Urban Wildlife Insights: Exploring the Behavior and Adaptations of Animals in Urban Environments
A special issue of Animals (ISSN 2076-2615). This special issue belongs to the section "Wildlife".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 25 July 2025 | Viewed by 1427
Special Issue Editor
Interests: behavior; conservation; breeding; environmental education; migration
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Urban wildlife plays a crucial role in maintaining ecological balance within city environments, contributing significantly to biodiversity and offering essential ecosystem services. These species help control pest populations, pollinate plants, and decompose organic matter, which are vital for urban agriculture and the health of green spaces. Additionally, urban wildlife enhances the quality of life for city dwellers by providing opportunities for recreation, education, and psychological well-being. Interacting with wildlife can foster a deeper connection to nature, promoting conservation efforts and environmental stewardship.
Urban wildlife serves as an indicator of the health of urban ecosystems, highlighting the need for sustainable urban planning and green infrastructure to create habitats that support diverse species while benefiting human residents. The presence of animals such as birds, insects, and small mammals can improve air and water quality, mitigate the urban heat island effect, and even reduce noise pollution. Furthermore, urban wildlife offers educational opportunities, helping city residents, especially children, understand and appreciate the complexities of nature. Overall, integrating wildlife considerations into urban development can lead to healthier, more resilient cities for both humans and wildlife.
The following Special Issue will consider original or review articles that highlight advances in our understanding and monitoring practices of avian adaptations, habitat use and movement patterns in urban areas, and diet and foraging strategies. Studies on the consequences of breeding near humans may include individual- or population-level assessments and how urbanization affects behavioral and physiological changes. We also welcome studies on the development and effectiveness evaluation of mitigation strategies to reduce the incidence of human–wildlife conflicts. Studies that can increase our understanding of innovative techniques, citizen science, future directions, and ethical considerations are particularly welcomed. We will also be happy to include papers that advance theoretical frameworks for understanding urban ecology and wildlife adaptations, present comprehensive datasets, and provide conceptual discussions on the interactions between humans and wildlife in urban settings, including socio-ecological dynamics. This Special Issue will provide a comprehensive overview of current knowledge, innovative research, and practical approaches to understanding and managing urban wildlife by including a diverse range of paper types.
Prof. Dr. Reuven Yosef
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 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.
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-blind 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
- urban wildlife
- ecosystem services
- public health
- psychological well-being
- environmental education
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