Throughout its range, the Eurasian spoonbill Platalea leucorodia is migratory, but there is a well-documented exception in a population living in the Parc National du Banc d’Arguin in Mauritania. Based on their smaller body size, absence of a yellowish breast band during breeding, and fully black bills, they were assigned subspecies status (Platalea leucorodia balsaci) in 1974. Despite obvious threats (small numbers, and their low-lying breeding islets being under pressure from sea level rise), the Mauritanian spoonbill has not been assessed for inclusion on the IUCN Red List. The nominate subspecies P. leucorodia leucorodia, which joins the Mauritanian subspecies at Banc d’Arguin during the non-breeding season, is categorized as Least Concern. There is genetic and behavioural evidence of gene flow between balsaci and leucorodia, and in December 2023 and 2024, we observed that over half of the spoonbills born at Banc d’Arguin (identifiable by their colour-rings) had the yellow-tipped bill characteristic of leucorodia. As the increase in the marked balsaci population has not resulted in resightings away from Banc d’Arguin in the well-monitored flyway of leucorodia from West Africa to Europe, the introgression of leucorodia genes into balsaci seems to have left the isolating character of residency of the Banc d’Arguin-breeding spoonbills intact. We propose that the subspecies balsaci should be categorized as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List. We recommend continued monitoring of the breeding population of balsaci, with the inclusion of new studies of morphology and genetics.

Begonia larorum is a threatened plant species endemic to Alcatrazes Island, south-east Brazil, which had not been recorded since its discovery in the 1920s. Here we report its rediscovery after more than a century since the first and only collection. In February 2024, we found a single individual in the forest understorey and successfully propagated it ex situ. Later that year we located a population of 19 individuals in an open area of vegetation prone to fires and invasive grasses and we obtained the first colour photographs of the species. Given its restricted range and the threats to its survival, we recommend the species be assessed for inclusion on the global IUCN Red List in addition to maintaining its Critically Endangered status at national level on the Red List of Brazilian Flora. We also propose in situ and ex situ conservation actions.

Our research focused on the Critically Endangered Chinese pangolin Manis pentadactyla in the Siang River basin of Arunachal Pradesh in north-east India, home to the Indigenous Adi People. We found evidence of a resident Chinese pangolin population in the study area after assessing pangolin presence from walking surveys and camera trapping at pangolin burrows. We assessed the effectiveness of positioning camera traps based on the local knowledge of the Adi People. Camera-trap capture rates (5.1%) were comparable to or higher than those reported in other studies across Africa and Asia, highlighting the value of incorporating local ecological knowledge in camera-trap surveys. Our findings underscore the complementary nature of Indigenous knowledge and scientific methods, especially for elusive species such as pangolins.