Protected areas are key conservation tools for biodiversity management, but they are failing to protect species from current climate change. Focusing on protected areas representing montane, arid, coastal, and marine ecosystems, we provide examples of climate change—induced range dynamics, including species' moving out of protected areas, disease range expansions, severe population declines, and even extinctions. Climate change thus presents an immense challenge to protected areas but also an unparalleled opportunity to shift from managing for static, historical community composition toward managing for dynamic, novel assemblages, thus complementing the traditional individual-species approach with an ecosystem-services approach. In addition, protected areas are well positioned to lead the way in climate change mitigation. Protected area managers can start achieving these goals by strengthening their commitments in climate change research, community outreach, and sustainability.

In response to the global threat of invasive alien species, there has been a proliferation of volunteer-based monitoring programs. The valuable data sets collected through these programs facilitate large-scale, baseline population monitoring. The Invasive Plant Atlas of New England, created in 2001, was the first such regional database and is the only one in which both presence and true absence data have been collected. Building on the success of volunteer atlas projects for other taxa, the Web-based network uses trained volunteers, along with experts, to collect distribution data and detailed environmental information. The incorporation of true absence data allows for the building of robust statistical models, which contributes significantly to the invasive species literature. This collaborative database allows citizen science data to be used by the general public and as a data source for researchers and policymakers. As a template for other invasive plant projects, we highlight the need for more collaborative efforts in invasion ecology.

Changes in vertebrate populations in tropical ecosystems are often understood to occur at large spatial and temporal scales. Understanding these dynamics and developing management responses when they are affected by hunting and land-use change require research and monitoring at large spatial scales. Data collection at such scales can be accomplished only through the participation of locally resident nonscientists. To assess the feasibility of rigorous, scientifically valid data collection under such conditions, we describe the design and management of a three-year study of the relationships among socioeconomic factors, hunting behavior, and wildlife population dynamics in a 48,000-square-kilometer, predominantly indigenous region of Amazonia. All of the data in the study were collected by locally recruited and trained indigenous technicians. We describe data collection and verification systems adapted to the culturally influenced data-collection practices of these technicians and propose protocols and improvements on our methodology to guide future large-scale research-and-monitoring projects.

Foundation species create complex habitats in which associated organisms find refuge from biological and physical stress; these foundation species are thus fundamental to the structure and resilience of terrestrial and marine ecosystems. In the present article, we develop an approach to understanding foundation species' effects in communities that are maintained not by a single foundation species, as has been the focus of research to date, but by multiple, co-occurring foundation species. Using examples from diverse ecosystems, we illustrate the prevalence of multiple foundation-species assemblages and hypothesize that the nature of foundation-species interactions has important consequences for community structure. We predict where positive and negative interactions among foundation species will occur and suggest that they organize communities hierarchically in nested or adjacent assemblages that underlie landscape-scale patterns in species distribution. Elucidating the predictable nature of foundation-species interactions may be key to understanding and managing the biodiversity and functioning of many ecosystems.

Scientists, related professionals, and the public have for decades called for greater interaction among scientists, policymakers, and the media to address contemporary environmental challenges. Practical examples of effective “real-world” programs designed to catalyze interactions and provide relevant science are few. Existing successful models can be used, however, to develop and expand the work of integrating, synthesizing, and communicating ecosystem science for environmental policy and natural-resource management. We provide an overview of the structure and strategies used in the Hubbard Brook Research Foundation Science Links program, now in its thirteenth year as a successful boundary-spanning organization. We detail project activities and results and share lessons and challenges for the further advancement of Science Links and other efforts to bridge the science—policy divide. Furthermore, we suggest greater emphasis in boundary-spanning programs as a part of publicly funded research initiatives and as legitimate scholarly endeavors that support the scaled coproduction of knowledge and that harness scientific research to support informed policy and environmental management.

Conceptual models are useful for facing the challenges of environmental sciences curriculum and course developers and students. These challenges are inherent to the interdisciplinary and problem-oriented character of environmental sciences curricula. In this article, we review the merits of conceptual models in facing these challenges. These models are valuable because they can be used to (a) improve the coherence and focus of an environmental sciences curriculum, (b) analyze environmental issues and integrate knowledge, (c) examine and guide theprocess of environmental research and problem solving, and (d) examine and guide the integration of knowledge in the environmental-research and problem-solving processes. We advocate the use of various conceptual models in environmental sciences education. By applying and reflecting on these models, students start to recognize the complexity of human—environment systems, to appreciate the various approaches to framing environmental problems, and to comprehend the role of science in dealing with these problems.

Many invasive species were originally introduced for horticultural purposes, and several continue to be profitable for the green (nursery, horticulture, and landscape) industry. Recently, some plant suppliers have marketed less fecund cultivars of several invasive species, including glossy buckthorn (Frangula alnus), burning bush (Euonymus alatus), and Japanese barberry (Berberis thunbergii), as “safe” alternatives to invasive relatives. We use published matrix population models to simulate the effect of reducing fecundity on the population growth rates of invasive species. We show that large changes in fecundity result in relatively small changes to the population growth rates of long-lived species, which suggests that less fecund cultivars may still provide an invasive threat. Furthermore, many cultivars are clonal selections, and if crossed with other cultivars or selfed, they produce offspring with traits and fecundities that do not resemble the parent plant. On the basis of these two lines of evidence, we suggest that only female sterile cultivars that cannot reproduce asexually should be considered “safe” and noninvasive. Marketing less fecund cultivars as “safe” is premature at this time, and further research is necessary to determine the potential invasiveness of different cultivars.