate the methodology used to achieve the objectives and, on the other hand, the results will have to be implemented over time by involving numerous stakeholders among those who can access the private area. The results of the research highlight opportunities and threats with regard to the conservation of ecological–environmental characteristics and future fruition of the site. The participatory mapping identifies areas with different ecological value and, therefore, different management needs and identifies areas that could be used differently for future fruition. Overall, the results aim to meet some of the European Commission’s wishes regarding Natura 2000 sites, with particular reference to the involvement of different stakeholders and experts for the conservation of biodiversity and the integration of ecological and social aspects into the management and fruition plans.

People's desire to be in nature and how they experience it are partially heritable

Nature experiences have been linked to mental and physical health. Despite the importance of understanding what determines individual variation in nature experience, the role of genes has been overlooked. Here, using a twin design (TwinsUK, number of individuals = 2,306), we investigate the genetic and environmental contributions to a person's nature orientation, opportunity (living in less urbanized areas), and different dimensions of nature experience (frequency and duration of public nature space visits and frequency and duration of garden visits). We estimate moderate heritability of nature orientation (46%) and nature experiences (48% for frequency of public nature space visits, 34% for frequency of garden visits, and 38% for duration of garden visits) and show their genetic components partially overlap. We also find that the environmental influences on nature experiences are moderated by the level of urbanization of the home district. Our study demonstrates genetic contributions to individuals' nature experiences, opening a new dimension for the study of human-nature interactions.

An Outcome-Oriented, Social–Ecological Framework for Assessing Protected Area Effectiveness

Both the number and the extent of protected areas have grown considerably in recent years, but evaluations of their effectiveness remain partial and are hard to compare across cases. To overcome this situation, first, we suggest reserving the term effectiveness solely for assessing protected area outcomes, to clearly distinguish this from management assessments (e.g., sound planning). Second, we propose a multidimensional conceptual framework, rooted in social–ecological theory, to assess effectiveness along three complementary dimensions: ecological outcomes (e.g., biodiversity), social outcomes (e.g., well-being), and social–ecological interactions (e.g., reduced human pressures). Effectiveness indicators can subsequently be evaluated against contextual and management elements (e.g., design and planning) to shed light on management performance (e.g., cost-effectiveness). We summarize steps to operationalize our framework to foster more holistic effectiveness assessments while improving comparability across protected areas. All of this can ensure that protected areas make real contributions toward conservation and sustainability goals.

Health and Wellbeing Benefits from Nature Experiences in Tropical Settings Depend on Strength of Connection to Nature

A growing number of policies and programmes in cities aim to increase the time people spend in nature for the health and wellbeing benefits delivered by such interactions. Yet, there is little research investigating the extent to which, and for whom, nature experiences deliver such benefits outside Europe, North America, and Australia. Here, we assessed the relationships between nature dose (frequency, duration, and intensity) and three mental wellbeing (depression, stress, and anxiety) and two physical health (high blood pressure, diabetes) outcomes in Singapore, an intensely urbanised tropical city. Our analyses accounted for individual factors, including socio-economic status, nature connection (nature relatedness), and whether people with poor health are prevented by their condition from visiting green spaces. Our results show that the association between nature dose (specifically duration) and mental wellbeing is moderated by a nature connection. Specifically, people with a stronger nature connection were less likely to be depressed, stressed, and anxious, regardless of the duration of their nature dose. For those with a weaker connection to nature, spending longer in nature was associated with being more depressed, stressed, and anxious. We did not find a relationship between nature dose and high blood pressure or diabetes. Our results highlight that the relationship between nature dose and wellbeing might vary substantially among cities.

Living in the concrete jungle: carnivore spatial ecology in urban parks

People and wildlife are living in an increasingly urban world, replete with unprecedented human densities, sprawling built environments, and altered landscapes. Such anthropogenic pressures can affect multiple processes within an ecological community, from spatial patterns to interspecific interactions. We tested two competing hypotheses, human shields vs. human competitors, to characterize how humans affect the carnivore community using multispecies occupancy models. From 2017 to 2020, we conducted the first camera survey of city parks in Detroit, Michigan, and collected spatial occurrence data of the local native carnivore community. Our 12,106-trap night survey captured detection data for coyotes (Canis latrans), red foxes (Vulpes vulpes), raccoons (Procyon lotor), and striped skunks (Mephitis mephitis). Overall occupancy varied across species (Ψ_coyote  = 0.40, Ψ_raccoon  = 0.54, Ψ_{red fox}  = 0.19, Ψ_{striped skunk}  = 0.09). Contrary to expectations, humans did not significantly affect individual occupancy for these urban carnivores. However, co-occurrence between coyote and skunk increased with human activity. The observed positive spatial association between an apex and subordinate pair supports the human shield hypothesis. Our findings demonstrate how urban carnivores can exploit spatial refugia and coexist with humans in the cityscape.

