Defining historical baselines is critical for species conservation. Under the niche reduction hypothesis, species in decline may be restricted disproportionately from parts of their environmental niche. This bias likely has important implications for modeling species’ distributions if only contemporary occurrences (i.e. post‐range reduction) are used, because suitable habitat will be classified as unsuitable. Unfortunately, robust historical occurrence data is rarely available for sensitive species. In this study, we documented historical locations of the endangered, keystone giant kangaroo rat Dipodomys ingens by examining aerial imagery for burrow mounds. These burrow mounds are readily identifiable and distinguishable from other soil disturbances. We found giant kangaroo rat burrows well outside the currently accepted estimate of their historical distribution. Following the niche reduction hypothesis, we found that giant kangaroo rats have been extirpated from the flattest, hottest, driest parts of their range due to agricultural conversion. This reduction in their realized niche led to significant changes between historical and contemporary models of their distribution. We found that giant kangaroo rats may have occupied up to 56% more habitat historically than currently believed. Our results provide new guidance for managers working on restoration and habitat protection for this ecosystem engineer. This study highlights the critical importance of modeling historical distributions using the entire environmental niche once occupied by species of conservation need.

The hunting of bats for food and medicine is one of the greatest threats to bat conservation. While hunting for consumption is the focus of increased attention, the specific medicinal uses of bats are poorly documented, limiting mitigation efforts. Here, we determine the distribution of bat hunting for food and medicinal use and characterize medicinal use practices. We systematically surveyed English-language scientific literature and social media platforms utilizing keywords and hashtags in 27 languages. We found 198 papers and 1063 social media posts from 83 countries and territories. Although use for food was more common, with 1284 unique reports from 71 countries, bats were used to treat 42 ailments of 11 human body systems across 37 countries (453 reports). Asthma was the most common ailment, distantly followed by kidney conditions. Ten organs or body parts of bats were used medicinally, with bat meat (flesh) and fluids (blood, bile, and oil) the most common. Understanding the effects and drivers of specific bat hunting practices will help guide conservation and public health efforts in the communities where bats are hunted. By pinpointing the ailments bats are being used for, outreach and alternative treatments can be introduced to replace the use of bats.

Logging and forest conversion are occurring at alarming rates in tropical forests. These disturbances alter soil microbial community structure and functions. While direct links between changes in soil properties, such as pH and microbial community structure are well established, the indirect effects of logging and forest conversion on soil microbial community structure and functions are poorly understood. We used a space-for-time substitution to investigate the changes in soil microbial diversity and functions across a forest recovery gradient in the tropical montane forests of northern Borneo. We used surface (top 5 cm) soil to assess soil physicochemical and microbial (next-generation DNA sequencing) properties, and standardized litterbags (Tea Bag Index) to assess litter decomposition and stabilization. Our results show that bacterial and fungal diversity increases with recovery time and reaches pre-disturbance levels between 60- and 80-years post-disturbance. Litter decomposition rate constants increased linearly with increasing bacterial and fungal diversity. Litter stabilization also increased linearly with fungal diversity, but was highest at intermediate levels of bacterial diversity. Our results provide insights on the effects of forest logging and conversion on soils and highlight the tight coupling between soil microbial diversity and soil functions in tropical montane forests.

15Logging and forest conversion are occurring at alarming rates in the tropical forests. 16These disturbances alter soil chemistry and microbial diversity, and disrupt carbon cycling 17 through shifts in litter decomposition. Direct links between microbial diversity and soil properties 18 such as pH are well established; however, the indirect impacts of logging and forest conversion 19 on microbial diversity and litter decomposition are poorly understood. We investigated how soil 20properties and soil functions change across a forest recovery gradient in the tropical montane 21 forests of Malaysian Borneo. We used surface (top 5 cm) soil to assess soil physicochemical 22properties, next-generation DNA sequencing to assess soil microbial diversity, and standardized 23 litterbags to assess litter decomposition and stabilization. Our results show that soils of the 24 older forests harbored significantly greater microbial diversity, decomposed litter faster, and 25 stabilized greater amounts of litter than soils of the younger forests and converted sites. These 26 results suggest that logging and forest conversion significantly affect soil microbial diversity and 27 can have lasting effects on carbon cycling in tropical montane forests. 28 Key-words: 16s RNA, ITS, next-generation sequencing, soil microbiome, tea-bag index 29 70. Slonczewski JL, Rosen BP, Alger JR, Macnab RM. pH homeostasis in Escherichia coli: 595 measurement by 31P nuclear magnetic resonance of methylphosphonate and 596