Reproductive Biology and Molecular Ecology of Turtles

Dear Colleagues,

Turtles are ancient, iconic animals and one of the most imperilled groups among vertebrates; they play important ecological roles in different environments, and the study of specific reproductive strategies has been crucial to understand their life history as a group. Research on the reproductive ecology of turtles is important for proper management and conservation, since threats to development, survival, and reproduction have been well documented. Both molecular and whole animal studies have contributed to the understanding of underlying mechanisms for sex determination, reproduction, development, genetic diversity, evolutionary history and phylogeography, to mention a few. Genomic tools applied to turtle research are challenging but essential to study complex biological, physiological or ecological processes, and could provide valuable information to improve current management practices.

Thus, this Special Issue of Diversity aims to gather high-quality articles addressing different areas within molecular ecology and reproductive biology of turtles. We welcome all researchers working on marine, terrestrial or aquatic ecology, as well as reproductive anatomy, physiology or endocrinology of turtles, by means of molecular approaches, to contribute with in-depth, critical reviews and original full articles.  Contributions from leading international investigators will guarantee a comprehensive state-of-the-art analysis of ecology and reproduction of turtles, to understand and identify current potential threats, as well as innovative management and conservation strategies.

Dr. Alejandra Garcia-Gasca
Dr. Ronald Brooks
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-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Diversity 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 2100 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.