The PREDICTS project—Projecting Responses of Ecological Diversity In Changing Terrestrial Systems (www.predicts.org.uk)—has collated from published studies a large, reasonably representative database of comparable samples of biodiversity from multiple sites that differ in the nature or intensity of human impacts relating to land use. We have used this evidence base to develop global and regional statistical models of how local biodiversity responds to these measures. We describe and make freely available this 2016 release of the database, containing more than 3.2 million records sampled at over 26,000 locations and representing over 47,000 species. We outline how the database can help in answering a range of questions in ecology and conservation biology. To our knowledge, this is the largest and most geographically and taxonomically representative database of spatial comparisons of biodiversity that has been collated to date; it will be useful to researchers and international efforts wishing to model and understand the global status of biodiversity.

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The Beal's eyed turtle (Sacalia bealei) is threatened with extinction due to hunting for large-scale trade. In Hong Kong, there are some of the world's remaining wild populations of S. bealei, as well as a breeding colony. This breeding colony is at the core of conservation efforts (captive breeding, reintroduction programs). Therefore, we would like to know how captivity, in particular diet, affects the gut microbiota. Using highthroughput 16S rRNA gene sequencing, we comparatively analyzed the fecal microbiota of wild and captive S. bealei. We found that wild S. bealei have higher alpha diversity than captive S. bealei, but the difference was not significant. Significant differences were found in β-diversity; at the phylum level, wild S. bealei have higher relative abundances of Proteobacteria and captive S. bealei have higher relative abundances of Firmicutes. At the genus level, Cetobacterium and Citrobacter are more abundant in wild S. bealei, while Clostridium spp. are significantly more abundant in captive S. bealei. These results suggest conditions in captivity, with diet being a major factor, influence the gut microbiota of S. bealei. The connection between diet and health has always been considered for captive animals, and in this study we use the gut microbiota as an another tool to assess health.

Along the East Asian-Australasian flyway (EAAF), waterbirds are threatened by a wide range of human activities. Studies have shown that wintering populations of many species have declined in Australia and Japan; however, long term data along China’s coast are limited. In this study, we analyzed data collected from monthly bird surveys to quantify population trends of wintering waterbirds from 1998 to 2017 in the Deep Bay area, South China. Of the 42 species studied, 12 declined, while nine increased significantly. Phylogenetic comparative analysis revealed that population trends were negatively correlated to reliance on the Yellow Sea and body size. Further, waterbird species breeding in Southern Siberia declined more than those breeding in East Asia. These findings, coupled with a relatively high number of increasing species, support the continual preservation of wetlands in the Deep Bay area. This study provides another case study showing that data collected from wintering sites provide insights on the threats along migratory pathway and inform conservation actions. As such, we encourage population surveys in the EAAF to continue, particularly along the coast of China.

Extensive loss of natural wetlands caused by changes in land use largely diminishes the food resources essential for the survival of migratory waterbirds. Globally, the decline in waterbird populations in East Asia is the most serious, with 64% of these populations showing a decreasing trend. In this study, we applied DNA metabarcoding to examine the spatiotemporal variations and diversities in the dietary compositions of migratory waterbirds in a natural/artificial wetland complex in Asia. By investigating 110 fecal samples from the endangered black-faced spoonbill (Platalea minor) wintering in the wetland, our results show that P. minor had a broad dietary spectrum. The birds fed on at least 26 species in the classes Actinopterygii and Malacostraca, with Mugiliformes, Cichliformes, and Gobiiformes being the main taxa in their diets. Our results also demonstrated clear patterns of the spatiotemporal variations between the roosting groups and intraspecific variations between the individuals, which potentially reflect some of their feeding habits, and the probable usage of different habitat types in the wetland complex. Using high-throughput sequencing, we were able to elucidate the food resources that are critical to P. minor non-invasively, this method can also be used to provide invaluable information for the conservation of many other waterbird species.