Pensoft blog

In a Land Down Under, Pensoft joined the 11th ESP World Conference

The latest outcomes at the SELINA project and modern, open-access scholarly publishing were ‘hot’ topics we discussed with delegates in Darwin.

*Official group photo of the delegates at ESP11 (Darwin, Australia).*
*Courtesy of the Ecosystem Services Partnership.*

Between 22^nd and 26^th June, the 11^th Ecosystem Services Partnership World Conference (ESP11) brought about 250 international delegates from diverse backgrounds: professional and demographic alike, to the Darwin Convention Centre in the capital city of the Northern Territory, Australia.

Amongst the central topics of the event were the integrations of local and indigenous values and knowledge into the understanding of ecosystem services and their sustainable management; the implementation of nature-based solutions into practice; and the collaboration of scientists with policymakers, practitioners and other stakeholders.

Inspired by the location – curiously, Australia is the longest continuously inhabited continent on Earth – the conference had a well-pronounced focus on indigenous peoples and culture. Aptly, the conference ran under the theme: “From global to local ecosystem services: pathways to Nature-based Solutions inspired from Down Under”.

Cultural diversity was specially celebrated at both the opening and the closing ceremonies, as well as the special conference dinner. Attendees enjoyed multiple traditional performances from the region, but also from other parts of the world. They also had the chance to hear directly from members of Darwin’s indigenous communities about their own perspectives on ecosystem services and their sustainable management.

Indigenous Australian performance at the opening ceremony at ESP11 (Darwin, Australia).

During the week, each day would open with keynote speeches by renowned scientists from around the world. The programme would then continue with a set of six parallel sessions. The conference also included poster sessions, a conference dinner and field trips meant to provide the conference participants with a face-to-face encounter with Australian natural phenomena, including close-up encounters with the signature Northern Territory fauna, such as crocodiles, birds and sea turtles.

One of the field trips took participants to the uninhabited Bare Sand Island where they got the chance to see up close a Flatback sea turtle coming out of the water, making her nest and laying her eggs before making her way back to the waves under the cover of the night.

At the Pensoft stand, delegates met Pensoft’s Head of Journal development and PR: Iva Boyadzhieva, who would answer their questions about the various publishing opportunities and scholarly resources by the publisher, but also about the latest activities and results of the Horizon Europe-funded project SELINA (an acronym for Science for Evidence-based and Sustainable Decisions about Natural Capital).

*Pensoft’s stand at the ESP11 conference in Darwin, Australia.*

Having started in 2022 and set to run until 2027, SELINA comprises 50 partner organisations coordinated by the Leibniz University Hannover and Prof. Dr. Benjamin Burkhard (Leibniz University Hannover, Germany), who is also co-Chair of the ESP and Editor-in-Chief of the One Ecosystem journal. As an experienced science communicator and open-science publisher, at SELINA, Pensoft has been assigned to lead the project’s communication and dissemination activities.

The transdisciplinary project aims to provide smart, cost-effective, and nature-based solutions to historic societal challenges, such as climate change, biodiversity loss, and food security. One of the consortium’s main objectives is to identify biodiversity, ecosystem condition, and ecosystem service factors that can be successfully integrated into decision-making processes in both the public and private sectors.

Most recently, the consortium launched SELINA’s Communities of Practice initiative to promote collaborative learning and knowledge integration across Europe. This digital platform provides a forum for scientists, policymakers, practitioners, and business representatives to exchange knowledge and further engage with its real-life application. On the Communities of Practice, visitors may explore how SELINA is driving change across Europe.

Once again, all around the venue one could easily catch a glimpse of both local and exotic biodiversity that had taken cover on the laptops of the participants. The vivid stickers have become a signature Pensoft freebies that feature scientific illustration of species discussed in publications from across the publisher’s scholarly portfolio in a nod to the authors who have chosen a journal from the Pensoft scholarly portfolio.

Besides grabbing a sticker or two from the Pensoft stand, visitors were also intrigued to learn more about Pensoft’s flagship journals fitting the scope of the conference like Nature Conservation, NeoBiota and Biodiversity Data Journal, but also about the most recently launched titles: Individual-based Ecology and Advances in Pollinator Research.

Those who have missed the opportunity to sign up for those journals’ newsletters at the stand, can do this by filling in their email address from the homepage of the journal they fancy or by updating their profiles in the Pensoft system.

Understandably, the highlight in the Pensoft’s journal portfolio for ESP11 delegates was One Ecosystem, which was once born in a collaboration between Pensoft, the predecessor of SELINA: ESMERALDA, and the ESP community itself.

Since its launch in 2016, the open-access peer-reviewed journal has published about 200 research papers, including field-specific research outputs typically falling outside of what traditional scientific journals would see as a publication. These include Software description, Methods, Ecosystem Services Mapping, Ecosystem Accounting Table amongst others. You can find about the origins of One Ecosystem in the 2016 launching editorial. A few years ago, the journal became part of the scholarly literature databases of both Scopus and Web of Science. In fact, the latest Scopus CiteScore of One Ecosystem places the journal in Q1 in all five categories it has been assigned to.

