Greetings,
I've got four new articles this week. I continue to play with using AI to help me spot weak spots and interesting aspects of papers I review (after my initial review to avoid bias).
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WILDLIFE MIGRATION & CROSSINGS:
I didn't properly review Williamson et al. 2024. But had to share my delight at learning that there are "giant" hummingbirds in Chile which were documented migrating in a loop up to 8,335km long! Also to quote the paper, the migration "included a 3-wk, ~4,100-m ascent punctuated by upward bursts and pauses, resembling the acclimatization routines of human mountain climbers, and accompanied by surging blood-hemoglobin concentrations". Also they are big for a hummingbird, but still weighing only up to 31g (~2.5 strawberries).
Abra et al. 2026 conducted a BACI study on the impact of wildlife crossings under the BR-262 highway between Anastacio and Corumba in the Brazilian Pantanal. They found that underpasses combined w/ fencing reduced caiman mortality but not mortality of capybara or crab-eating fox, likely b/c of gaps in the fencing due to poor maintenance. They also found evidence of both a) a wide array of species using the underpasses (even though we know from research elsewhere that some species prefer overpasses) and b) of roadkill impacting some key species like giant anteater and jaguarundi.
WATER MANAGEMENT:
Wight et al. 2026 looks at how well capping water use works across 47 cases around the world (but ~1/2 in the US). They find that enforcement is of course critical (which in turn requires water users to all have permits and be regulated and monitored), so is adaptability (changing extraction in response to water levels every few years). 89% of cases with the best performance had a top score for enforcement, but the reverse doesn't hold true and they provide several examples of enforcement of an insufficient cap w/o adaptability failed (e.g., the Colorado River basin). Note that there are many kinds of caps and some cases used multiple options at once. Barriers include lack of water management staff and monitoring data, lack of support from water users (issues around trust, control, and livelihoods), and lack of authority for enforcement. They recommend clarity and transparency about the problem, the cap, and how it would work (including monitoring and defining success vs. failure), as well as trying to co-create a solution to get buy-in from water users (since everyone loses if supply continues to dwindle). See a related blog about a relatively simple water management framework https://www.sustainablewaters.org/a-simple-yet-powerful-fram...
CLIMATE ADAPTATION:
Vitorino et al. 2026 interviewed Pantaneiros (broadly, including fishers and farmers, not just ranchers) in 2012 and 2024 to see how perceptions had changed (although they didn't interview the same households). By 2024 almost everyone had noticed changes in temperature (substantially higher) and rain (slightly lower, although streamflow from upstream is also declining according to other papers). 90% reported adapting their practices in response. But some of those adaptations might be bad ideas - like reducing the number of crop species planted to a few that are easier to grow makes farming simpler but can potentially increase risk of crop failure vs. diverse farms. Also, moving closer to rivers could create higher flood risk in wetter years even though the overall trend is getting drier.
REFERENCES:
Abra, F. D., Goebel, L. G. A., Desbiez, A., Yogui, R., Costa, R., Laps, R. R., Ribeiro, Y. G. G., Guilherme, L., Mello, R. De, Cunha, L., Ascens, F., Pino, E. G. R. Del, Guazi, P. A. P. M., Ascenç, S. R. S., Nogueira, A. C., Oliveira, J. C. L. De, Barros, D. S., Varanis, E. N., Gregory, T., … Prist, P. R. (2026). From roadkill monitoring to evidence-based wildlife mitigation in the Brazilian Pantanal. 70. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gecco.2026.e04347
Vitorino, B. D., da Frota, A. V. B., Arruda, M. A. do N., Vacchiano, M. C., Nunes, J. R. da S., & da Silva, C. J. (2026). Effects of climate change: an overview of perceptions, vulnerabilities and adaptations in the northern Pantanal wetland integrated with long-term climate data. Climatic Change, 179(8), 173. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10584-026-04268-4
Wight, C., Richter, B. D., Ayala, G., Blevins, L., Carter, K., Carter, S., Coughlin, B., Delzell, S., Diment, L., Fabiano, A., Farrell, C., Hanway, S., Heitmeyer, E., Herock, E., Jackman, S., Jenkins, R., Kelley, C., McNichols, A., Novak, D., … Yohannes, E. (2025). Taking stock of caps on water use: fostering sustainability or falling short? Water Policy, 27(1), 17–39. https://doi.org/10.2166/wp.2024.071
Williamson, J. L., Gyllenhaal, E. F., Bauernfeind, S. M., Bautista, E., Baumann, M. J., Gadek, C. R., Marra, P. P., Ricote, N., Valqui, T., Bozinovic, F., Singh, N. D., & Witt, C. C. (2024). Extreme elevational migration spurred cryptic speciation in giant hummingbirds. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 121(21), 2017. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2313599121
Sincerely,
Jon
P.s. The picture above shows a trick I used to stay cool when biking in hot weather. It's a backpack with a mesh back and space for air to flow when riding, and I sometimes put a camelbak full of ice water in it so it feels kind of like air conditioning when I ride. Last time I did this the heat index was 113 but it didn't feel too unpleasant. Please be cautious if trying this out though - the risks of heat stress are real!
