Special Issue "Human Impact on Wildlife Behavioural Ecology and Health"

A special issue of Animals (ISSN 2076-2615). This special issue belongs to the section "Wildlife".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 17 December 2021.

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Krishna N. Balasubramaniam
E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Population Health and Reproduction, University of California, Davis, CA 95616, USA
Interests: animal behaviour; evolutionary anthropology; infectious disease ecology; conservation behaviour; human-wildlife interactions
Dr. Stefano S.K. Kaburu
E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Biomedical Science & Physiology, Faculty of Science & Engineering, University of Wolverhampton, Wolverhampton WV1 1LY, UK
Interests: primate behaviour; human-wildlife interactions; evolutionary anthropology; social behaviour; cooperation; mother-infant interactions; infant development

Special Issue Information

Dear colleagues,

Global population expansion and the resultant activities have meant that humans are increasingly coming into contact with and impacting wild animals. Yet research on human-wildlife interactions (HWIs) has disproportionately focused on the impact on wildlife at population or ecosystem scales. In comparison, the more hidden/subtle effects of HWIs on animal socioecology, behaviour, and health are less well-researched.

In this Special Issue, we invite contributions that, at the interface of animal behaviour and conservation, investigate how human activities and HWIs impact aspects of wildlife behavioural ecology and/or health. Areas of focus can include, but may not be restricted to, human impact on animals’ overall activity budgets, or more specifically ranging and movement ecology, foraging strategies, mating and reproductive success, and spatial/social behaviour. We also encourage research focusing on human-induced changes to wildlife physiological stress levels, and health outcomes like anthropozoonotic (human-to-wildlife) infectious agent acquisition. The scope of this issue is wide, and we invite manuscripts that focus on wildlife irrespective of the type of habitat (e.g. urban versus wild; terrestrial versus aquatic) taxonomic category (e.g. fish, reptiles, birds, mammals), and conservation status (e.g. least concern, vulnerable, critically endangered). As a collection, we anticipate that the studies published in this issue will provide insights into how animal behaviour may underlie/inform conservation efforts through interventions aimed at moving HWIs from conflict towards co-existence.

Dr. Krishna N. Balasubramaniam
Dr. Stefano S.K. Kaburu
Guest Editors

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 papers will be 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 monthly 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 1800 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

  • animal behaviour
  • conservation
  • wildlife
  • human-wildlife interactions
  • foraging and movement ecology
  • mating and reproductive success
  • social behaviour
  • wildlife physiology and health

Published Papers (1 paper)

Order results
Result details
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:

Research

Article
Wildlife Conservation at a Garden Level: The Effect of Robotic Lawn Mowers on European Hedgehogs (Erinaceus europaeus)
Animals 2021, 11(5), 1191; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani11051191 - 21 Apr 2021
Viewed by 2841
Abstract
We tested the effects of 18 models of robotic lawn mowers in collision with dead European hedgehogs and quantified the results into six damage categories. All models were tested on four weight classes of hedgehogs, each placed in three different positions. None of [...] Read more.
We tested the effects of 18 models of robotic lawn mowers in collision with dead European hedgehogs and quantified the results into six damage categories. All models were tested on four weight classes of hedgehogs, each placed in three different positions. None of the robotic lawn mowers tested was able to detect the presence of dependent juvenile hedgehogs (<200 g) and all models had to touch the hedgehogs to detect them. Some models caused extensive damage to the hedgehog cadavers, but there were noteworthy differences in the degree of harm inflicted, with some consistently causing no damage. Our results showed that the following technical features significantly increased the safety index of the robotic lawn mowers: pivoting blades, skid plates, and front wheel drive. Based on these findings, we encourage future collaboration with the manufacturers of robotic lawn mowers to improve the safety for hedgehogs and other garden wildlife species. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Human Impact on Wildlife Behavioural Ecology and Health)
Show Figures

Graphical abstract

Back to TopTop