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Biology
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Young Researchers in Ecology
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Young Researchers in Ecology

A special issue of Biology (ISSN 2079-7737). This special issue belongs to the section "Ecology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 July 2025 | Viewed by 2197

Special Issue Editor

Prof. Dr. Panayiotis G. Dimitrakopoulos

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Biodiversity Conservation Laboratory, Department of Environment, University of the Aegean, 81132 Mytilene, Greece
Interests: biodiversity and ecosystem processes; functional plant ecology; community ecology; biodiversity conservation; conservation policy
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

In this Special Issue, we aim to feature early-career researchers in Ecology. The senior author(s) of each contribution should be (a) the first or last author as well as the corresponding author and (b) be within 10 years of completing their Ph.D. (or equivalent) or becoming an assistant professor/on track to make tenure. We invite manuscripts from diverse research fields in ecology (e.g., functional ecology, population ecology, community ecology, ecosystem ecology, landscape ecology, evolutionary ecology, conservation ecology, global change ecology, restoration ecology, and macroecology). Manuscripts, including those with theoretical, analytical, experimental, and empirical approaches, are welcome. Applied ecology issues with implications for environmental/conservation policy or natural resource management are also acceptable. There is no restriction on the types of organisms or ecosystems that can be studied.

Articles submitted for this Special Issue should meet all the standard requirements of individual Biology articles (regarding quality, novelty, and significance) and be relevant to a broad international and interdisciplinary readership.

The authors featured in this Special Issue will have the opportunity to be nominated for next year's Young Investigator Award.

Prof. Dr. Panayiotis G. Dimitrakopoulos
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. Biology 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 2700 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

  • adaptations to variable environments
  • biodiversity
  • biogeography
  • biotic interactions (e.g., competition, predation parasitism, mutualism, amensalism, commensalism)
  • community assembly
  • conservation
  • ecological management and restoration
  • ecological sustainability
  • ecosystem processes (productivity, decomposition, nutrient cycling)
  • evolution
  • functional traits
  • global changes (e.g., climate change, land use change, biological invasions, nitrogen deposition)
  • landscape ecology
  • life histories
  • physiological ecology
  • population dynamics
  • protected areas
  • succession
  • trophic levels
 
 
 
 
 

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Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

