Cryptic species diversity is a major challenge regarding the species‐rich community of parasitoids attacking oak gall wasps due to a high degree of sexual dimorphism, morphological plasticity, small size and poorly known biology. As such, we know very little about the number of species present, nor the evolutionary forces responsible for generating this diversity. One hypothesis is that trait diversity in the gall wasps, inclu...

Affluence and vulnerability are often seen as opposite sides of a coin—with affluence generally understood as reducing forms of vulnerability through increased resilience and adaptive capacity. However, in the context of climate change and an increase in associated hazards and disasters, we suggest the need to re-examine this dynamic relationship—a complex association we define here as the Affluence–Vulnerability Interface (AV...

Obligate seeder trees requiring high‐severity fires to regenerate may be vulnerable to population collapse if fire frequency increases abruptly. We tested this proposition using a long‐lived obligate seeding forest tree, alpine ash ( Eucalyptus delegatensis ), in the Australian Alps. Since 2002, 85% of the Alps bioregion has been burnt by several very large fires, tracking the regional trend of more frequent extreme fire weath...

We identified 100 scientific questions that, if answered, would have the greatest impact on conservation practice and policy. Representatives from 21 international organizations, regional sections and working groups of the Society for Conservation Biology, and 12 academics, from all continents except Antarctica, compiled 2291 questions of relevance to conservation of biological diversity worldwide. The questions were gathered...