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Field biology is an area of research that involves working directly with living organisms in situ through a practice known as “fieldwork.” Conducting fieldwork often requires complex logistical planning within multiregional or multinational teams, interacting with local communities at field sites, and collaborative research led by one or a few of the core team members. However, existing power imbalances stemming from geopolitical history, discrimination, and professional position, among other factors, perpetuate inequities when conducting these research endeavors. After reflecting on our own research programs, we propose four general principles to guide equitable, inclusive, ethical, and safe practices in field biology: be collaborative, be respectful, be legal, and be safe. Although many biologists already structure their field programs around these principles or similar values, executing equitable research practices can prove challenging and requires careful consideration, especially by those in positions with relatively greater privilege. Based on experiences and input from a diverse group of global collaborators, we provide suggestions for action-oriented approaches to make field biology more equitable, with particular attention to how those with greater privilege can contribute. While we acknowledge that not all suggestions will be applicable to every institution or program, we hope that they will generate discussions and provide a baseline for training in proactive, equitable fieldwork practices.

We report the first record of the Lesser long-nosed Bat, Leptonycteris yerbabuenae Martinez & Villa-R., 1940 in Nicaragua based on a specimen from San Nicolas, Estelí Department, north-central Nicaragua. The new record extends the known range of this large, migratory, nectar-feeding species 100 km southeast from the closest previous record in western Honduras.

If closely related species should be more similar and therefore more likely to compete for resources, why do we see so many examples of species-rich congeneric communities in nature? To avoid competition, many species possess suites of traits associated with differential resource use – or ecomorphologies – that promote niche differentiation with co-occurring species. Yet, the axes through which niche partitioning evolves and the traits involved are still poorly understood in most systems. Island systems, in which species interactions can form strong forces of selection due to limited resources, provide valuable insights into how ecomorphological diversity contributes to coexistence. Here, we examined axes of resource use and morphological traits that facilitate niche partitioning in a community of spiny lizards (genus Sceloporus) in a sky island system, the Chiricahua Mountains of southeastern Arizona, USA. By quantifying structural, temporal and thermal niche use for over 300 co-occurring lizards from four species over three field seasons, we show that sympatric species diverge primarily in perch height and type, but also in thermal and temporal resource use. Our results further demonstrate interspecific divergence in a suite of phenotypic traits known to covary with ecology in other lizard radiations, including body size, scale size, hindlimb length, foot length and dorsal coloration. Studies of niche partitioning and ecomorphology, especially of closely related species, deepen our understanding of how diverse communities assemble and how morphological diversity accumulates across the tree of life, and our findings highlight the importance of examining multiple axes of resource use to better understand these processes.