24 pages, 3004 KiB  
Article
Growth Process and Mortality of Sasa borealis Seedlings over Six Years Following Mass Flowering and Factors Influencing Them
by Hanami Suzuki and Hisashi Kajimura
Biology 2025, 14(5), 516; https://doi.org/10.3390/biology14050516 - 7 May 2025
Viewed by 224
Abstract
The sexual reproduction of Sasa borealis, a species of dwarf bamboo, occurred in central Japan from 2016 to 2017. S. borealis grows on the forest floor and serves as an important source of habitat and food for various animals. Sexual reproduction occurs [...] Read more.
The sexual reproduction of Sasa borealis, a species of dwarf bamboo, occurred in central Japan from 2016 to 2017. S. borealis grows on the forest floor and serves as an important source of habitat and food for various animals. Sexual reproduction occurs in synchrony among individuals in a given area, leading to a decline in population and causing substantial disturbances to the forest ecosystem; however, the subsequent regeneration process remains unclear. In this study, we investigated S. borealis seedling regeneration over six years. Fixed plots were established in the forest in the year following the sexual reproductive event, and the growth of seedlings was monitored from seed emergence to seedling growth at the individual level. We considered biotic and abiotic factors to evaluate their influence on regeneration. We examined mammalian and arthropod foraging as biotic factors. Conversely, abiotic factors included temperature and humidity near the ground surface, solar radiation, soil conditions, and snow cover. Seedling growth was characterized by a slow rate and affected by morphological changes resulting from foraging and abiotic factors. The return of S. borealis to its presexual reproductive stage requires an extended duration. Our study provides precious information for future S. borealis conservation and management strategies. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Young Researchers in Ecology)
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20 pages, 14979 KiB  
Article
Fading into Obscurity: Impact of Climate Change on Suitable Habitats for Two Lesser-Known Giant Flying Squirrels (Sciuridae: Petaurista) in Northeastern India
by Imon Abedin, Manokaran Kamalakannan, Tanoy Mukherjee, Anwaruddin Choudhury, Hilloljyoti Singha, Joynal Abedin, Dhriti Banerjee, Hyun-Woo Kim and Shantanu Kundu
Biology 2025, 14(3), 242; https://doi.org/10.3390/biology14030242 - 27 Feb 2025
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 687
Abstract
In recent years, global warming has become a major driver of biodiversity loss, significantly impacting various vertebrate species, including mammals. Consequently, numerous smaller species face extinction risks due to anthropogenic factors as well as inadequate assessments and conservation planning. Thus, this study focuses [...] Read more.
In recent years, global warming has become a major driver of biodiversity loss, significantly impacting various vertebrate species, including mammals. Consequently, numerous smaller species face extinction risks due to anthropogenic factors as well as inadequate assessments and conservation planning. Thus, this study focuses on two recently described endemic giant flying squirrel species under the Petaurista genus—Petaurista mishmiensis and Petaurista mechukaensis—found in Arunachal Pradesh, India. Using an ensemble species distribution model (SDM), this research delineates suitable habitats for these lesser-known species and evaluates the effects of climate change and habitat fragmentation on these areas. This analysis aims to inform a comprehensive management plan for their conservation. The ensemble model identified suitable habitat patches for the two species, extending beyond their current IUCN-designated ranges in Arunachal Pradesh. Under present conditions, P. mishmiensis has the largest predicted suitable area (9213 sq. km), followed by P. mechukaensis (6754 sq. km). However, future projections reveal alarming habitat losses ranging from 13.45% to 55.86% across the study area. This study also highlights severe habitat fragmentation throughout the state as viable patches for P. mishmiensis are drastically reduced in size, resulting in many being completely lost and the remaining areas being closer together. However, the P. mechukaensis experiences significant disintegration, resulting in numerous smaller, more dispersed patches within Arunachal Pradesh. Hence, to address these challenges, this study recommends several actions such as genetic assessments to confirm evolutionary relationships, evaluations of corridor connectivity, and comprehensive field studies. Furthermore, establishing joint forest conservation committees involving local communities, forest personnel, defense forces, naturalists, and scientists are also encouraged. Ultimately, this research provides critical insights for guiding future field studies across Arunachal Pradesh’s vast landscapes and supports the development of detailed species management plans to protect these endemic flying squirrels. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Young Researchers in Ecology)
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17 pages, 4597 KiB  
Article
Dynamic Impact of One-Year Integrated Rice–Crayfish Farming on Bacterioplankton Communities in Paddy Water
by Yiran Hou, Qiancheng Xu, Yanhong Yang, Rui Jia, Xiongjian Huang, Linjun Zhou, Bing Li and Jian Zhu
Biology 2024, 13(12), 1059; https://doi.org/10.3390/biology13121059 - 17 Dec 2024
Viewed by 727
Abstract
As global food security issues become increasingly severe, an important innovation in agricultural production patterns, namely integrated rice–fish farming, has been widely implemented around the world, especially in Asia. To assess the impact of integrated rice–crayfish (Procambarus clarkii) farming (IRCF) on [...] Read more.
As global food security issues become increasingly severe, an important innovation in agricultural production patterns, namely integrated rice–fish farming, has been widely implemented around the world, especially in Asia. To assess the impact of integrated rice–crayfish (Procambarus clarkii) farming (IRCF) on agricultural ecosystems, we used Illumina high-throughput 16S rRNA gene sequencing to analyze differences in diversity, composition, co-occurrence network, and assembly process of planktonic bacterial communities in paddy water between traditional rice farming (TRM) and IRCF. Environmental factors and planktonic bacterial communities were evaluated during the tillering, jointing, flowering, and grain-filling stages on August 24, September 5, September 24, and October 16, respectively. Our findings revealed that, throughout the entire cultivation period, IRCF had no notable impacts on bacterioplankton community diversity in paddy water, but it changed the composition and relative abundance of the dominant bacterioplankton. Specifically, IRCF promoted the Chloroflexota during the tillering stage but reduced its presence during the grain-filling stage. It also significantly decreased the Bacillota during the jointing stage while notably enhancing Actinomycetota during the flowering stage. Furthermore, IRCF markedly improved the robustness and negative/positive cohesion within bacterioplankton co-occurrence networks during jointing and grain-filling stages. IRCF altered the assembly processes shaping planktonic bacterial communities, promoting a greater dominance of stochastic processes during the tillering, jointing, and flowering stages and a diminished dominance during the grain-filling stage. IRCF dramatically changed aquatic environmental factors, particularly during the jointing stage, by substantially increasing the TN, ammonium, nitrate, and phosphate levels in paddy water. These nutrient levels were closely correlated with the dynamics of the planktonic bacterial communities. Our findings underscore the considerable potential of IRCF in enhancing the stability of bacterioplankton communities and promoting rice growth while also providing valuable data and theoretical insights into the microbiological ecological impacts of IRCF on the agroecosystem. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Young Researchers in Ecology)
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