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.

Migratory raptors rarely fly over stretches of water larger than 25 km, although different species undertake water crossings of varying lengths, depending mainly on their wing morphology. Oriental Honey‐buzzards fly c. 680 km over the East China Sea in autumn from breeding areas in Japan to wintering areas in Southeast Asia, but avoid this long water crossing in spring. We investigated the effects of weather on this exceptional migratory behaviour and its seasonality through a maximum entropy niche modelling approach. We used data collected through satellite tracking of 31 adult birds as presence points and a set of variables related to wind, precipitation and convective condition as environmental predictors. Results of modelling showed very different, almost non‐overlapping, areas suitable for migration over the East China Sea region in autumn and spring. Suitable migration routes in autumn mostly occurred over the sea, whereas suitable areas for spring migration mostly occurred over land, suggesting that circumnavigating the East China Sea is preferable in spring. At the regional scale, wind conditions facilitate water‐crossing behaviour of Oriental Honey‐buzzards in autumn, but not in spring. Specifically, suitable tailwinds over the sea enable water‐crossing in autumn, whereas in spring, wind support and convective conditions are best over land. Our modelling did not suggest any importance of convective conditions for autumn migration. However, we expect that at smaller temporal scales, convective conditions would be a considerable facilitator of the water‐crossing behaviour in this species.

Human-carnivore conflict is hampering carnivore conservation worldwide. Conflicts between humans and wolves (Canis lupus) in western Iran, especially Hamedan province (HP), occur in the form of livestock depredation and predatory attacks on people. These conflicts have become a major concern for the lives and livelihoods of the local people as well as an obstacle for conservation of the wolf. To determine the most important predictors of such conflicts and to identify the distribution of areas with potential risk of wolf attack on humans and livestock in HP, we employed maximum entropy (Maxent) algorithm to build predictive models with reported conflict data from 2001 to 2010. The resulting models correctly assigned subsequent attack sites from 2011 and 2012 to high-risk areas. We found that variables related to land use/cover types affected by anthropogenic influences on the landscape, such as irrigated farms and human settlements, were the most important in predicting wolf attack risk levels. The risk maps developed in this study are useful tools for identifying conflict hotspots and facilitate policymaking and action planning for conflict mitigation in western Iran.

We determined the effects of past and future climate changes on the distribution of the Montivipera raddei species complex (MRC) that contains rare and endangered viper species limited to Iran, Turkey and Armenia. We also investigated the current distribution of MRC to locate unidentified isolated populations as well as to evaluate the effectiveness of the current network of protected areas for their conservation. Present distribution of MRC was modeled based on ecological variables and model performance was evaluated by field visits. Some individuals at the newly identified populations showed uncommon morphological characteristics. The distribution map of MRC derived through modeling was then compared with the distribution of protected areas in the region. We estimated the effectiveness of the current protected area network to be 10%, which would be sufficient for conserving this group of species, provided adequate management policies and practices are employed. We further modeled the distribution of MRC in the past (21,000 years ago) and under two scenarios in the future (to 2070). These models indicated that climatic changes probably have been responsible for an upward shift in suitable habitats of MRC since the Last Glacial Maximum, leading to isolation of allopatric populations. Distribution will probably become much more restricted in the future as a result of the current rate of global warming. We conclude that climate change most likely played a major role in determining the distribution pattern of MRC, restricting allopatric populations to mountaintops due to habitat alterations. This long-term isolation has facilitated unique local adaptations among MRC populations, which requires further investigation. The suitable habitat patches identified through modeling constitute optimized solutions for inclusion in the network of protected areas in the region.

Predictive models of species denning habitat are useful for understanding distribution of core use areas and identifying areas with potential conflicts. Wolf den site selection in unmanaged areas with dominance of agriculture‐lands and human disturbance is not completely understood. We used a GIS multivariate model based on the Mahalanobis distance statistic and 11 digital habitat layers to evaluate gray wolf denning site suitability in Hamedan province (HP), western Iran. Results showed that >74 % of dens occurred in potential denning sites that occupied 14 % (2,785 km2) of the study area. Based on sensitivity analysis with ROC, we found that the distance to rangelands, elevation, and distance to roads, human settlements and streams were the most predictive variables. Our potential distribution model of wolf den sites showed a very good overall performance according to classification accuracy and discrimination capacity. Denning in elevated rugged terrains adjacent to rangelands and away from roads and villages revealed that wolf den distribution in HP is highly influenced primarily by factors associated with human disturbance. The derived predicted distribution map can be used to prioritize areas for conservation, identify areas with potential conflicts, and to implement adaptive management in regions beyond wilderness and protected areas.

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 419,680 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, and can expand the geographical (by 12-25%) and taxonomic (by 5-32%) coverage of English-language evidence, especially in biodiverse regions, albeit often 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.

Flapping flight is relatively costly for soaring birds such as raptors. To avoid costly flight, migrating raptors generally avoid flying over water. As a result, all but one of the global raptor migration flyways are largely over land. The East Asian oceanic flyway for raptors is the exception. Raptor species using this flyway migrate by island-hopping, flying over open ocean for distances of up to 300 km between islands. We used satellite telemetry data for grey-faced buzzards Butastur indicus, a species that dominates the southern part of the flyway, to investigate the geographical and atmospheric factors responsible for the suitability of this flyway for raptor migration. Using a combination of least-cost path analysis and a step selection function, we found that the occurrence of numerous islands and also suitable wind support along the oceanic flyway are responsible for route selection in grey-faced buzzards. These results confirm the role of islands, but also wind, in shaping the East Asian oceanic flyway of long-distance raptor migration.

Atmospheric currents influence the choice of migratory routes and flight characteristics of birds as well as their decisions regarding migration onset and stopovers. Among long distance avian migrants, soaring birds are particularly dependent on wind and updrafts to help them complete their journeys. This review focuses on the behavioral adaptations of migratory soaring birds at various scales with regard to these atmospheric phenomena. Soaring landbirds and soaring seabirds have evolved morphological characteristics that make them specialists in soaring flight, thus enabling them to reduce the costs of migration significantly. We introduce the flight strategies of each group and discuss how migratory routes, flight characteristics, and onset and stopover decisions are all adjusted in relation to atmospheric conditions best suited for soaring. In addition, we discuss briefly how this strong dependence on atmospheric conditions makes soaring birds vulnerable to anthropogenic threats, such as wind energy development and climate change.