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.
The heterogeneity of the physical environment determines the cost of transport for animals, shaping their energy landscape. Animals respond to this energy landscape by adjusting their distribution and movement to maximize gains and reduce movement costs. Much of our current knowledge about energy landscape dynamics focuses on factors external to the animal, particularly the spatio-temporal variations of the environment. However, an animal’s internal state can significantly impact its ability to perceive and utilize the available energy, creating a distinction between the “fundamental” and the “realized” energy landscapes. Here we show that the realized energy landscape varies along the onto-genetic axis. Locomotor and cognitive capabilities of individuals change over time, especially during the early life stages. We investigate the development of the realized energy landscape in the Central European Alpine population of the golden eagle Aquila chrysaetos , a large predator that requires negotiating the atmospheric environment to achieve energy-efficient soaring flight. We quantified weekly energy landscapes using environmental features for 55 juvenile golden eagles, demonstrating that energetic costs of traversing the landscape decreased as the birds aged. In fact, the potentially flyable area within the Alpine region increased 2,170-fold during their first three years of independence. Our work contributes to achieving a predictive understanding of animal movement behaviors by presenting ontogeny as a mechanism shaping the realized energy landscape.
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.
The heterogeneity of the physical environment determines the cost of transport for animals, shaping their energy landscape. Animals respond to this energy landscape by adjusting their distribution and movement to maximize gains and reduce costs. Much of our knowledge about energy landscape dynamics focuses on factors external to the animal, particularly the spatio-temporal variations of the environment. However, an animal’s internal state can significantly impact its ability to perceive and utilize available energy, creating a distinction between the ‘fundamental’ and the ‘realized’ energy landscapes. Here, we show that the realized energy landscape varies along the ontogenetic axis. Locomotor and cognitive capabilities of individuals change over time, especially during the early life stages. We investigate the development of the realized energy landscape in the Central European Alpine population of the golden eagle Aquila chrysaetos , a large predator that requires negotiating the atmospheric environment to achieve energy-efficient soaring flight. We quantified weekly energy landscapes using environmental features for 55 juvenile golden eagles, demonstrating that energetic costs of traversing the landscape decreased with age. Consequently, the potentially flyable area within the Alpine region increased 2170-fold during their first three years of independence. Our work contributes to a predictive understanding of animal movement by presenting ontogeny as a mechanism shaping the realized energy landscape.
How animals refine migratory behavior over their lifetime (i.e., the ontogeny of migration) is an enduring question with important implications for predicting the adaptive capacity of migrants in a changing world. Yet, our inability to monitor the movements of individuals from early life onward has limited our understanding of the ontogeny of migration. The exploration–refinement hypothesis posits that learning shapes the ontogeny of migration in long-lived species, resulting in greater exploratory behavior early in life followed by more rapid and direct movement during later life. We test the exploration–refinement hypothesis by examining how white storks ( Ciconia ciconia ) balance energy, time, and information as they develop and refine migratory behavior during the first years of life. Here, we show that young birds reduce energy expenditure during flight while also increasing information gain by exploring new places during migration. As the birds age and gain more experience, older individuals stop exploring new places and instead move more quickly and directly, resulting in greater energy expenditure during migratory flight. During spring migration, individuals innovated novel shortcuts during the transition from early life into adulthood, suggesting a reliance on spatial memory acquired through learning. These incremental refinements in migratory behavior provide support for the importance of individual learning within a lifetime in the ontogeny of long-distance migration.
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