Applied Hedgehog Conservation Research

Dear Colleagues,

Despite their protected status and widespread popularity, the abundance of European hedgehogs (Erinaceus europaeus) is steadily or strongly declining in several European countries, especially in rural areas.

This decline seems to be caused by a range of different factors, mainly anthropogenic, including habitat loss and fragmentation, a reduction in the availability of invertebrate prey and the use of pesticides in general, and dangers to hedgehogs living in residential gardens as well as negative interspecific influences.

To stop this decline, there is an urgent need for action, but it is essential to discover and understand the causes for the decline and investigate the effectiveness and potential for improvement of different conservation initiatives. Therefore, this Special Issue will be dedicated to studies that contribute to the development of improved protection measures for the hedgehog. We encourage the submission of manuscripts exploring topics such as:

• Studies showing significant impacts on the behaviour and population dynamics of hedgehogs;
• Proven and effective protection measures for hedgehogs;
• Hedgehog rehabilitation;
• Post-release monitoring of rehabilitated hedgehogs;
• Reasons for the population decline and how to reduce these risks;
• Engaging the public in conservation initiatives and the effectiveness of these programmes;
• Methods producing reliable population density estimates;
• Methods that improve long-term and large-scale monitoring;
• Genetic studies of hedgehog populations.

We look forward to receiving your important contribution, as this Special Issue will be a relevant addition to the existing literature by focusing primarily on applied conservation measures for the protection of European hedgehogs.

Dr. Anne Berger
Dr. Nigel Reeve
Dr. Sophie Lund Rasmussen
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 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.