How Are the Mammals Doing?

How Are the Mammals Doing?

Guest: Carlo Rondinini In this episode, Volker Hahn talks to Carlo Rondinini, Professor of Zoology at Sapienza University of Rome, about wolves, beavers, otters, hedgehogs, jackals, and the global fate of mammals. They explore why some species are making remarkable comebacks in Europe, while one quarter of mammals worldwide are at risk of extinction. And although the threats are complex — from habitat loss and overexploitation to climate change — Rondinini says one solution matters more than almost anything else. Related links: Carlo Rondinini at the Gobal Mammal Assessment: https://globalmammal.org/staff/carlo-rondinini-2/ [https://globalmammal.org/staff/carlo-rondinini-2/] Wild mammals are making a comeback in Europe thanks to conservation efforts: https://ourworldindata.org/europe-mammal-comeback [https://ourworldindata.org/europe-mammal-comeback] Almost all of the world’s mammal biomass is humans and livestock: https://ourworldindata.org/wild-mammals-birds-biomass [https://ourworldindata.org/wild-mammals-birds-biomass] Global trends and scenarios for terrestrial biodiversity and ecosystem services from 1900 to 2050: https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.adn3441#tab-contributors [https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.adn3441#tab-contributors] How many bird and mammal extinctions has recent conservation action prevented?: https://conbio.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/conl.12762 [https://conbio.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/conl.12762] Global protected areas seem insufficient to safeguard half of the world's mammals from human-induced extinction: https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2200118119 [https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2200118119]

What Can Social Media Tell Us About Insect Trends?

Guest: Shawan Chowdhury Why are insects declining — and what can social media teach us about biodiversity? Entomologist Dr Shawan Chowdhury talks with host Volker Hahn about his research on insect conservation and protected areas, the striking lack of data from tropical regions, and how Facebook, iNaturalist and other platforms can help fill these gaps. Shawan also shares how he uses social media not only as a scientific tool, but as a bridge between research and the public — and why communicating science across cultures matters as much as doing it. Shawan Chowdhury’s lab website: https://shawanchowdhurylab.com/ [https://shawanchowdhurylab.com/] “Protected areas and the future of insect conservation” (discussed in this episode): https://www.cell.com/trends/ecology-evolution/fulltext/S0169-5347(22)00224-5 [https://www.cell.com/trends/ecology-evolution/fulltext/S0169-5347(22)00224-5] “Three-quarters of insect species are insufficiently represented by protected areas” (discussed in this episode): https://www.cell.com/one-earth/fulltext/S2590-3322(22)00631-5 [https://www.cell.com/one-earth/fulltext/S2590-3322(22)00631-5] Shawan on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/p/Shawan-Chowdhury-Lab-61576000974986/ [https://www.facebook.com/p/Shawan-Chowdhury-Lab-61576000974986/] Shawan on X: https://x.com/shawan_c [https://x.com/shawan_c] Shawan on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shawan-chowdhury/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/shawan-chowdhury/] Shawan on Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/shawan-chowdhury.bsky.social [https://bsky.app/profile/shawan-chowdhury.bsky.social]

How Are the Insects Doing?

Guest: Roel van Klink Are insect numbers really declining — and if so, why? In this episode, entomologist Roel van Klink explains what long-term data reveal about global and local insect trends and why the causes behind these changes remain surprisingly uncertain. We also discuss why it is difficult to distinguish between natural fluctuations and human-driven impacts, such as land-use change or climate change. We explore what scientists currently know, what they still don’t know, and why understanding these drivers is crucial for biodiversity conservation. Dr. Roel van Klink is an entomologist at iDiv and the Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg. He is the lead author of one of the largest meta-studies on global insect trends. Related links: Roel van Klink at iDiv: https://www.idiv.de/staff/roel-van-klink/ [https://www.idiv.de/staff/roel-van-klink/] Roel van Klink on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/roelvanklink/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/roelvanklink/] Roel van Klink’s major study on global insect trends, published in the journal Science in 2020 and discussed in this episode: https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.aax9931 [https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.aax9931] Study of insect declines in the Krefeld area, published in 2017 and mentioned in this episode. This study drew massive public attention to the issue of insect declines: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0185809 [https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0185809]

Why Are Conflicts Over Nature Escalating?

Guest: Taylor Dotson How can conservation succeed in a polarised society? This episode features Taylor Dotson, a Science and Technology Studies scholar and an associate professor at New Mexico Tech. Together with podcast host Dr. Volker Hahn, Dotson discusses his new book, “Conservation by the people – The Future of Biodiversity in a Divided World”. In it, Dotson describes “fanatical confrontations over nature”, and he explores ways of resolving environmental disputes productively and democratically. How can we better understand those who oppose conservation policies? How do we prevent biodiversity policy from becoming as polarising as climate change? How can incremental change through trial and error help us achieve what Dotson calls “biodiversity democracy”? Related links: Taylor Dotson at New Mexico Tech: https://www.nmt.edu/academics/class/faculty/tdotson.php [https://www.nmt.edu/academics/class/faculty/tdotson.php] Taylor Dotson on Substack: https://tamingcomplexity.substack.com/ [https://tamingcomplexity.substack.com/] Taylor Dotson’s latest book “Conservation by the people – The Future of Biodiversity in a Divided World”: https://mitpress.mit.edu/9780262052092/conservation-by-the-people/ [https://mitpress.mit.edu/9780262052092/conservation-by-the-people/] Taylor Dotson’s second book “The Divide – How Fanatical Certitude is Destroying Democracy”: https://www.taylorcdotson.com/the-divide.html [https://www.taylorcdotson.com/the-divide.html]

Is the Planetary Boundaries Concept Useful for Communication?

Guest: Katrin Böhning-Gaese In this episode, Professor Katrin Böhning-Gaese, scientific director of the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research – UFZ, and podcast host Dr. Volker Hahn discuss the Planetary Boundaries framework, focusing not only on the science but also considering the value of this framework for communication. Other questions at the heart of this episode are: Where has communication on climate and biodiversity gone wrong? Is there a tendency to exaggerate risks and understate progress? What are the consequences of catastrophizing rhetoric for mental health and people’s readiness to act? What can biodiversity communication learn from climate communication, and vice versa? Most importantly, how can researchers and the media do better? Related links: Katrin Böhning-Gaese on the UFZ website: https://www.ufz.de/index.php?en=51666 [https://www.ufz.de/index.php?en=51666] The Planetary Boundaries Framework and its control variables discussed in this podcast (HANPP, industrial nitrogen fixation, among others): https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.adh2458 [https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.adh2458] “Global Catastrophic Risks 2026”, “Ecological Collapse” section, cited in this episode: https://globalchallenges.org//app/uploads/2025/12/GCF-Risk-report-2026-Risk-2-.pdf [https://globalchallenges.org//app/uploads/2025/12/GCF-Risk-report-2026-Risk-2-.pdf]