Virtual special issue: Insights from a landscape ecological perspective for tropical biology and conservation

Abstract

We conducted a keyword search to sample a subset of research on landscape ecology published in Biotropica between 2016 and mid-2021. Our search returned 112 studies, which we summarize in terms of focal taxon and habitat. From this pool of studies, we selected 14 papers for the virtual special issue “Insights from a Landscape Ecological Perspective for Tropical Biology and Conservation.” The 14 papers selected exemplify notable trends in recent research in landscape ecology and provide an opportunity to highlight suggestions for high-impact future research: 1) continuing to expand how we think about responses to landscape change by embracing new measures of immunology and gene expression, 2) documenting the conservation value of small habitats as essential reservoirs of biodiversity, 3) clarifying the relative impacts of habitat loss and fragmentation, with particular emphasis on cross-scale studies from a variety of landscapes and taxonomic groups.