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Animals
Special Issues
Adaptations for Animal Survival: Morphological Features or Physiological Mechanisms—Second Edition
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Adaptations for Animal Survival: Morphological Features or Physiological Mechanisms—Second Edition

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 December 2025 | Viewed by 1485

Special Issue Editor

Prof. Dr. Roberto Cabo

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Human Anatomy and Histology, University of Salamanca, 37001 Salamanca, Spain
Interests: morphology; compared anatomy; primates; neuroscience; electron microscopy
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Animals, in many parts of the world, face a changing environment. Deforestation, climate change, the action of humans or the appearance of new infectious agents are some of the factors that alter the balance of animals in their habitat. These disturbances alter the environment in which they live or even displace them to different habitats, putting their survival at risk. Changes in water salinity, displacement of populations, pollution, invasive species, etc., can push species to the limits or out of their habitats. The ability of species to face these phenomena can be enhanced by some morphological characteristics or by physiological mechanisms that favor survival in these changing conditions. In this Special Issue, we are interested in the morphological description of some of these characteristics together with the advantage that it may entail for adaptation. Likewise, any physiological mechanisms that help to compensate for changes in response to adaptation to new conditions will be topics of interest for this Special Issue.

Prof. Dr. Roberto Cabo
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-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

  • adaptation
  • evolution
  • habitat
  • environment
  • morphology
  • physiology
  • survival

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Related Special Issue

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

14 pages, 1783 KB  
Article
The Reproductive and Anatomical Characteristics of the Invasive Nutria (Myocastor coypus M.) in a Central European Population
by Balázs Bócsi, Zsolt Biró and Krisztián Katona
Animals 2025, 15(24), 3524; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani15243524 - 7 Dec 2025
Viewed by 315
Abstract
The nutria or coypu (Myocastor coypus M.) is endemic to South America. However, this species invaded Central Europe in the 19th century. The rapid spread of the invasive nutria across Central Europe triggered countless ecological conflicts with the local species. In the [...] Read more.
The nutria or coypu (Myocastor coypus M.) is endemic to South America. However, this species invaded Central Europe in the 19th century. The rapid spread of the invasive nutria across Central Europe triggered countless ecological conflicts with the local species. In the current research, we surveyed two populations in Slovakia and compared the reproductive performance of this species to its reproductive performance in other countries, where it is native. A total of 69 nutria were harvested from the wild in 2022–2024. The result of the postmortem analysis reveals no intersexual differences in the body weight and length. A visual inspection of the uterus among 25 female specimens confirmed that 16 (64%) were pregnant, including 3 individuals with the body size characteristics of young nutrias. The pregnancy rate was estimated at 90% (9 out of 10) in spring and 47% (7 out of 15) in autumn. The average number of embryos per individual was 6.94 ± 2.22 for all females, and it was 6.27 ± 2.05 in spring and 8.8 ± 1.64 in autumn, with no significant difference between seasons (p > 0.05). No clear relationship between the Body Mass Index (BMI) and the fertility of females, i.e., the number of embryos, was observed. Our results highlight the crucial need to raise public awareness about the invasive characteristics of the species and contribute to the establishment of an effective intervention techniques, including the establishment of the necessary legal framework for eradicating emerging populations across Central European habitats. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Adaptations for Animal Survival: Morphological Features or Physiological Mechanisms—Second Edition)
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21 pages, 7519 KB  
Article
Skeletal Adaptations to Locomotion and Feeding in Mediterranean Batoids (Raja asterias, Myliobatis aquila) and the Teleost Sparus aurata: A Comparative Study
by Ugo E. Pazzaglia, Genciana Terova, Marzia Guerrini, Piero A. Zecca, Guido Zarattini, Fabrizio Serena, Cecilia Mancusi and Marcella Reguzzoni
Animals 2025, 15(20), 3034; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani15203034 - 19 Oct 2025
Viewed by 463
Abstract
In the Chondrichthyes Raja asterias and Myliobatis aquila and in the Teleost Sparus aurata, the appendicular skeleton of the pectoral fins (including the calcified structures of the mouth in M. aquila) was investigated to find out how the specific skeletal segments [...] Read more.
In the Chondrichthyes Raja asterias and Myliobatis aquila and in the Teleost Sparus aurata, the appendicular skeleton of the pectoral fins (including the calcified structures of the mouth in M. aquila) was investigated to find out how the specific skeletal segments were formed and stiffened over the course of evolution, not only with regard to the adaptation of the ontogenesis of the cartilage “anlagen” to the mechanical requirements of locomotion in the water column, but also to the specific feeding habits (durophagy) of M. aquila. The morphology of the pectoral fins of the three species showed a different layout, characterized by the geometry of the basic units (aligned tesserae and calcified radial columns), which provide varied flexibility of the pectoral fins, suggesting an adaptation to the “pelagic” and “benthic” locomotion patterns in the environment where the species live. The morphology of the calcified structures in the mouth of M. aquila showed the presence of two different masticatory systems: the first (external) with the rows of teeth resting on the maxillary and mandibular arches, and the second (internal, in the oral cavity) with the symphyseal plates specialized for durophagy. Chemical–physical analyses revealed that the calcified cartilage matrix of the Chondrichthyes fin rays, teeth and durophagy plates is stiffened by the same Ca3(PO4)2 mineral phase deposed in the organic matrix of the Teleost S. aurata fins (with the characteristic SEM morphological texture of calcified bone matrix). The hitherto unknown presence of two different chewing systems in M. aquila documents an evolutionary adaptation to nutritional requirements that can be explained by two hypotheses: the coexistence of two functioning systems in current specimens, allowing for the ingestion of harder and softer prey (or plant food), or the persistence of a rudimentary dentition that is no longer used (vestigial dentition). Furthermore, the texture of the calcified matrix in teleost fishes, as observed by scanning electron microscopy, may indicate a bone-like organic matrix substrate, similar to that found in endochondral ossification. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Adaptations for Animal Survival: Morphological Features or Physiological Mechanisms—Second Edition)
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