*At a special session within the ESP11 programme, Editor-in-Chief Prof. Dr. Benjamin Burkhard welcomed various questions concerning the One Ecosystem journal.*

As part of the ESP11 programme, a session dedicated on the open-science approach of One Ecosystem that relies on opening up diverse research outputs and data, in order to prompt transparency, reusability and interdisciplinary in ecological research. Together, Pensoft’s Iva Boyadzhieva, Editor-in-Chief Prof. Dr. Benjamin Burkhard and subject editor Dr. Paulo Pereira talked about the journal and addressed the questions of the audience, while also providing general advice on scholarly publishing and editorial work to early career researchers at the session.

The session also presented the announcement that in 2025, ESP members are eligible for a 10% discount on the APC at One Ecosystem.

As usual, the conference closed with an engaging and heart-warming ceremony, where the organisers paid another tribute to local communities and volunteers who made the event an unforgettable experience for everyone. The ceremony finished with the awards for the three best posters presented at ESP11.

*Hamid Arrum Harahap was awarded first place for his poster “Ecosystem-Based Adaptation (EbA) to Climate Change for Indigenous Women in the Mentawai Islands and Aceh Singkil, Sumatra (Indonesia)”.*

Hamid Arrum Harahap (Universitas Andalas, Indonesia), Nicole Boyd (Charles Darwin University) and Gail Sucharitakul (Imperial College of London, United Kingdom) were recognised for their research posters.

“My poster highlights the climate knowledge of Indigenous women in the Mentawai Islands and Aceh Singkil. Their voices are often underrepresented in climate discourse, despite contributing the least to climate change and being among the most affected by its impacts”
said first-place sitter Hamid Arrum Harahap about his poster, titled “Ecosystem-Based Adaptation (EbA) to Climate Change for Indigenous Women in the Mentawai Islands and Aceh Singkil, Sumatra (Indonesia)”.

“In regions where downscaling climate models is difficult, intergenerational knowledge passed through indigenous women is critical. Our study highlights that while our climate models from modern science are built on numbers and projections, Indigenous women’s climate memories are rooted in stories and emotions—together, they offer complementary insights for understanding and adapting to climate change.”

In addition to the prizes handed by the ESP, he received a waiver for a free publication at One Ecosystem from the journal’s publisher Pensoft.

“I plan to use this opportunity to publish my research on Indigenous knowledge and ecosystem services. I am currently working on two studies: one on the relational values of ecosystem services governance with Indigenous Batak communities, and the other on ecosystem-based adaptation and the vulnerability of ecosystem services to climate change, focusing on Indigenous women in Sumatra and Far North Queensland, Australia. I believe One Ecosystem is an ideal platform for this work, as it offers an innovative and accessible forum for multidisciplinary studies like mine and focusing on sustainability of the ecosystem.
he added.

Third-placed Gail Sucharitakul received a copy of “Mapping Ecosystem Service”: a best-seller in Pensoft’s scientific book portfolio, edited by Prof. Dr. Benjamin Burkhard and Dr. Joachim Maes (European Commission DG Environment): both well-renowned in the field and the ESP community scientists. Maes is also a Deputy Editor-in-Chief at One Ecosystem.

Now that the ESP11 World Conference has turned into a wonderful memory, we set our sights on the 2016 European conference, which will be taking place in historic Prague, Czech Republic. See you there!

***

Follow One Ecosystem (BlueSky, X and Facebook), SELINA (BlueSky, X, Facebook and Linkedin) and Pensoft (BlueSky, X, Facebook, Instagram and Linkedin) on social media.

More than it can chew: ambitious adder takes on hare in rare interaction

See footage of the interaction below.

A new paper published in the open-access journal Herpetozoa records a rarely documented event in the world of snake predation: an adult female Common European Adder (Vipera berus) attempting to kill and swallow a young European Hare (Lepus europaeus) nearly ten times its own mass.

Watch below (warning: contains footage some may find distressing):

Aadult female adder, Vipera berus, examining a young hare or leveret, Lepus europaeus and biting its left hind leg. The adder was disturbed by the observer’s presence and escaped into the tall grass. Credit: Klaus Birch.

The incident, observed on the Danish island of Læsø in August 2022, saw the adder, which was likely in a state of nutritional deficit after giving birth, attack a young hare (a leveret) in open grassland. Researchers Henrik Bringsøe, Daniel Jablonski, and Klaus Birch document the interaction in their research paper.

The snake was seen biting and examining the hare’s limbs and head, which is how adders assess whether prey can be swallowed. Despite the adder’s determined efforts, intervention from the observer prevented the snake from attempting ingestion, and the hare succumbed to its injuries shortly after. The research paper’s authors suggest it is likely that, without intervention, the snake would have abandoned its excessively large prey after careful examination anyway.

