Wildlife as Sentinels of Ecosystem Health: Impacts of Anthropogenic Pressures
A Special Issue of Animals (ISSN 2076-2615) belonging to the section "Wildlife".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 March 2027 | Viewed by 197
Editor
2. Veterinary Histology and Pathology, Atlantic Center for Cetacean Research (CAIC), University Institute of Animal Health and Food Safety (IUSA), Veterinary School, The University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria (ULPGC), Trasmontaña s/n, 35413 Arucas, Spain
Interests: marine mammal health and pathology; cetacean conservation; wildlife health as an indicator of ecosystem change; anthropogenic impacts on marine wildlife; fishery interactions and bycatch; marine pollution and debris impacts on wildlife; wildlife disease and emerging pathogens; stress physiology and pathology in wildlife; One Health approach in marine ecosystems; conservation medicine
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
I am pleased to invite you to contribute to this Special Issue, titled “Wildlife as Sentinels of Ecosystem Health: Impacts of Anthropogenic Pressures.” Wildlife species play a critical role as indicators of ecosystem integrity, reflecting the cumulative effects of environmental change, pollution, habitat degradation, and climate-related stressors. As human activities increasingly alter both terrestrial and marine ecosystems, the study of wildlife responses provides valuable insights into emerging ecological risks and the overall health of natural systems. Understanding how anthropogenic pressures affect wildlife populations is therefore essential not only for conservation but also for safeguarding ecosystem services and biodiversity.
This Special Issue aims to highlight research exploring how wildlife species function as sentinels of ecosystem health under growing anthropogenic pressures. By bringing together multidisciplinary studies on wildlife ecology, physiology, pathology, and conservation, this Special Issue seeks to advance our understanding of environmental change and its biological consequences, aligning with the journal Animals’ focus on animal biology, ecology, welfare, and conservation.
In this Special Issue, original research articles, case reports, and reviews are welcome. Research areas may include (but are not limited to) the following:
- Wildlife as bioindicators of environmental change;
- Impacts of pollution and contaminants on wildlife health;
- Effects of climate change on wildlife populations;
- Anthropogenic disturbance and habitat degradation;
- Disease ecology and emerging pathogens in wildlife;
- Marine and terrestrial mammals as ecosystem sentinels;
- Ecotoxicology and biomonitoring using wildlife species;
- Conservation strategies informed by sentinel species research.
I look forward to receiving your contributions.
Dr. Nakita Câmara
Guest Editor
Manuscript Submission Information
Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.
Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-anonymized peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Animals is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.
Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.
Keywords
- wildlife health
- ecosystem health
- anthropogenic impacts
- sentinel species
- wildlife conservation
- environmental change
- ecotoxicology
- biodiversity monitoring
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