Recently, the 62nd Annual Meeting of the Association for Tropical Biology and Conservation (ATBC) concluded in Xishuangbanna, Yunnan Province. Liu Junjie, a 2022 doctoral student in Ecology at the School of Forestry, Guangxi University (GXU), supervised by Professor Jiang Aiwu, received the Luis F. Bacardi Tropical Conservation Advancement Award in recognition of his outstanding research and presentation. He was also the only early-career researcher at this year's conference to receive the Best Student Oral Presentation Award.

Liu presented his research, "Apex Predator Loss Drives Trophic Downgrading in China's Protected Areas." The study integrates published nationwide camera-trap monitoring data to systematically evaluate the effectiveness of China's protected areas in conserving wildlife communities and maintaining food web integrity. The findings provide important scientific evidence for improving the management of protected areas worldwide and contribute to achieving the global "30×30" conservation target.

Founded in 1963, the Association for Tropical Biology and Conservation (ATBC) is the world's largest professional organization dedicated to tropical biology and conservation. The association holds its annual meeting in a different country or region each year. The 62nd meeting was hosted by the Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, and co-organized by the Kunming Institute of Zoology at Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xi'an Jiaotong-Liverpool University (XJTLU), Guangxi University (GXU), and other institutions. The conference brought together more than 700 scientists, conservation practitioners, and early-career researchers from over 60 countries and regions.