Many biotic interactions occur via chemical compounds released in the environment. Here the authors review the field of chemical ecology and discuss the importance of investigating landscape-scale chemodiversity as an emergent, dynamic property of biological communities.

Experiments in Nematostella vectensis identify CARDIB as an anthozoan-specific antiviral mediator with sequence and structural homology to the mammalian immune-activating MAVS protein but with opposing, immune-repressing functions.

The appearance of the first animals in the late Ediacaran period was followed by a period of relatively slow diversification. Here the authors show that asexual stoloniferous reproduction would have enabled co-existence of suboptimal interspecific competitors and constrained diversification.

Biodiversity effects on ecosystem functioning under climate extremes may depend on ecosystem type and baseline aridity. Here the authors show that the effects of plant diversity on productivity are strongest under extreme drought in more arid grasslands, whereas comparable context dependence is not detected in forests or under heat extremes.

Compiling a global database of non-structural carbohydrates (NSCs) from >2,000 plant species, the authors show that evolutionary history explains a larger proportion of NSC variation than environmental controls.

Climate change is a threat to many species. Here the authors show that species’ range dynamics determine the ability of correlative and process-based models to predict extinction risk under climate change, and suggest how to update the International Union for Conservation of Nature guidelines accordingly.

Analysis of fitness and wing shape in laboratory-bred Drosophila reveals signatures of apparent stabilizing selection against extreme wing shapes, consistent with deep-time divergence in wing shape across the Drosophilidae clade.

Ecological constraints may prevent species from occupying potentially suitable areas. Here the authors show that disturbance is a widespread predictor of range disequilibrium in the vascular flora of Europe and determines whether plant species can occupy landscapes with suitable climates.

Europe’s habitats are changing and so too are its nature laws, and people’s attitudes to biodiversity.

Martha Muñoz asks how behaviour affects the evolution of Caribbean anole lizards.

A disproportionate emphasis on carbon markets in conservation discourse risks distorting the picture of how and where to finance nature recovery.