Raptor research during the COVID-19 pandemic provides invaluable opportunities for conservation biology

Research is underway to examine how a wide range of animal species have responded to reduced levels of human activity during the COVID-19 pandemic. In this perspective article, we argue that raptors (i.e., the orders Accipitriformes, Cariamiformes, Cathartiformes, Falconiformes, and Strigiformes) are particularly well-suited for investigating potential 'anthropause' effects: they are sensitive to environmental perturbation, affected by various human activities, and include many locally and globally threatened species. Lockdowns likely alter extrinsic factors that normally limit raptor populations. These environmental changes are in turn expected to influence - mediated by behavioral and physiological responses - the intrinsic (demographic) factors that ultimately determine raptor population levels and distributions. Using this population-limitation framework, we identify a range of research opportunities and conservation challenges that have arisen during the pandemic, related to changes in human disturbance, light and noise pollution, collision risk, road-kill availability, supplementary feeding, and persecution levels. Importantly, raptors attract intense research interest, with many professional and amateur researchers running long-term monitoring programs, often incorporating community-science components, advanced tracking technology and field-methodological approaches that allow flexible timing, enabling continued data collection before, during, and after COVID-19 lockdowns. To facilitate and coordinate global collaboration, we are hereby launching the 'Global Anthropause Raptor Research Network' (GARRN). We invite the international raptor research community to join this inclusive and diverse group, to tackle ambitious analyses across geographic regions, ecosystems, species, and gradients of lockdown perturbation. Under the most tragic of circumstances, the COVID-19 anthropause has afforded an invaluable opportunity to significantly boost global raptor conservation.

Implications of global environmental change for the burden of snakebite

Snakebite envenoming is a set of intoxication diseases that disproportionately affect people of poor socioeconomic backgrounds in tropical countries. As it is highly dependent on the environment its burden is expected to shift spatially with global anthropogenic environmental (climate, land use) and demographic change. The mechanisms underlying the changes to snakebite epidemiology are related to factors of snakes and humans. The distribution and abundance of snakes are expected to change with global warming via their thermal tolerance, while rainfall may affect the timing of key activities like feeding and reproduction. Human population growth is the primary cause of land-use change, which may impact snakes at smaller spatial scales than climate via habitat and biodiversity loss (e.g. prey availability). Human populations, on the other hand, could experience novel patterns and morbidity of snakebite envenoming, both as a result of snake responses to environmental change and due to the development of agricultural adaptations to climate change, socioeconomic and cultural changes, development and availability of better antivenoms, personal protective equipment, and mechanization of agriculture that mediate risk of encounters with snakes and their outcomes. The likely global effects of environmental and demographic change are thus context-dependent and could encompass both increasing and or snakebite burden (incidence, number of cases or morbidity), exposing new populations to snakes in temperate areas due to “tropicalization”, or by land use change-induced snake biodiversity loss, respectively. Tackling global change requires drastic measures to ensure large-scale ecosystem functionality. However, as ecosystems represent the main source of venomous snakes their conservation should be accompanied by comprehensive public health campaigns. The challenges associated with the joint efforts of biodiversity conservation and public health professionals should be considered in the global sustainability agenda in a wider context that applies to neglected tropical and zoonotic and emerging diseases.

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Distribution and abundance of snakes are expected to be affected by climate change.

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Land-use change may also impact snakes but at smaller spatial scales than climate.

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Human populations could experience novel patterns and morbidity of snakebite.

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Reducing snakebite should be accompanied by actions that protect snake diversity.

Impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on human-nature interactions: Pathways, evidence and implications

The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and the global response have dramatically changed people's lifestyles in much of the world. These major changes, as well as the associated changes in impacts on the environment, can alter the dynamics of the direct interactions between humans and nature (hereafter human-nature interactions) far beyond those concerned with animals as sources of novel human coronavirus infections. There may be a variety of consequences for both people and nature.Here, we suggest a conceptual framework for understanding how the COVID-19 pandemic might affect the dynamics of human-nature interactions. This highlights three different, but not mutually exclusive, pathways: changes in (a) opportunity, (b) capability and (c) motivation.Through this framework, we also suggest that there are several feedback loops by which changes in human-nature interactions induced by the COVID-19 pandemic can lead to further changes in these interactions such that the impacts of the pandemic could persist over the long term, including after it has ended.The COVID-19 pandemic, which has had the most tragic consequences, can also be viewed as a 'global natural experiment' in human-nature interactions that can provide unprecedented mechanistic insights into the complex processes and dynamics of these interactions and into possible strategies to manage them to best effect. A free Plain Language Summary can be found within the Supporting Information of this article.

