Ecology

Barbier, E. B. et al. Ecol. Monogr. 81, 169–193 (2011).Article 

Google Scholar 
Saintilan, N. et al. Nature https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-023-06448-z (2023).Article 

Google Scholar 
IPCC. Climate Change 2021: The Physical Science Basis (Cambridge Univ. Press, 2023).
Google Scholar 
McGlathery, K. J. et al. Oceanography 26, 220–231 (2013).Article 

Google Scholar 
Craft, C. et al. Front. Ecol. Environ. 7, 73–78 (2009).Article 

Google Scholar 
Blankespoor, B., Dasgupta, S. & Laplante, B. AMBIO 43, 996–1005 (2014).Article 
PubMed 

Google Scholar 
Kirwan, M. L., Temmerman, S., Skeehan, E. E., Guntenspergen, G. R. & Fagherazzi, S. Nature Clim. Change 6, 253–260 (2016).Article 

Google Scholar 
Schuerch, M. et al. Nature 561, 231–234 (2018).Article 
PubMed 

Google Scholar 
Saintilan, N. et al. Science 377, 523–527 (2022).Article 
PubMed 

Google Scholar 
Rockström, J. et al. Nature 461, 472–475 (2009).Article 
PubMed 

Google Scholar 
He, Q. & Silliman, B. R. Curr. Biol. 29, R1021–R1035 (2019).Article 
PubMed 

Google Scholar 
Kirwan, M. L. & Megonigal, J. P. Nature 504, 53–60 (2013).Article 
PubMed 

Google Scholar  More

Sharks that are protected from fishing in New Caledonia’s Coral Sea reefs and lagoons — a World Heritage site since 2008 — are being subjected to a culling programme by the New Caledonian authorities to reduce attacks on tourists (see go.nature.com/44pykzk).
Competing Interests
The authors declare no competing interests. More

The majority of kākāpō (Strigops habroptila), a critically endangered flightless parrot endemic to New Zealand, have had their genomes sequenced1.The rotund, green birds used to thrive across the country’s islands, but their numbers plummeted once humans and other invasive mammals arrived. Conservation efforts over the past few decades have seen a modest recovery to 252 individuals, as of August 2022.A team of researchers and conservationists, led by Peter Dearden, a biochemist at the University of Otago in Dunedin, New Zealand, sequenced the genomes of 169 kākāpō, from both living individuals and stored samples. At the time, this represented nearly the entire kākāpō population.
Can the world save a million species from extinction?
With these data, the researchers could look at the genetic diversity across the whole species and identify specific DNA sequences that are linked to traits that could affect the birds’ survival, such as chick growth or susceptibility to disease. “We have managed to associate genetic variation with observed traits, like growth, and can predict how that trait should be reflected in offspring, allowing us to identify problems earlier and prioritize vet treatment,” says Dearden.Data from the entire population could help to identify risks in individuals, he adds. “Kind of like personalized medicine for parrots,” says Dearden.“Their work nicely demonstrates why it is important to invest in genomic sequencing for endangered species, which can then be built upon as the field develops,” says Rebecca Taylor, a conservation-genomics researcher at Environment and Climate Change Canada in Ottawa. “Until now, most programmes have focused on minimizing inbreeding, which is an important goal,” she adds. “But with very endangered species, being able to incorporate the genetic basis of known fitness traits, such as disease susceptibility or fertility rates, into a breeding programme has clear advantages for the survivability of the species going forward.” More

Darwin, C. The Structure and Distribution of Coral Reefs (Smith Elder, 1842).
Google Scholar 
Wiedenmann, J. et al. Nature https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-023-06442-5 (2023).Article 

Google Scholar 
Morris, L. A., Voolstra, C. R., Quigley, K. M., Bourne, D. G. & Bay, L. K. Trends Microbiol. 27, 678–689 (2019).Article 
PubMed 

Google Scholar 
Stanley, G. D. Earth Sci. Rev. 60, 195–225 (2003).Article 

Google Scholar 
Bordenstein, S. R. & Theis, K. R. PLoS Biol. 13, e1002226 (2015).Article 
PubMed 

Google Scholar 
Titlyanov, E. A. et al. Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser. 139, 167–178 (1996).Article 

Google Scholar 
Rosental, B., Kozhekbaeva, Z., Fernhoff, N., Tsai, J. M. & Traylor-Knowles, N. BMC Cell Biol. 18, 30 (2017).Article 
PubMed 

Google Scholar 
Kleypas, J. et al. Biol. Conserv. 257, 109107 (2021).Article 

Google Scholar  More

Ian Bateman and Andrew Balmford argue that land ‘sparing’ for conservation purposes is the best way to achieve conservation and food-security outcomes, by intensifying agricultural production on designated lands (Nature 618, 671–674; 2023). But to meet global biodiversity-conservation goals, land sparing needs to be combined with land sharing in a strategic and socially just way.
Competing Interests
The authors declare no competing interests. More