The adder returned from the grass vegetation to the hare and continued examining it, especially the front legs and the head. Credit: Klaus Birch.

The sheer size difference between predator and prey makes the observation noteworthy. The adder, estimated at 60 cm in length and weighing around 110 grams, was facing a hare of about 30 cm and 1,000 grams.

Such attempts at oversized prey are not unknown among snakes, but they are poorly represented in scientific literature and may be more common than previously thought. Snakes often abandon prey that proves impossible to consume, but these events are seldom reported.

The authors contextualise this event with similar cases from around the world, including rattlesnakes and other vipers attacking animals too large to swallow. Sometimes, these ambitious meals can even prove fatal for the snakes themselves. The paper suggests that the drive for a high-energy meal, particularly after energetically costly events like giving birth, may push snakes to take such risks.

Snake attempting to eat a rabbit much larger than itself. — Male *Crotalus* *lutosus* having killed a young *Sylvilagus* *audubonii* (Desert Cottontail) which it tried to swallow, however, it was unable to finish the job. Likely its first meal attempt during the spring. St. George, southwestern Utah, USA, 29 April 2023 at 09:15 h. Photo by Cameron Rognan.

Lead author of the study, Henrik Bringsøe, has a history of recording rare and entirely new snake feeding behaviour, such as snakes disemboweling and feeding on the organs of living toads, and two snakes playing tug-of-war with a limbless amphibian.

Tug of war: two snakes battle for prey in a scientific first

This remarkable observation highlights the need for more documentation of such underreported phenomena in snake ecology, and serves as a reminder that in the wild, even the most experienced predators can be a little too optimistic.

Original source

Bringsøe H, Jablonski D, Birch K (2025) Overly optimistic adder, Vipera berus (Linnaeus, 1758), killing and intending to swallow an oversized young hare, Lepus europaeus Pallas, 1778. Herpetozoa 38: 155-159. https://doi.org/10.3897/herpetozoa.38.e143850

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First Journal Impact Factor for Frontiers of Biogeography

Led by Editor-in-Chief Prof. Robert J. Whittaker, Frontiers of Biogeography aims to advance public understanding of biogeographical sciences.

Frontiers of Biogeography, the official journal of The International Biogeography Society (TIBS), has received its first Journal Impact Factor (JIF) from Clarivate’s Web of Science. Its 2024 JIF stands at 2.5, highlighting the journal’s impact and relevance to the academic community.

This milestone places Frontiers of Biogeography in the Q2 category in both of its assigned Web of Science categories, Ecology and Geography, Physical.

A key metric released by Clarivate, the 2024 Journal Impact Factor reflects the number of times content published in a specific journal during 2022 and 2023 was cited in the subsequent 2024. This total citation count is then divided by the number of “citable” articles (i.e., research and review articles) to estimate the JIF.

Prior to this inaugural JIF, Frontiers of Biogeography had already achieved notable recognition, including a Scopus CiteScore of 5.5, an all-time high for the journal and the latest rise in an upwards trend that dates from its inclusion in Scopus back in 2016. It is placed in the 79^th percentile for Ecology and the 73^th percentile for Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics, ranking in Q1 for both categories.

An illustration shows a woman in a green sweater holding orange blocks in front of a chart illustrating Scopus CiteScore metrics and data.

Established in 2009, Frontiers of Biogeography was recently relaunched on the ARPHA Platform, where it is co-published with Pensoft Publishers. The journal publishes studies on all geographical variations of life at all levels of organisation, adhering to rigorous academic standards and aiming to advance public understanding of biogeographical sciences. It is led by Editor-in-Chief Prof. Robert J. Whittaker and Deputy Editors-in-Chief Dr. Janet Franklin and Prof. Mark J. Costello.

The International Biogeography Society relaunches flagship journal Frontiers of Biogeography on ARPHA platform

Professor Robert J. Whittaker, Editor-in-Chief of Frontiers of Biogeography, expressed his enthusiasm for this achievement, stating, “When The International Biogeography Society launched Frontiers of Biogeography under the editorship of Joaquín Hortal in 2009, we had a vision of it becoming an adaptable, independent, society-owned journal with a distinctive place in the journal publishing landscape. The attainment of our first Clarivate Journal Impact Factor is testimony to the hard work by our past and present editors and reviewers, and to the quality and interest level of the work that our community has entrusted to the journal for publication.”

“Working together with the team at Pensoft we are confident that we can continue to grow the journal as a favoured venue for Open Access publication of cutting-edge biogeographical research,” he added.

Hidden gems in the mist: Three new frog species uncovered in northern Peru

The team observed signs of habitat degradation, fire damage, and expanding farmland, highlighting the need for conservation efforts.

High in the cloud-wrapped peaks of the Cordillera de Huancabamba, where the Andes dip and twist into isolated ridges, a team of Peruvian scientists has brought three secretive frogs out of obscurity and into the scientific record. The study, led by herpetologist Germán Chávez and published in Evolutionary Systematics, describes Pristimantis chinguelas, P. nunezcortezi, and P. yonke—three new species discovered in the rugged, misty highlands of northwestern Peru.

