Academic productivity is often defined as the number of published scientific articles, citations, and grants a scientist achieves (Sarli and Carpenter, 2014). It is considered an objective metric of a researcher's impact or ability in their field (Sarli and Carpenter, 2014) and is used to rank competitors for research funding, job openings, and other competitions (Bol et al., 2018). However, systematic biases against traditionally marginalized groups (women, people with disabilities, BIPOC-black, indigenous, and people of color, people from the Global South, and 2SLGBTQIA+-two-spirit, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersexual, asexual, and others), can impact their productivity, making the currently used academic productivity metric a biased index of scientific merit, besides also impacting the way that this productivity is evaluated. Such systematic biases are demonstrated by empirical evidence, which we discuss below.

Although predatory events are uncommon to be recorded in nature, these data are important tools for understanding prey-predator interaction of the involved species. Snakes of genus Thamnodynastes are known for having an anuran diet, including some species of hylid frogs in their diet. Despite this, this pattern does not include T. chaquensis since there are no records on predation or trophic interaction with hylid frogs.Here, we report the first predatory interaction between T. chaquensis and two hylid frogs in Brazilian Cerrado. The first predation event with treefrog Boana caiapo occurred with success but, the second with B. albopunctatadid not. Connecting trophic links within an ecosystem requires in-depth knowledge of its species and their intraspecific interactions. In this context, records of the predation and predation attempts such as these may help to connect unknown trophic links, which helps to understand aspects of the natural history of the species involved.

The interaction between native and exotic species can cause changes both in the food-chain and in aspects of competition for trophic resources, such as predation. Predatory events are common in nature, but difficult and usually recorded opportunistically. Here we present the first report of trophic interaction involving a species of exotic bird (Melopsittacus undulatus) and a species of native primate (Sapajus cay). Capuchin monkeys have already been recorded feeding on a wide variety of vertebrates, including frogs, lizards, birds, mammals, and even other species of primates. Although the record of the non-native M. undulatus in the state of Mato Grosso do Sul indicates a possible domestic escape, the record of predation may represent a beneficial trophic interaction for the ecosystem, preventing M. undulatus from becoming an invasive alien species. Studies are needed to assess what risks are posed by domestic species being preyed upon by native species.

Context Species of the tropical frog Family Hylodidae tend to be restricted to streams and, hence, have a small occupancy area. Hylodes fredi (Canedo and Pombal 2007), a diurnal stream-dwelling species endemic to the Atlantic Forest in Ilha Grande, south-eastern Brazil, is one such species. Because of scarce population studies, it is also categorised as Data Deficient (DD) in the IUCN Red List. Previous studies on the habitat use by this species did not account for imperfect detection, which could have led to biased results. Aims We aimed to systematically describe the microhabitats occupied by H. fredi, by generating a fine-scale occupancy model while accounting for imperfect detection. Methods We sampled six streams where the species is known to occur. Perpendicular transects were established in each stream and further subdivided into 10 sampling plots. Single-species and single-season occupancy models were created with the UNMARKED R package, and model selection was performed on the basis of the Akaike information criterion. Key results We observed the species in 70 of the 275 sampled sites, which resulted in a naïve occupancy of 0.28 and detectability of 0.25. The best models suggest that H. fredi occupancy increases positively with rock cover and inversely with leaf-litter cover. Detectability reduced with an increase in leaf litter cover and varied with the air temperature. Conclusions We conclude that H. fredi occupancy is affected by the presence of rock and leaf-litter cover. The data indicated that the species is restricted to the stream channel and does not seem to occupy forested areas that are distanced from the stream margins. Implications Considering that H. fredi and many other congeneric species are listed as ‘Data Deficient’ in the IUCN Red List, it is important to define a threat category so as to conserve them. Many stream-associated species tend to have their occupancy overestimated, leading to an underestimation of their threat risk. This study systematically demonstrated that H. fredi has a strict and reduced occupancy, mostly limited to the stream margins, that should be considered when determining conservation efforts for this and ecologically similar species.