Although wildlife trade has received considerable research and conservation attention, much of it has been focused on charismatic species, with taxa such as fungi receiving little or no attention despite being highly sought after. The caterpillar fungus Ophiocordyceps sinensis is highly valued as an ingredient in cosmetics and medicines, and as an aphrodisiac and dietary supplement. Despite its livelihood and socio-economic significance, it has received little attention in either research or wildlife trade policy. Nevertheless, trade appears to be rampant, and growing online, and this is an emerging conservation challenge. Here we present a systematic survey of online trade in the caterpillar fungus during 2021. During this period, 168 advertisements were recorded on eight e-commerce platforms, both national and international. The grade of the caterpillar fungus advertised for sale fell into six categories. Fungi described as pure/organic/wild grade, which we categorized as authentic grade, had the highest median price (24 USD/g) and those described as medicine/food/cosmetic/beverage, which we categorized as consumption grade, had the lowest median price (0.04 USD/g). The highest advertised sale price was for caterpillar fungus of Bhutan origin (155 USD/g) advertised on the eBay e-commerce platform. Trade in caterpillar fungus on national and international online platforms is evident, and trade in other non-charismatic species is also likely burgeoning online but remains poorly documented. Further systematic surveys of online trade are required, not only to improve understanding of such trade but also to facilitate the development of effective conservation interventions and prevent undocumented overexploitation of important natural resources in developing countries.

The expansion of wildlife trade on social media presents many challenges but also opportunities to gain insights into areas of trade where there is little recent data. West Africa has historically been a major source of wild birds in international trade but in 2007, the requirement for CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora) Parties to monitor a host of West-African species ended and there is little data regarding current trade. To address this gap, we surveyed trade-related posts created by known traders from 2016 to 2020 on a popular social-media platform to identify species composition, trade routes and potential conservation and biosecurity risks. We identified 427 social-media posts featuring a broad taxonomic diversity of birds, including 83 species from 26 avian families, including nine CITES-listed species, four listed in IUCN Threatened categories and 19 associated with alien introductions linked to bird trade. Disease risks were identified, with multiple species housed together in densely-stocked facilities and nine species recorded as posing a potential disease risk. Using novel analyses of post-engagement, we observed social-media posts facilitating connections with users across the globe. Trade-related engagement particularly came from countries in the Middle East and South Asia, notably India which has strong domestic restrictions on the importation of wild birds. Further research is needed to monitor the impact of trade from this region, as data regarding the population status and volume of trade in many observed species is largely absent.

Freshwater habitats in China are potentially suitable for invasive alien turtle species and, consequently, raising turtles in aquaculture facilities and the trade in turtles this supplies pose risks to habitats and native wetland communities when exotic turtles escape or are released deliberately. Online trade (e-commerce) is making an increasing contribution to turtle sales in China, seemingly driving demand and thus potentially exacerbating the risk of release. We document the scale and spatial pattern of online sales of non-native turtles over 90 days on China's Taobao.com e-commerce site. The majority of sales were in the ecologically sensitive middle and lower Yangtze river basin (82.35% of > 840,000 slider turtles Trachemys scripta elegans, and 68.26% of > 100,000 snapping turtles, Chelydridae spp.). These species are native to the Americas. Concurrently, over 2008–2018, we found 104 mentions of feral turtle issues listed on Baidu News where, among the 53 prefectures mentioned, issues with invasive turtle populations also focused predominantly in the middle and lower Yangtze river basin. Although circumstantial, this association suggests that the substantial online sale of alien turtles could be having detrimental effects in China's Yangtze river basin. It is important to safeguard these wetland habitats, which are of global importance, by improving policies for detecting and regulating invasive alien turtle issues and by warning consumers about the ecological hazard of their purchases.