A photo of majestic rocky mountains partially shrouded in wispy clouds under a clear blue sky.

“They’re small and unassuming,” Chávez says, “but these frogs are powerful reminders of how much we still don’t know about the Andes.”

Between 2021 and 2024, the team carried out a series of tough expeditions, hiking steep trails and combing mossy forests and wet páramo for signs of amphibian life. It was in this setting—both harsh and enchanting—that they encountered the new species.

Each frog tells a different story:

A close-up photo of a brown frog perched on a green leaf.

A close-up photo of a golden-brown frog with intricate patterns, perched on a green leaf against a dark background.

P. chinguelas, discovered on a cliffside of Cerro Chinguelas, has a body dotted with prominent large tubercles on both sides. Its high-pitched “peep” can be heard on humid nights.

A close-up photo of a brown frog perched on a green leaf against a dark background.

A close-up photo of a brown frog with striking golden eyes, perched on a dark, textured surface against a black background.

P. nunezcortezi lives near a cool mountain stream in a regenerating forest. With large black blotches on axillae and groins, it was named in honour of ornithologist Elio Nuñez-Cortez, a conservation trailblazer in the region.

A close-up photo of a textured brown frog resting on a vibrant green leaf against a dark background.

A close-up photo of a reddish-brown frog perched on a green leaf, showcasing its textured skin and large, reflective eye against a dark background.

P. yonke, the smallest of the three, was found nestled in bromeliads at nearly 3,000 meters. Its name nods to “yonque,” a sugarcane spirit consumed by locals to brave the highland chill.

“Exploring this area is more than fieldwork—it’s an immersion into wilderness, culture, and resilience,” says co-author Karen Victoriano-Cigüeñas.

A photo of a person in silhouette illuminating vegetation with their headlamp in a dark, misty outdoor setting.

“Many of these mountain ridges are isolated, with no roads and extreme terrain,” adds Ivan Wong. “The weather shifts within minutes, and the steep cliffs make every step a challenge. It’s no wonder so few scientists have worked here before. But that’s exactly why there’s still so much to find.”

Despite the thrill of discovery, the frogs’ future is uncertain. The team observed signs of habitat degradation, fire damage, and expanding farmland. For now, the species are listed as Data Deficient under IUCN criteria, but the call to action is clear.

“The Cordillera de Huancabamba is not just a remote range—it’s a living archive of biodiversity and cultural legacy,” says co-author Wilmar Aznaran. “And we’ve barely scratched the surface.”

Research article:

Chávez G, Aznaran W, Wong I, Victoriano-Cigüeñas KY, García-Ayachi LA, Valencia-Málaga JD, Ormeño JR, Gulman M, Sumiano-Mejía R, Thompson ME, Catenazzi A (2025) Over the top: Three new species of terrestrial breeding frogs (Anura, Terrarana, Pristimantis) from the highlands of the Cordillera de Huancabamba, northwestern Peru. Evolutionary Systematics 9(1): 145-166. https://doi.org/10.3897/evolsyst.9.148522

All photos by Germán Chávez.

Bridging citizen science and expert surveys in urban biodiversity monitoring: Insights from insect diversity in Macao

Using insects as a model group, researchers examined the potential of citizen science to uncover undocumented biodiversity.

Guest blog post by Kaiyun Zheng, Mark K. L. Wong, Toby P. N. Tsang, Chi Man Leong

A photo of a cicada emerging from its shell, clinging to a branch among green leaves at night. — Eclosion of *Cryptotympana* sp. during a nighttime bioblitz activity in Macao. Photo courtesy Dr. Danny Chi Man Leong

During a field trip for an ecology course in a city park, lead author Ms Kaiyun Zheng was fascinated by the incredible insect biodiversity surrounding her. Insects serve as important bioindicators—their diversity and assemblage can reveal ecological processes and environmental health. However, sampling insect diversity is often challenging, requiring extensive equipment and field effort. Despite being one of the most species-rich animal groups, insects are undergoing a global decline due to habitat loss, pollution, and urbanization. Traditional insect surveys typically demand significant time and resources and are limited in scope.

Curious to find a more accessible approach, Kaiyun began exploring insect records from both expert-led field surveys and citizen science platforms such as iNaturalist. Together with her supervisor, Dr. Danny Chi Man Leong from Beijing Normal-Hong Kong Baptist University, and co-authors Dr. Mark Wong from The University of Western Australia and Dr. Toby Tsang from University of Toronto Scarborough, they posed a key question: Can citizen science reveal hidden biodiversity beyond what expert surveys have recorded?

