Wetlands function as the “kidneys of the planet”, assuring water supply and quality.

Cerrado wetlands have distinct vegetation types playing equivalent ecological roles.

All types of Cerrado wetlands should have the same status of legal protection.

The maximum water-table elevation defines the wetlands’ limit, biota and functioning.

All human actions threatening the hydrology of Cerrado wetlands must be regulated.

Fires affect the ant communities in the Brazilian Pantanal wetland.

Flooding, at a local scale, does not interact with fire to determine ant community structure.

Ant communities were resilient, and the observed effect of fire on their structure decreased after one year and was not noticed after four years.

Ant community recovery takes years, and there is a need for long intervals between fires to maintain the original ant community structure.

The observed increase in fire frequency can be detrimental to the ant community structure recovery, threatening the conservation of ants.

Multi-temporal cropland mask allows accurate classification of grassland remnants.

Grasslands of Uruguayan Eastern Plains are in an advanced stage of fragmentation.

Suitability for rice crop establishment drives the grassland fragmentation.

Conserving ∼80% of the Brazilian Amazon is still feasible

Conservation areas are essential for a new regional development model

The cost of establishing.1.3 million km2 of new conservation areas is USD 1.0–1.6 billion

The annual cost of 3.5 million km2 of conservation areas is USD 1.7–2.8 billion

A new ambitious, decentralized, and agile fund mechanism is required

77% of oceanic islands show low levels of protection and a high human modification.

Most islands harboring a high richness of threatened vertebrates are located in developing countries.

Most large islands in a critical situation harbor the highest numbers of threatened vertebrates.

We identified 58 large islands where conservation actions are urgent.

Nautical charts indicate historical decline in reef extension in the Abrolhos Bank.

Coastal reefs lost between 20–49% of their extension in the last 160 years.

Reef declines are linked to coral extraction for lime and coastal degradation.

We projected future deforestation in Borneo and quantified the impact on orangutans.

The habitat of 26,200 Bornean orangutans could be lost by 2030s.

Worst orangutan losses in forests in industrial plantations and unprotected forests.

Orangutans in protected areas and logging concessions are less threatened.

Land-use planning for biodiversity and development should consider future dynamics.

We compared herpetofauna phylogenetic structure and diversity during succession of tropical dry forests in Mexico.

Environmental filters explain phylogenetic clustering in early successional stages.

Primary and secondary forests in later succession stages harbor more distantly related species.

Conservation and managing of secondary forests under recovery must be promoted.

Human Footprint Index was important to predict chytrid fungus occurrence in the Atlantic Forest.

Minimum monthly evapotranspiration was less important than human impact to predict chytrid fungus occurrence in the Atlantic Forest.

Amphibian species richness was less important than human impact and evapotranspiration to predict chytrid fungus occurrence in the Atlantic Forest.

Two genetic populations (inland and coastal) were found, reflecting the two major forested blocks.

Population genetic structure was better explained by elevation.

Low effective population size was found in both genetic populations.

The largest rainforest continuum is not totally permeable to gene flow of large mammals.

Lowland tapir conservation efforts should be taken even for populations living in large continuous areas.

Few studies empirically estimated the impact of roadkill on wildlife populations.

Giant anteaters inhabiting road vicinity areas have lower survival rates.

20% of the anteaters inhabiting road vicinity areas are road-killed.

Roads are sink areas for giant anteaters.

Phylogenetic diversity is lower in rehabilitating minelands than at reference sites.

Phylogenetic structure switches from clustering to overdispersion with stand age.

Phylogenetic overdispersion at older sites indicates the recovery of biological interactions.

Phylogenetic measures are associated with the environmental quality of rehabilitating sites.

Protected areas do not reduce the fragmentation rate.

Protected areas do not promote forest regrowth.

High concentration of rural settlements promote forest loss.

Reserves in contexts with greater non-farm occupation endure lower forest loss.

Local non-farm economic activities may help to conserve forest cover in protected areas.

Science needs diversity to be more innovative and creative but women are still greatly underrepresented in many fields.

Brazilian female ecologists get half the amount of grant funding and higher scholarship rejections compared to men.

In Brazil, Ecology Post-Graduate programs show a strong decrease in women presence at the highest academic levels.

Lower access to project funding, maternity, implicit bias, harassment, no role models can lead to women leaving academia.

Involving more women and more people from underrepresented groups will lead to better science and conservation practices.