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Amano T, Berdejo-Espinola V, Christie AP, Willott K, Akasaka M, Báldi A, Berthinussen A, Bertolino S, Bladon AJ, Chen M, Choi CY, Bou Dagher Kharrat M, de Oliveira LG, Farhat P, Golivets M, Hidalgo Aranzamendi N, Jantke K, Kajzer-Bonk J, Kemahlı Aytekin MÇ, Khorozyan I, Kito K, Konno K, Lin DL, Littlewood N, Liu Y, Liu Y, Loretto MC, Marconi V, Martin PA, Morgan WH, Narváez-Gómez JP, Negret PJ, Nourani E, Ochoa Quintero JM, Ockendon N, Oh RRY, Petrovan SO, Piovezan-Borges AC, Pollet IL, Ramos DL, Reboredo Segovia AL, Rivera-Villanueva AN, Rocha R, Rouyer MM, Sainsbury KA, Schuster R, Schwab D, Şekercioğlu ÇH, Seo HM, Shackelford G, Shinoda Y, Smith RK, Tao SD, Tsai MS, Tyler EHM, Vajna F, Valdebenito JO, Vozykova S, Waryszak P, Zamora-Gutierrez V, Zenni RD, Zhou W, Sutherland WJ. Tapping into non-English-language science for the conservation of global biodiversity. PLoS Biol 2021; 19:e3001296. [PMID: 34618803 DOI: 10.1101/2021.05.24.445520] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/25/2021] [Accepted: 08/25/2021] [Indexed: 05/26/2023] Open
Abstract
The widely held assumption that any important scientific information would be available in English underlies the underuse of non-English-language science across disciplines. However, non-English-language science is expected to bring unique and valuable scientific information, especially in disciplines where the evidence is patchy, and for emergent issues where synthesising available evidence is an urgent challenge. Yet such contribution of non-English-language science to scientific communities and the application of science is rarely quantified. Here, we show that non-English-language studies provide crucial evidence for informing global biodiversity conservation. By screening 419,679 peer-reviewed papers in 16 languages, we identified 1,234 non-English-language studies providing evidence on the effectiveness of biodiversity conservation interventions, compared to 4,412 English-language studies identified with the same criteria. Relevant non-English-language studies are being published at an increasing rate in 6 out of the 12 languages where there were a sufficient number of relevant studies. Incorporating non-English-language studies can expand the geographical coverage (i.e., the number of 2° × 2° grid cells with relevant studies) of English-language evidence by 12% to 25%, especially in biodiverse regions, and taxonomic coverage (i.e., the number of species covered by the relevant studies) by 5% to 32%, although they do tend to be based on less robust study designs. Our results show that synthesising non-English-language studies is key to overcoming the widespread lack of local, context-dependent evidence and facilitating evidence-based conservation globally. We urge wider disciplines to rigorously reassess the untapped potential of non-English-language science in informing decisions to address other global challenges. Please see the Supporting information files for Alternative Language Abstracts.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tatsuya Amano
- School of Biological Sciences, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
- Centre for Biodiversity and Conservation Science, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
| | - Violeta Berdejo-Espinola
- School of Biological Sciences, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
- Centre for Biodiversity and Conservation Science, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
| | - Alec P Christie
- Conservation Science Group, Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
- BioRISC, St. Catharine's College, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - Kate Willott
- Conservation Science Group, Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - Munemitsu Akasaka
- Institute of Agriculture, Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology, Fuchu, Tokyo, Japan
- Institute of Global Innovation Research, Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology, Fuchu, Tokyo, Japan
| | - András Báldi
- Lendület Ecosystem Services Research Group, Institute of Ecology and Botany, Centre for Ecological Research, Vácrátót, Hungary
| | | | - Sandro Bertolino
- Department of Life Sciences and Systems Biology, University of Turin, Torino, Italy
| | - Andrew J Bladon
- Conservation Science Group, Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - Min Chen
- School of Life Sciences, Institute of Eco-Chongming (IEC), East China Normal University, Shanghai, China
- Yangtze Delta Estuarine Wetland Ecosystem Observation and Research Station, Ministry of Education & Shanghai Science and Technology Committee, Shanghai, China
| | - Chang-Yong Choi
- Department of Agriculture, Forestry, and Bioresources, Seoul National University, Seoul, Republic of Korea
| | - Magda Bou Dagher Kharrat
- Laboratoire Biodiversité et Génomique Fonctionnelle, Faculté des Sciences, Université Saint-Joseph, Campus Sciences et Technologies, Beirut, Lebanon
| | | | - Perla Farhat
- Laboratoire Biodiversité et Génomique Fonctionnelle, Faculté des Sciences, Université Saint-Joseph, Campus Sciences et Technologies, Beirut, Lebanon
| | - Marina Golivets
- Department of Community Ecology, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research-UFZ, Halle, Germany
| | | | - Kerstin Jantke
- Center for Earth System Research and Sustainability, University of Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Joanna Kajzer-Bonk
- Institute of Nature Conservation, Polish Academy of Sciences, Kraków, Poland
- Department of Invertebrate Evolution, Jagiellonian University, Kraków, Poland
| | - M Çisel Kemahlı Aytekin
- Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Koç University, Rumelifeneri Yolu Sarıyer, Istanbul, Turkey
| | - Igor Khorozyan
- Department of Conservation Biology, Georg-August-Universität Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Kensuke Kito
- Department of Ecosystem Studies, Graduate School of Agricultural and Life Sciences, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Ko Konno
- School of Natural Sciences, Bangor University, Gwynedd, United Kingdom
| | - Da-Li Lin
- School of Biological Sciences, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
- Endemic Species Research Institute, Jiji, Nantou, Taiwan
| | - Nick Littlewood
- Conservation Science Group, Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
- Department of Rural Land Use, SRUC, Aberdeen, United Kingdom