Loss of Cultural and Functional Diversity Associated With Birds Across the Urbanization Gradient in a Tropical City

Birds provide many ecosystem services to people, including provisioning, regulating and cultural services. People attribute multiple cultural values to ecosystems and biodiversity and the diversity of these cultural values can be considered as cultural diversity. While human-nature interactions occur more frequently in cities and urbanization negatively affects different facets of avian biodiversity, little is known about its consequence for cultural diversity. Here, we assess how the urbanization gradient in Campo Grande, a Brazilian city in the Cerrado biodiversity hotspot, affects functional and cultural diversity associated with birds and if functional and cultural diversity are congruent. We also investigate the relation between urbanization gradient with functional traits and cultural values, weighted by species abundance. We used a dataset based on bird surveyed in 61 landscapes along a gradient of impervious surface cover. To estimate functional and cultural diversity, we used indices that estimate richness and divergence of functional traits and cultural values. We found that urbanization affected functional and cultural richness negatively, while there was no effect on functional and cultural divergence. Functional and cultural richness and functional and cultural divergence were weakly, but significantly correlated. Bird species that nest on trees decreased and those that nest in artificial structures and on the ground increased along the impervious surface gradient. Body size, diet, habitat, mating system, flock behavior, and all cultural values (number of times the species was mentioned by football teams, music or poetry, city flags and anthems, and folklore tales) were not significantly affected by impervious surface. The negative relationship between impervious surface and bird cultural richness may indicate that people living in more urbanized areas experience nature less compared to people in less urbanized areas, which can affect their psychological well-being. In these highly urbanized areas, contact with culturally valued birds and cultural services provided by birds may also diminish. The negative relationship between functional richness and urbanization also indicate that highly urbanized areas may be losing important ecosystems services provided by birds.

A room with a green view: the importance of nearby nature for mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic and its global response have resulted in unprecedented and rapid changes to most people's day-to-day lives. To slow the spread of the virus, governments have implemented the practice of physical distancing ("social distancing"), which includes isolation within the home with limited time spent outdoors. During this extraordinary time, nature around the home may play a key role in mitigating against adverse mental health outcomes due to the pandemic and the measures taken to address it. To assess whether this is the case, we conducted an online questionnaire survey (n = 3,000) in Tokyo, Japan, to quantify the association between five mental health outcomes (depression, life satisfaction, subjective happiness, self-esteem, and loneliness) and two measures of nature experiences (frequency of greenspace use and green view through windows from home). Accounting for sociodemographic and lifestyle variables, we found that the frequency of greenspace use and the existence of green window views from within the home was associated with increased levels of self-esteem, life satisfaction, and subjective happiness and decreased levels of depression, anxiety, and loneliness. Our findings suggest that a regular dose of nature can contribute to the improvement of a wide range of mental health outcomes. With the recent escalation in the prevalence of mental health disorders, and the possible negative impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on public mental health, our findings have major implications for policy, suggesting that urban nature has great potential to be used as a "nature-based solution" for improved public health.

The evolutionary consequences of human-wildlife conflict in cities

Human-wildlife interactions, including human-wildlife conflict, are increasingly common as expanding urbanization worldwide creates more opportunities for people to encounter wildlife. Wildlife-vehicle collisions, zoonotic disease transmission, property damage, and physical attacks to people or their pets have negative consequences for both people and wildlife, underscoring the need for comprehensive strategies that mitigate and prevent conflict altogether. Management techniques often aim to deter, relocate, or remove individual organisms, all of which may present a significant selective force in both urban and nonurban systems. Management-induced selection may significantly affect the adaptive or nonadaptive evolutionary processes of urban populations, yet few studies explicate the links among conflict, wildlife management, and urban evolution. Moreover, the intensity of conflict management can vary considerably by taxon, public perception, policy, religious and cultural beliefs, and geographic region, which underscores the complexity of developing flexible tools to reduce conflict. Here, we present a cross-disciplinary perspective that integrates human-wildlife conflict, wildlife management, and urban evolution to address how social-ecological processes drive wildlife adaptation in cities. We emphasize that variance in implemented management actions shapes the strength and rate of phenotypic and evolutionary change. We also consider how specific management strategies either promote genetic or plastic changes, and how leveraging those biological inferences could help optimize management actions while minimizing conflict. Investigating human-wildlife conflict as an evolutionary phenomenon may provide insights into how conflict arises and how management plays a critical role in shaping urban wildlife phenotypes.

Toward Unifying Global Hotspots of Wild and Domesticated Biodiversity

Global biodiversity hotspots are areas containing high levels of species richness, endemism and threat. Similarly, regions of agriculturally relevant diversity have been identified where many domesticated plants and animals originated, and co-occurred with their wild ancestors and relatives. The agro-biodiversity in these regions has, likewise, often been considered threatened. Biodiversity and agro-biodiversity hotspots partly overlap, but their geographic intricacies have rarely been investigated together. Here we review the history of these two concepts and explore their geographic relationship by analysing global distribution and human use data for all plants, and for major crops and associated wild relatives. We highlight a geographic continuum between agro-biodiversity hotspots that contain high richness in species that are intensively used and well known by humanity (i.e., major crops and most viewed species on Wikipedia) and biodiversity hotspots encompassing species that are less heavily used and documented (i.e., crop wild relatives and species lacking information on Wikipedia). Our contribution highlights the key considerations needed for further developing a unifying concept of agro-biodiversity hotspots that encompasses multiple facets of diversity (including genetic and phylogenetic) and the linkage with overall biodiversity. This integration will ultimately enhance our understanding of the geography of human-plant interactions and help guide the preservation of nature and its contributions to people.