National plans submitted ahead of the Convention on Biological Diversity’s COP16 in Colombia should prioritize action over empty ambition, and must integrate with other nations’ plans to constructively work towards global aims.

This Perspective charts the development of the Monitoring Framework for tracking progress towards the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, including details on the process of indicator selection, and discusses what is still needed for implementation of the Monitoring Framework.

The Red List of Ecosystems is a headline indicator in the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework. This Progress illustrates how the Red List of Ecosystems can be used by Parties to the Framework to contribute to its implementation and monitoring.

Stable isotope analysis of zooarchaeological remains and pottery in a palaeo-environmental framework reveals that early Central European farmers utilized diverse regional pasturing strategies for cattle, including the use of forested environments for grazing and seasonal foddering.

The ‘obstetrical dilemma’ hypothesis states that opposing selective pressures from an increased neonatal brain size and efficient bipedal locomotion constrain the birth canal in humans. However, three-dimensional simulations of chimpanzee fetopelvic fit indicate a constricted midpelvis comparable to humans, indicative of obstetric constraints that may be shared with apes thereby suggesting a gradual exacerbation of birth difficulty in hominoid evolution.

Analysis of transcriptomes and chromatin accessibility of multiple developmental stages of the indirect-developing hemichordate Ptychodera flava shows similar transcriptional dynamics of different developmental stages across hemichordates, echinoderms and chordates.

Plant community responses to climate change tend to be lagged in forests, but could be faster in grasslands. Here, the authors integrate long-term experimental data with >1 million occurrence records for >300 species, finding grassland community shifts towards species associated with warmer and drier conditions at a pace that aligns with that of climate change.

National plans submitted ahead of the Convention on Biological Diversity’s COP16 in Colombia should prioritize action over empty ambition, and must integrate with other nations’ plans to constructively work towards global aims.

Theoretical biologist who ‘tamed’ mathematicians and tested the theory of evolution.

Cecilia Apaldetti’s palaeontological journey began with a turkey-sized dinosaur.

Climate change is causing an increase in extreme events, and this is a major concern for biodiversity.