Maria Dornelas on the “Inside Biodiversity” podcast

MARE researcher Maria Dornelas is the latest guest on the “Inside Biodiversity” podcast. In conversation with the German Center for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv), she talked about how biodiversity loss may not be universal. 

Maria Dornelas is a Macroecologist at the University of Lisbon and St. Andrews, focusing her work on global patterns of biodiversity, ecological change and species diversity. Her research challenges common assumptions about biodiversity loss, using long-term data to reveal complex trends. Using the BioTIME database, her work shows that biodiversity loss varies according to location, with more stable areas and even increases in species diversity.

With the aim of demystifying some concepts, in (x minutes) Maria Dornelas gives us new perspectives on the complexity of biodiversity variations, challenging more simplistic narratives. “A simple narrative that says ‘everything is decreasing’ is much easier to sell than a narrative that says ‘well, that's not exactly true’, that some places are getting better and others are getting worse,” says the researcher.

Discussing the “paradox of biodiversity conservation”, in which human activities alter ecosystems, Dornelas explains how this loss of biodiversity is not universal. Although biodiversity loss is real, it is part of a wider story that includes the renewal and recovery of species. The researcher advocates shifting the focus from “biodiversity loss” to “biodiversity change”.

In response to criticism, she recognizes the limitations, such as the short periods of analysis and regional biases in monitoring, but stresses that her conclusions are still valuable, calling for a more nuanced conservation approach, highlighting successes and challenges.

With this, the researcher wants to warn that overly simplistic narratives run the risk of demotivating the public, echoing the mistakes made in climate communication. Instead, she calls for balanced messages and the expansion of global biodiversity monitoring efforts.

To listen to the podcast click HERE