A photo of a woman standing outdoors, wearing a white shirt and brown skirt, holding a phone and a hat, with a backpack slung over one shoulder. — Ms. Kaiyun Zheng

A photo of a man with arms crossed, wearing a dark green sweater over a collared shirt, and a watch, standing against a wooden background. — Ms. Kaiyun Zheng

Citizen science involves participation by people without formal scientific training, who contribute to scientific research by collecting and sharing data. In biodiversity documentation, citizen scientists can use smartphones and digital platforms to record species, helping expand scientific knowledge at scale.

Using insects as a model group, the authors examined the potential of citizen science to uncover undocumented biodiversity and discussed how large-scale citizen-contributed data could enhance ecosystem monitoring. To evaluate the strengths and complementarities of different data sources, they compared an expert dataset with a citizen science dataset.

Four panels depicting insect observation data: a map, trend graphs for observations, observers, and species over time. — Spatial distribution of insect observations in Macao from the citizen science dataset (iNaturalist.org) (A), along with cumulative increases in verified identifiers (B), insect observations (C), and recorded insect species (D).

In total, 1,889 insect species were recorded across both datasets, but only 462 species (24%) overlapped. The expert dataset included 1,339 species, of which 877 (65%) were not found in the citizen science records. Conversely, the citizen science dataset documented 1,012 species, with 550 (54%) unique to it. This substantial non-overlap indicates that the two approaches capture different facets of insect diversity. For example, there was relatively high overlap for insect groups such as butterflies and moths (Lepidoptera), likely due to their conspicuous appearance and popularity among observers. In contrast, groups such as wasps, bees and ants (Hymenoptera) and flies (Diptera) were underrepresented in the citizen science dataset, suggesting challenges in detecting smaller or more cryptic species.

Venn diagram showing species counts: 877 expert recorded, 550 citizen science recorded, and 462 shared species. — Venn diagram of insect diversity between expert and citizen science datasets.

These findings highlight the importance of integrating expert surveys with citizen science efforts to achieve a more comprehensive understanding of insect biodiversity, especially in urban areas which benefit from a high participation from citizen scientists.

Their study also highlights the unique strengths of citizen science for urban biodiversity monitoring. Residents living near parks and green spaces are ideally placed to document insect occurrences in real time across a wide range of locations. Notably, the study includes a citizen-contributed record of Mortonagrion hirosei, a Near Threatened damselfly rarely observed in Macao. This example illustrates how citizen science can detect rare or cryptic species, uncovering important biodiversity records and filling gaps left by traditional surveys, making it an indispensable tool for future biodiversity monitoring.

Research article:

Zheng K, Wong MKL, Tsang TPN, Leong CM (2025) Bridging Citizen Science and Expert Surveys in urban biodiversity monitoring: Insights from insect diversity in Macao. Biodiversity Data Journal 13: e153402. https://doi.org/10.3897/BDJ.13.e153402

What are semi-double flowers? New species discovered with rare trait

Single-flowered plants are by far the most common species found in the wild.

More petals often equals more appeal for flower lovers. Double and semi-double blooms are popular among gardeners for their lush, ornate appearance. But, while they are common in cultivated varieties, they are exceptionally rare in the wild.

So, when researchers from China discovered a new species with naturally occurring semi-double flowers, they knew they had found something special.

What are single, semi-double, and double flowers?

To appreciate this discovery, it’s helpful to understand what makes a flower “single,” “double,” or “semi-double.”

Three flowers, one with a single row of petals, one with a two, and one with several. — Left-to-right: single, semi-double, and double flowers in *Rosaceae.*

Single flowers have the typical number of petals for their species, arranged in a single row. This number is usually five in the rose family (Rosaceae). Single-flowered plants are by far the most common wild species.
Double flowers have been bred or mutated to have many extra petals, often replacing stamens, giving them a full, layered look. While they are popular for their aesthetic value, double flowers are often poor (or entirely useless) for pollinators.
Semi-double flowers are an intermediate form. They have more than the typical number of petals (often in two whorls), but fewer than fully double flowers, usually around 10–12 petals. Semi-double flowers are rare in the wild and – like double flowers – are almost always cultivated.

Double and semi-double blooms are prized for their beauty and prolonged flowering, but are typically only seen in cultivated ornamentals, not in wild populations.

Rubus semiplenus

Discovered in 2022 during a botanical expedition in Hunan Province’s Nanyue Hengshan National Nature Reserve, Rubus semiplenus is a rare example of a wild species with semi-double flowers. Scientists from Yunnan University and local botanical institutions confirmed it as a new species and published their findings in the open-access journal PhytoKeys.

Unlike most of its Rubus relatives, R. semiplenus grows as a small herb or dwarf subshrub rather than a woody shrub. The bramble’s leaves are simple and nearly round, which is also unusual for the genus, and its flowers have 10–12 white petals arranged in two whorls, clearly distinguishing it from related species like Rubus hirsutus, which has the typical five-petaled, single flowers.