| | - Yang Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Biocontrol, School of Ecology, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China
| | - Yifan Liu
- School of Agriculture and Biology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China
| | - Matthias-Claudio Loretto
- Department of Migration, Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, Radolfzell, Germany
- Department of Biology, University of Konstanz, Konstanz, Germany
| | - Valentina Marconi
- Faculty of Natural Sciences, Department of Life Sciences (Silwood Park), Imperial College London, Ascot, Berkshire, United Kingdom
- Institute of Zoology, Zoological Society of London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Philip A Martin
- Conservation Science Group, Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
- BioRISC, St. Catharine's College, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - William H Morgan
- Conservation Science Group, Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - Juan P Narváez-Gómez
- Departamento de Botânica, Instituto de Biociências, Universidade de São Paulo, Cidade Universitária, São Paulo, Brasil
- Forest Ecology and Conservation Group, Conservation Research Institute and Department of Plant Sciences, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - Pablo Jose Negret
- Centre for Biodiversity and Conservation Science, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
- School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, The University of Queensland, Queensland, Australia
| | - Elham Nourani
- Department of Migration, Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, Radolfzell, Germany
- Department of Biology, University of Konstanz, Konstanz, Germany
| | - Jose M Ochoa Quintero
- Instituto de Investigación de Recursos Biológicos Alexander von Humboldt, Bogotá, Colombia
| | - Nancy Ockendon
- Endangered Landscapes Programme, The Cambridge Conservation Initiative, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - Rachel Rui Ying Oh
- School of Biological Sciences, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
- Centre for Biodiversity and Conservation Science, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany
- Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (UFZ), Leipzig, Germany
| | - Silviu O Petrovan
- Conservation Science Group, Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - Ana C Piovezan-Borges
- Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ecologia e Conservação, Instituto de Biociências (INBIO), Universidade Federal de Mato Grosso do Sul (UFMS), Campo Grande, Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil
| | | | - Danielle L Ramos
- Plantem-Plant Technology and Environmental Monitoring Ltd., Sao Jose dos Campos, Sao Paulo, Brazil
| | - Ana L Reboredo Segovia
- Department of Earth and Environment, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America
| | - A Nayelli Rivera-Villanueva
- Centro Interdisciplinario de Investigación para el Desarrollo Integral Regional Unidad Durango (CIIDIR), Instituto Politécnico Nacional, Durango, México
| | - Ricardo Rocha
- Conservation Science Group, Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
- CIBIO-InBIO, Research Center in Biodiversity and Genetic Resources, University of Porto, Vairão, Portugal
- CIBIO-InBIO, Research Center in Biodiversity and Genetic Resources, Institute of Agronomy, University of Lisbon, Lisbon, Portugal
| | | | - Katherine A Sainsbury
- Conservation Science Group, Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
- Faculty of Kinesiology, Sport, and Recreation, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
| | - Richard Schuster
- Department of Biology, Carleton University, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
| | - Dominik Schwab
- Agroecology, Department of Crop Sciences, University of Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Çağan H Şekercioğlu
- Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Koç University, Rumelifeneri Yolu Sarıyer, Istanbul, Turkey
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah, United States of America
| | - Hae-Min Seo
- Department of Agriculture, Forestry, and Bioresources, Seoul National University, Seoul, Republic of Korea
| | - Gorm Shackelford
- Conservation Science Group, Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
- BioRISC, St. Catharine's College, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - Yushin Shinoda
- Institute of Agriculture, Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology, Fuchu, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Rebecca K Smith
- Conservation Science Group, Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - Shan-Dar Tao
- Graduate School of Engineering and Science, University of the Ryukyus, Senbaru, Nishihara, Nakagami, Okinawa, Japan
| | - Ming-Shan Tsai
- Wildlife Conservation Research Unit, Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
| | - Elizabeth H M Tyler
- Conservation Science Group, Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - Flóra Vajna
- Lendület Ecosystem Services Research Group, Institute of Ecology and Botany, Centre for Ecological Research, Vácrátót, Hungary
- Department of Ecology, Institute for Biology, University of Veterinary Medicine, Budapest, Hungary
| | - José Osvaldo Valdebenito
- Milner Centre for Evolution, University of Bath, Bath, United Kingdom
- Department of Evolutionary Zoology and Human Biology, University of Debrecen, Hungary
| | - Svetlana Vozykova
- Faculty of Energy and Ecotechnology (GreenTech), ITMO University, St Petersburg, Russia
| | - Paweł Waryszak
- School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Centre for Integrative Ecology, Deakin University, Victoria, Australia
| | - Veronica Zamora-Gutierrez
- Cátedras CONACYT-Centro Interdisciplinario de Investigación para el Desarrollo Integral Regional Unidad Durango (CIIDIR), Instituto Politécnico Nacional, Durango, México
| | - Rafael D Zenni
- Departamento de Ecologia e Conservação, Instituto de Ciências Naturais, Universidade Federal de Lavras, Campus Universitário, Lavras, Minas Gerais, Brazil
| | - Wenjun Zhou
- State Key Laboratory of Biocontrol, School of Ecology, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China
| | - William J Sutherland
- Conservation Science Group, Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
- BioRISC, St. Catharine's College, Cambridge, United Kingdom
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