Mistletoes occur worldwide, with most relying on birds to disperse their sticky seeds to suitable host trees. There has been considerable ecological research on these interactions, emphasizing those birds dependent on mistletoe fruit as their principal food source, but the origins and evolutionary trajectories of these dietary specialists have rarely been considered. Of the ten lineages of mistletoe fruit specialists, five are from the Tyrannida infraorder of South American songbirds comprising mannakins, cotingas, tyrant flycatchers and allies. Integrating current understanding of early songbird evolution with dietary information, two sets of findings emerged. First; dependence on mistletoe fruit is conserved over time, with strong evidence that the 137 mistletoe-dependent species in ten groups scattered among Neotropical suboscines arose from a rapid radiation in the late Oligocene and early Miocene. Although interpreted as a single origin of mistletoe fruit dependency, the degree of dependence was dynamic, mistletoe fruit specialists evolving from more generalised mistletoe-dependent lineages on five separate occasions as they radiated into the Americas from Gondwanan connections. Second, variation in diversity of modern mistletoe specialist frugivores can be explained by lineage age. Considering both representatives from the neotropical groups evaluated here and the other five families across modern birds, mistletoe fruit specialists initially spread rapidly, colonising new areas and speciating, then eventually becoming restricted to single regions represented by relictual lineages with divergent morphologies. After exploring the historic basis, evolutionary implications and ecological relevance of these findings, I consider alternative explanations and articulate testable predictions to corroborate or refute these inferences and guide future work.

We introduce a new approach—acoustic restoration—focusing on the applied utility of soundscapes for restoration, recognizing the rich ecological and social values they encapsulate. Broadcasting soundscapes in disturbed areas can accelerate recolonization of animals and the microbes and propagules they carry; long duration recordings are also ideal sources of data for benchmarking restoration initiatives and evocative engagement tools.

The arboreal marsupial Monito del Monte (genus Dromiciops, with two recognized species) is a paradigmatic mammal. It is the sole living representative of the order Microbiotheria, the ancestor lineage of Australian marsupials. Also, this marsupial is the unique frugivorous mammal in the temperate rainforest, being the main seed disperser of several endemic plants of this ecosystem, thus acting as keystone species. Dromiciops is also one of the few hibernating mammals in South America, spending half of the year in a physiological dormancy where metabolism is reduced to 10% of normal levels. This capacity to reduce energy expenditure in winter contrasts with the enormous energy turnover rate they experience in spring and summer. The unique life-history strategies of this living Microbiotheria, characterized by an alternation of life in the slow and fast lanes, putatively represent ancestral traits that permitted these cold-adapted mammals to survive in this environment. Here we describe the ecological role of this emblematic marsupial, summarizing the ecophysiology of hibernation and sociality, actualized phylogeographic relationships, reproductive cycle, trophic relationships, mutualisms, conservation and threats. This marsupial shows high densities, despite presenting slow reproductive rates, a paradox that is explained by the unique characteristics of its three-dimensional habitat. We finally suggest immediate actions to protect these locally abundant but globally threatened species.