The floral trait seen in R. semiplenus is exceptionally rare in wild Rubus species. While some cultivated varieties and a few exceptions (like Rubus rosifolius var. coronarius) show similar traits, spontaneous semi-double flowers are almost unheard of in the wild. The discovery is also taxonomically significant. Genetic and morphological analyses place R. semiplenus within the section Rosaefolii, but it is the only known member of that group with both simple leaves and semi-double flowers, which may provide insight into floral evolution and development within the Rubus genus.

Original source

Wang T-T, Li M-H, Kuang D-Y, Xia J-L, Wang Q-P, Wang H-C (2025) Rubus semiplenus (Rosaceae), a new species with naturally occurring semi-double flowers from Hunan, China. PhytoKeys 257: 79-93. https://doi.org/10.3897/phytokeys.257.150519

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Tackling extinction risks in the EU with invasive species management

A new study identifies where and how targeted action can have the highest conservation impact.

Experts from the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) have analysed how targeted management of invasive alien species (IAS) can reduce extinction risks for threatened species across the European Union (EU), in line with the EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030.

Published in the open-access journal NeoBiota, and funded by the European Commission, a new study identifies where and how targeted action against IAS can have the highest conservation impact.

Researchers applied the IUCN Species Threat Abatement and Restoration (STAR) metric to measure opportunities for species threat abatement caused by IAS. They estimated that fully removing threats from IAS could reduce extinction risk for EU species by up to 16%.

Methodological outline for the different steps of the STAR-t analyses on Invasive Alien Species threats.

The Macaronesian Islands, namely the Canary Islands (Spain), Madeira (Portugal), and the Azores (Portugal), present the largest opportunities for reducing species extinction risk. The research calculates this at an over 40% reduction in extinction risk if IAS were eliminated, illustrating how IAS pose a significantly higher threat to islands compared to mainland ecosystems. Islands are particularly vulnerable due to their unique biodiversity, high levels of endemism, and often fragile ecosystems.

“Given the alarming impact that invasive alien species have on native biodiversity and the economy, it is essential to identify where action can have the greatest effect. In this context, our work presents the first regional application of the Species Threat Abatement and Restoration (STAR) metric, a science-based method that links conservation actions to the reduction of species extinction risk. By applying STAR with data from the EU Red List of threatened species, we highlight opportunities for addressing invasive alien species across national and subnational levels in the EU.
Randall Jiménez Q., Senior Conservation Scientist, IUCN (first author of the research).

For specific IAS, the greatest opportunities to reduce regional species extinction risk by mitigating threats from IAS come from managing feral goats (12.4%), mouflons (8.1%), rabbits (5.3%) and rats (4.6%).

Contribution of IAS threat abatement to extinction risk reduction. Relative contribution (in percentage) to the species extinction risk reduction that could be met by acting to abate IAS threats in each of the EU Member States or Outermost Regions.

Invasive alien species are a major threat to global biodiversity and the total cost of biological invasions across all European Union member states has been estimated at 129.9 billion US dollars between 1960 and 2020. In Europe, measures for IAS management are mainly established through the European Union Biodiversity Strategy 2030, which aims to halve the number of IUCN Red List of Threatened Species at risk from IAS by 2030.

“Mitigating the impacts of invasive alien species offers some of the greatest potential gains for conserving native biodiversity, while also delivering benefits for ecosystem services and local economies.

“This analysis provides decision-makers with guidance on where efforts can achieve the most significant results, supporting progress toward the EU Biodiversity Strategy target of reducing impacts on threatened species from invasive alien species by 50%.”
Boris Erg, IUCN European Regional Director.

Across the EU, 3,759 species (excluding marine animals) have been assessed as Near Threatened or Threatened with extinction, of which 579 (15%) are documented to be threatened by IAS (IUCN 2024).

A 2023 report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) found that IAS have been a significant driver in 60% of documented plant and animal extinctions. The report, informed by experts from the IUCN Species Survival Commission (SSC) Invasive Species Specialist Group (ISSG), identified 3,500 invasive species that are severely harming biodiversity and human livelihood. These are increasing rapidly, with a forecast increase of 36% by 2050 – posing threats to the realisation of the Global Biodiversity Framework.

Original source:

Jiménez RR, Smith KG, Brooks TM, Scalera R, Mair L, Nunes AL, Costello KE, Macfarlane NBW (2025) Guiding action on invasive alien species towards meeting the EU’s Biodiversity Strategy for 2030. NeoBiota 99: 109–129. https://doi.org/10.3897/neobiota.99.148323

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Bulgaria joins the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF)

Led by Pensoft and its CEO Prof. Lyubomir Penev, the partnership marks a major step for Bulgarian science and regional biodiversity leadership.

Bulgaria officially joins the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF). This major event for Bulgarian science was initiated by a memorandum signed by the Minister of Environment and Water: Manol Genov.

GBIF is an international network and data infrastructure funded by governments around the world that provides international open access to a modern and comprehensive database of all species of living organisms on the planet.

