Insect populations are declining worldwide, raising concerns about the loss of biodiversity and essential ecosystem services that insects provide. Yet, despite their ecological importance, some insect groups remain overlooked. Among them are dung beetles, a critically important insect group that provides several important services such as nutrient cycling , soil aeration and seed dispersal. Graphical abstract. Source: Cavallaro et al. (2026) In this Forum article published in

How do we know whether a tropical forest is truly functioning? Is monitoring biodiversity and forest cover enough, or should we also be measuring the ecological processes that keep forests alive? These were among the important questions explored at the SCIENCE+ Meeting, “Safeguarding Anthropocene Tropical Forests,” held on 5–6 October 2026 at the Royal Society, London, UK. Our lab member, Dr Li Yuen, had the opportunity to present her research and contribute to discussions al