The PREDICTS project—Projecting Responses of Ecological Diversity In Changing Terrestrial Systems (https://www.nhm.ac.uk/our-science/our-work/biodiversity/predicts.html)—has collated from published studies a large, reasonably representative database of comparable samples of biodiversity from multiple sites that differ in the nature or intensity of human impacts relating to land use. We have used this evidence base to develop global and regional statistical models of how local biodiversity responds to these measures. We describe and make freely available this 2016 release of the database, containing more than 3.2 million records sampled at over 26,000 locations and representing over 47,000 species. We outline how the database can help in answering a range of questions in ecology and conservation biology. To our knowledge, this is the largest and most geographically and taxonomically representative database of spatial comparisons of biodiversity that has been collated to date; it will be useful to researchers and international efforts wishing to model and understand the global status of biodiversity.

Biodiversity continues to decline in the face of increasing anthropogenic pressures such as habitat destruction, exploitation, pollution and introduction of alien species. Existing global databases of species’ threat status or population time series are dominated by charismatic species. The collation of datasets with broad taxonomic and biogeographic extents, and that support computation of a range of biodiversity indicators, is necessary to enable better understanding of historical declines and to project – and avert – future declines. We describe and assess a new database of more than 1.6 million samples from 78 countries representing over 28,000 species, collated from existing spatial comparisons of local‐scale biodiversity exposed to different intensities and types of anthropogenic pressures, from terrestrial sites around the world. The database contains measurements taken in 208 (of 814) ecoregions, 13 (of 14) biomes, 25 (of 35) biodiversity hotspots and 16 (of 17) megadiverse countries. The database contains more than 1% of the total number of all species described, and more than 1% of the described species within many taxonomic groups – including flowering plants, gymnosperms, birds, mammals, reptiles, amphibians, beetles, lepidopterans and hymenopterans. The dataset, which is still being added to, is therefore already considerably larger and more representative than those used by previous quantitative models of biodiversity trends and responses. The database is being assembled as part of thePREDICTSproject (Projecting Responses of Ecological Diversity In Changing Terrestrial Systems –https://www.nhm.ac.uk/our-science/our-work/biodiversity/predicts.html). We make site‐level summary data available alongside this article. The full database will be publicly available in 2015.

We report the dispersal of Conostegia xalapensis (Melastomataceae) and Coussapoa oligocephala (Urticaceae) seeds by Underwood's long-tongued bat, a species considered to be a specialized nectar and pollen consumer. Informamos la dispersión de semillas de Conostegia xalapensis (Melastomataceae) y Coussapoa oligocephala (Urticaceae) por el murciélago de lengua larga de Underwood, una especie considerada como consumidora especializada en néctar y polen.

Under the hypothesis that bat diversity would be lower in the early stages of secondary succession and that species affected negatively by habitat modification would be more frequent in later successional stages, we evaluated how bats use 12 vegetation stands representing four stages of secondary succession, following disturbance caused by slash‐and‐burn agriculture and selective logging. We compared bat richness, abundance and diversity, and found that none of these variables was different among stages or rainy seasons. However, of the 10 most common bat species, two were significantly more abundant in stands at the early stages of secondary succession, while the opposite was true for three other species. Canopy cover mainly explains these patterns. Rainy season had no effect on the abundance of the common species. The results of this study indicate that although some frugivorous species were very abundant in the younger stands, the majority of the rare species were captured in older stands. The absence of rare and habitat‐specialized species from young successional stages close to primary forest suggests that, for effective bat conservation in landscapes modified by human activity, areas with original vegetation should be maintained to ensure the survivorship of sensitive‐to‐deforestation species.

In the 2013–2014 growing season, field surveys were conducted in native corn fields located in high altitude agricultural communities in the ‘Sierra Norte de Puebla’ in Mexico. Symptoms typical of maize bushy stunt (MBS) disease were observed and DNA extracted from symptomatic native corn plants was used as template to confirm the presence of phytoplasmas. Amplification and sequencing of 16S rRNA-encoding sequences and chaperonin 60 universal target (cpn60 UT) sequences followed by in vitro restriction fragment length polymorphism and phylogenetic analyses revealed that the phytoplasma detected belongs to the subgroup 16SrI-B, ‘Candidatus Phytoplasma asteris’. Based on 16S rRNA-encoding gene sequence analysis and on a single nucleotide polymorphism within the cpn60 UT sequence, two MBS strains, MBS-Puebla and MBS-Veracruz, were identified. This is the first detection of MBS phytoplasma (MBSP) affecting native corn and the first molecular survey made in corn fields in Mexico to detect and characterize MBSP. We discuss these results in light of the potential evolutionary relationship between corn and MBSP.