Bosson, J. B. et al. Nature 620, 562–569 (2023).Article 

Google Scholar 
Huss, M. & Hock, R. Front. Earth Sci. 3, 54 (2015).Article 

Google Scholar 
IPCC. Climate Change 2021: The Physical Science Basis (Cambridge Univ. Press, 2021).
Google Scholar 
Immerzeel, W. W. et al. Nature 577, 364–369 (2020).Article 
PubMed 

Google Scholar 
Stibal, M., Sabacká, M. & Zárský, J. Nature Geosci. 5, 771–774 (2012).Article 

Google Scholar 
Cauvy-Fraunié, S. & Dangles, O. Nature Ecol. Evol. 3, 1675–1685 (2019).Article 
PubMed 

Google Scholar 
Stibal, M. et al. Nature Ecol. Evol. 4, 686–687 (2020).Article 
PubMed 

Google Scholar 
Sytsma, M. L. T., Lewis, T., Bakker, J. D. & Prugh, L. R. J. Anim. Ecol. 92, 723–737 (2023).Article 
PubMed 

Google Scholar 
Alsos, I. G. et al. Sci. Adv. 8, eabo7434 (2022).Article 
PubMed 

Google Scholar 
García Criado, M. et al. Preprint at EcoEvoRxiv https://doi.org/10.32942/X2MS4N (2023).Brožová, V., Bolstad, J. S., Seregin, A. P. & Eidesen, P. B. Ecol. Evol. 13, e9892 (2023).Article 
PubMed 

Google Scholar 
Lee, J. R. et al. Glob. Change Biol. 28, 5865–5880 (2022).Article 

Google Scholar 
La Farge, C., Williams, K. H. & England, J. H. Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA 110, 9839–9844 (2013).Article 
PubMed 

Google Scholar 
Dullinger, S. et al. Nature Clim. Change 2, 619–622 (2012).Article 

Google Scholar 
Stewart, J. R., Lister, A. M., Barnes, I. & Dalén, L. Proc. R. Soc. B. 277, 661–671 (2010).Article 
PubMed 

Google Scholar 
McKay, D. I. A. et al. Science 377, eabn7950 (2022).Article 
PubMed 

Google Scholar 
Convention on Biological Diversity. COP15: Nations Adopt Four Goals, 23 Targets for 2030 in Landmark UN Biodiversity Agreement (2022).Cauvy-Fraunié, S. & Dangles, O. Nature Ecol. Evol. 4, 688–689 (2020).Article 
PubMed 

Google Scholar 
Black, T. & Kurtz, D. J. Glaciol. 69, 251–265 (2023).Article 

Google Scholar  More

Ian Bateman and Andrew Balmford contend that sharing land with agriculture for conservation purposes promotes only common bird and insect species, whereas judiciously sparing some lands from agriculture would be more effective for rarer species (Nature 618, 671–674; 2023). But any agricultural conservation scheme must also protect common species that are crucial for food production.
Competing Interests
The authors declare no competing interests. More

I study the environmental effects of oyster, clam and mussel farming. In this photo from April, I’m standing in the Sacca di Goro, a shallow lagoon in Italy, south of Venice. I make the 120-kilometre round trip here from the University of Ferrara every week during sampling months — April to the end of July and November to December — to study the growing oysters.Oyster farming has a smaller ecological footprint than fish farming does because oysters do not require feeding, which can cause eutrophication — an overgrowth of nutrients that chokes off marine animal life. They also do not require any drugs, disinfectants, pesticides or any form of growth additives.The oysters in these baskets — called lanterns — are between one and four centimetres in diameter. The oyster farmers in the lagoon then move the molluscs to the open sea, where they grow to roughly 10 centimetres, or commercial size. Fishers sometimes take the lanterns out of the water to mimic tides, which are not prominent in the Mediterranean Sea. Being out of water is like going to the gym for the oyster — it builds muscle meat and texture.I don’t like to eat oysters. This can be tricky because the fishers usually offer me some. But I’m excited about the potential uses for the discarded valves, or shells. For example, they can be used to build artificial reefs, be ground up to make body scrubs or be applied instead of lime to raise the pH level of agricultural soil.To calculate the environmental impact of oyster farming, I survey the fishers and map their use of fossil fuels, plastic and other resources that might harm the environment. Then I measure how much carbon the oysters capture as they grow. I focus on the valves, which are made almost entirely of calcium carbonate.I hope to prove that oyster farming absorbs more carbon than it emits. More