Issue 5.6 is now available online, containing articles on Spatio-temporal methods, lightscapes, stable isotopes, foodwebs, tree-based methods, modelling biomass change and occupancy models. This issue includes the applications paper Fitting occupancy models with E-SURGE: hidden Markov modelling of presence–absence data, and 2 open access articles on improving species distribution models: the value of data on abundance and mapping artificial lightscapes for ecological studies.
About the cover: Part of biodiversity assessment consists of the estimation and tracking of changes in species composition and abundance of animal communities. Such a task requires an important sampling over a broad-scale time that is difficult to reach with classical survey methods. Acoustic monitoring may offer an alternative to usual techniques by passively recording and automatically analysing the sound produced by vocal animals. In particular, several acoustic indices have been developed to assess temporal changes of animal communities. The cover image shows a singing Eurasian wren (Troglodytes troglodytes) whose song is often part of the dawn chorus of birds, a massive collective acoustic behaviour observed just before sunrise. The use of dissimilarity indices on three distinct temperate bird communities reveals that acoustics could not be considered as faithful estimators of community composition variations, but still indicate important dates in community changes. Acoustics might be considered a key aspect of animal diversity that requires further study.
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