Joining GBIF is an important step for initiatives such as the Bulgarian Barcode of Life (BgBOL), as it will facilitate the integration of genetic data on species diversity into the global scientific community and support the creation of a more accurate and accessible bioinformatic database. This will increase the scientific visibility and relevance of Bulgarian efforts in molecular taxonomy and conservation.

Newly established Bulgarian Barcode of Life to support biodiversity conservation in the country

World map showing GBIF network participants: green for voting participants, blue for associate participants, gray for non-participants. — Prof. Lyubomir Penev

“First of all, I’d like to congratulate all fellow scientists working in the domain of biology and ecology in Bulgaria with this wonderful achievement,” says Prof. Dr. Lyubomir Penev, founder and CEO of the scientific publisher and technology provider Pensoft, as well as a key participant in the talks and preparations for Bulgaria’s joining GBIF. He is also Chair of BgBOL.

“Becoming a full member of GBIF has been a long-anticipated milestone we have discussed and worked on for several years. Coming not long after we initiated the Bulgarian Barcode of Life, the Bulgarian membership in GBIF gives us yet another uncontested evidence that the nation is on the right path to preserving our uniquely rich fauna and flora,” he adds.

Pensoft is looking forward to sharing our know-how with Bulgarian institutions and scientists in order to streamline the visibility and overall efficiency of biodiversity data collected from Bulgaria.
Prof. Lyubomir Penev

“As close partners of GBIF for over 15 years now, Pensoft is looking forward to sharing our know-how with Bulgarian institutions and scientists, so that they can fully utilise the GBIF infrastructure and tools, in order to streamline the visibility and overall efficiency of biodiversity data collected from Bulgaria.”

GBIF is managed by a Secretariat based in Copenhagen and brings together countries and organisations that collaborate through national and institutional coordinators (also called participant nodes). The mechanism provides common standards, good practices and open access tools for institutions around the world to share information on the location and recording of species and specimens. According to GBIF, a total of 107 countries and organisations currently participate in the network, a significant number of which are European.

The GBIF network, as screenshot from https://www.gbif.org/the-gbif-network on 10/06/2025.

By joining GBIF, biodiversity data generated in Bulgaria can be streamlined through the network’s infrastructure so that the country does not need to build and maintain its own separate infrastructure, which also saves significant financial resources.

As a full voting member, Bulgaria will ensure that biodiversity data in the country will be shared and accessible through the platform, and will contribute to global knowledge on biodiversity, respectively to the solutions that will promote its conservation and sustainable use.

Map of Bulgaria showing biodiversity data with orange heatmap indicating occurrences. — Bulgaria’s page on GBIF, as screenshot from https://www.gbif.org/country/BG/summary on 10/06/2025.

Improvements in data management by Bulgaria will also contribute to better reporting and fulfilment of obligations to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) as well as to the Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES). As a member of GBIF, Bulgaria will be able to apply for funding for flagship activities in Bulgarian institutions and neighbouring Balkan countries. This will enable the country to expand its leadership role in the Balkans in biodiversity research and data accumulation.

GBIF and Pensoft signed a Memorandum of Cooperation

The partnership between GBIF and Pensoft dates back to 2009 when the global network and the publisher signed their first Memorandum of Understanding intended to solidify their cooperation as leaders in the technological advancement relevant to biodiversity knowledge. Over the next few years, Pensoft integrated its whole biodiversity journal portfolio with the GBIF infrastructure to enable multiple automated workflows, including export of all species occurrence data published in scientific articles straight to the GBIF platform. Most recently, over 20 biodiversity journals powered by Pensoft’s scholarly publishing platform ARPHA launched their own hosted portals on GBIF to make it easier to access and use biodiversity data associated with published research, aligning with principles of Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable (FAIR) data.

Celebrating One Year on Weibo

One year ago, Pensoft embarked on an exciting new journey to connect with the vibrant scientific community in China by launching our official Weibo account. This initiative was designed to foster closer ties with Chinese researchers, academics, and science enthusiasts—helping to broaden the reach of scientific knowledge and promote international collaboration.

Highlights from Our First Year

Over the past 12 months, we’ve shared a wide range of articles, research highlights, and updates from our diverse portfolio of open-access journals. Here are some of the most memorable moments from our first year:

Our most viewed video featured the discovery of three new species of Nautilus—the iconic deep-sea mollusks. Published in ZooKeys, the study described species from the Coral Sea and South Pacific. The video captivated marine biology fans and drew thousands of views. Videos are a powerful way to share science, and we encourage researchers to include video materials whenever possible!

Video by Gregory J. et al.

Another example was the video from the study Kleptoparasitism in Micrurus mipartitus competing for the same Caecilia sp. in western Colombia, published in Herpetozoa. The footage documented a rare and dramatic interaction between coral snakes fighting over a caecilian, and it fascinated our followers with its unusual ecological behavior.

Video by Henrik Bringsøe, Niels Poul Dreyer

Our most viral post introduced the newly described supergiant Bathynomus vaderi—a massive deep-sea isopod discovered off the coast of Vietnam. Its name, vaderi, was inspired by the creature’s head, which bears a striking resemblance to the iconic helmet worn by Darth Vader in Star Wars.

The Dark Side of the ocean: New giant sea bug species named after Darth Vader

Another popular post highlighted new mimetid spider species (Araneae, Mimetidae) discovered in Guizhou Province, published in Zoosystematics and Evolution. The study shed light on the region’s rich spider biodiversity and sparked strong engagement from our Chinese followers. It seems that spiders are a consistent fan favorite, with arachnid discoveries regularly going viral on our Weibo!

**Male holotype of *Mimetus* *lanmeiae* sp. nov., photograph by Q Lu (Shenzhen)**

This trend continued with our most popular longread, which told the story of Otacilia khezu sp. nov., a newly discovered cave-dwelling spider from Guangxi, China, published in the Biodiversity Data Journal. What truly captured readers’ imaginations—beyond the biological discovery—was the name itself. The spider was named after the Khezu, a wyvern from the popular video game Monster Hunter, known for its blindness and eerie appearance. Just like its namesake, Otacilia khezu completely lacks eyes — a striking adaptation to life in the dark.

Monster Hunter in real life: eyeless spider named after video game monstrosity

We’re also thrilled to see research from Pensoft’s journals featured widely across Chinese media. Articles have appeared in blogs, popular outlets such as People’s Daily, Xinhua, Global Times, Science and Technology Daily, on CCTV, in local news, and even in print newspapers!

Looking Ahead

As we celebrate this milestone, we’re filled with excitement for what lies ahead. We look forward to continuing to share cutting-edge science, uncovering new discoveries, and building stronger connections with our Chinese readers and partners.

Thank you to everyone who has followed, shared, and supported us over the past year. Your engagement has made this journey meaningful and rewarding.

Stay connected with us on Weibo: Pensoft’s Official Weibo Account

FERRO project celebrates one year of advancing lake restoration across Europe

With a mission to address nutrient pollution and drive sustainable lake restoration across Europe, the FERRO project marks its first year.

Launched in June 2024, the Horizon Europe-funded project: Fostering European Lakes Restoration by Nutrient Removal, Recovery and Reuse: Integrated Catchment and In-lake Scale Approach (FERRO) – brings together scientists, engineers, and environmental experts from across Europe to develop innovative, nature-based, and circular solutions to reduce nutrient pollution in freshwater ecosystems.

Eutrophication, caused by excessive nutrients, such as phosphorus and nitrogen that enter lakes and reservoirs, remains one of the most pervasive threats to freshwater bodies. These excess nutrients often originate from agricultural runoff and wastewater discharges, resulting in algal blooms, oxygen depletion, and biodiversity loss.

FERRO addresses these challenges by working at both catchment scale and in-lake level, aiming not only to remove harmful nutrients, but also to recover and reuse them – aligning with Europe’s goals for circular economy and sustainable water management.

With a strong emphasis on interdisciplinary collaboration, FERRO combines natural science, engineering, economics, and policy to develop scalable restoration strategies adaptable across Europe’s diverse lake regions.

The FERRO consortium

FERRO unites seven partners from six European countries, each contributing unique expertise to the project’s holistic approach:

Biology Centre CAS, Czech Republic
Brockmann Geomatics, Sweden
Brockmann Consult, Germany
Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (UFZ), Germany
University of Southern Denmark (SDU), Denmark
Pensoft Publishers, Bulgaria
University of Helsinki (UH), Finland

Together, these organisations form a powerhouse of knowledge, experience, and innovation in the fields of limnology, hydrology, environmental policy, circular resource use and communications.

Pensoft’s role in FERRO

As the leader of the Communication and Dissemination Work Package #2, Pensoft plays a key role in ensuring that FERRO’s results and insights reach the widest possible audience. The responsibilities include the development and maintenance of the project’s visual identity and digital presence, managing media relations, producing public outreach materials, and facilitating knowledge exchange between scientific, policy, and stakeholder communities. Pensoft also supports the strategic dissemination of scientific outputs and policy-relevant findings, ensuring alignment with the project’s broader impact goals.

FERRO marked its first anniversary with a successful General Assembly meeting held in Leipzig, Germany, between 20^th and 22^nd May. Over the three-day meeting, the project partners gathered to reflect on the progress achieved during the first year, align their visions for the project’s future, and collaboratively plan the next phases of implementation

As the project entered its second year, the Leipzig meeting served as a moment to evaluate initial findings, refine methodologies, and strengthen engagement with stakeholders at local, regional, and EU levels. The outcomes will guide the FERRO consortium in its continued efforts to advance lake restoration across Europe.

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Stay tuned for more updates as the FERRO project continues to develop and implement its solutions for healthier lakes and more sustainable nutrient management across Europe!

You can keep tabs on the project’s official website: ferroproject.eu and also follow FERRO on LinkedIn, X and YouTube.