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Diversity
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Wildlife in Natural and Altered Environments
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Wildlife in Natural and Altered Environments

A special issue of Diversity (ISSN 1424-2818). This special issue belongs to the section "Biodiversity Conservation".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 October 2025 | Viewed by 22185

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Francisco Javier Zamora-Camacho

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Guest Editor
Departamento de Biodiversidad, Ecología y Evolución, Facultad de Ciencias Biológicas, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, C/José Antonio Novais 12, 28040 Madrid, Spain
Interests: development; ecoimmunology; ethology; evolutionary ecology; locomotion; thermoregulation
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The Anthropocene is pushing wildlife to confront unprecedented scenarios of environmental human-induced alterations. These modifications of natural habitats come in a plethora of forms, spanning from physical (such as noise or light pollution, as well as the increase in average temperature due to the climate change) or chemical phenomena (such as contamination that stems from agriculture, mining or waste treatment) to profound transformations of the landscape (such as deforestation or urbanization), to mention but a few. In this situation, understanding the consequences that those alterations may have on organisms facing them, and the mechanisms involved, is crucial for an appropriate management of this global crisis. This Special Issue intends to bring together advancements on the knowledge of the processes that wildlife is undergoing in natural and altered environments, with the core aims of optimizing their management and understanding the ongoing degradation but also the evolutionary processes underlying.

Dr. Francisco Javier Zamora-Camacho
Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • agrosystem
  • anthropic habitat
  • deforestation
  • global change
  • habitat degradation
  • natural habitat
  • land-use shifts
  • pollution
  • urban habitat
  • wildfire

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Published Papers (9 papers)

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Research

23 pages, 2295 KiB  
Article
Modeling Wolf, Canis lupus, Recolonization Dynamics to Plan Conservation Actions Ahead: Will the “Big Bad Wolves” Howl Again in Slavonia, Croatia?
by Matko Bišćan, Dušan Jelić, Ivana Maguire and Alessandro Massolo
Diversity 2025, 17(7), 461; https://doi.org/10.3390/d17070461 - 28 Jun 2025
Viewed by 151
Abstract
A century ago, wolves ranged throughout Croatia but were eradicated from Slavonia—a region that could serve as a crucial corridor connecting the Carpathian and Dinaric–Balkan wolf populations. Such a corridor would promote genetic exchange and help maintain ecosystem stability. Recent wolf sightings in [...] Read more.
A century ago, wolves ranged throughout Croatia but were eradicated from Slavonia—a region that could serve as a crucial corridor connecting the Carpathian and Dinaric–Balkan wolf populations. Such a corridor would promote genetic exchange and help maintain ecosystem stability. Recent wolf sightings in Slavonia indicate that natural recolonization may be possible. Understanding how this process unfolds under different management scenarios is essential for minimizing conflicts and supporting successful recolonization. In this study, we modeled wolf population dynamics in Slavonia and surrounding areas using 11 scenarios, grouped into three categories: adverse events, increased carrying capacity, and population supplementation. These scenarios encompassed various management strategies, including a baseline scenario and others designed to address system uncertainties. Our results show that scenarios involving corridor construction and wolf translocation have the lowest probability of extinction. In contrast, adverse events carry a high risk of extinction, and simply expanding suitable habitats is not enough to ensure population viability. These findings underscore the importance of integrated conservation strategies that combine habitat corridors, population management, and conflict mitigation. Long-term planning is critical, as differences in outcomes become more pronounced over time. Connectivity with stable neighboring populations is vital for the long-term survival of wolves in the region. Future research should investigate whether protected areas alone are sufficient to sustain wolves as apex predators or if large-scale ecosystem restoration—including trophic rewilding—is necessary for successful recolonization. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Wildlife in Natural and Altered Environments)
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23 pages, 5310 KiB  
Article
Ecoacoustic Baseline of a Successional Subarctic Ecosystem Post-Glaciation Amidst Climate Change in South-Central Alaska
by Timothy C. Mullet and Almo Farina
Diversity 2025, 17(7), 443; https://doi.org/10.3390/d17070443 - 23 Jun 2025
Viewed by 151
Abstract
As climate change alters subarctic ecosystems and human activities in Alaska, ecological baselines are critical for long-term conservation. We applied an ecoacoustic approach to characterize the ecological conditions of a rapidly deglaciating region in Kenai Fjords National Park, Alaska. Using automated recording units [...] Read more.
As climate change alters subarctic ecosystems and human activities in Alaska, ecological baselines are critical for long-term conservation. We applied an ecoacoustic approach to characterize the ecological conditions of a rapidly deglaciating region in Kenai Fjords National Park, Alaska. Using automated recording units deployed at increasing distances from a road, we collected over 120,000 one-minute audio samples during the tourist seasons of 2021 and 2022. Ecoacoustic indices—Sonic Heterogeneity Index (SHItf), Spectral Sonic Signature (SSS), Weighted Proportion of Occupied Frequencies (wPOF), and Normalized Difference Sonic Heterogeneity Index (NDSHI)—were used to measure spatio-temporal patterns of the sonoscape. Results revealed higher sonic heterogeneity near the road attributed to technophony (vehicles) and geophony (wind) that spanned across the frequency spectrum, masking mid-high frequency biophony. Seasonal phenology and diel variations reflected ecological and human rhythms, including biophony from the dawn chorus from May–June, technophony from vehicle-based tourism from July–September, and decreased sonic activity in the form of geophonic ambience in October. Low-frequency geophonies were prevalent throughout the sonoscape with more natural sounds at greater distances from the road. Our findings demonstrate the benefits of using ecoacoustic methods to assess ecosystem dynamics for establishing ecological baselines useful for future comparisons in rapidly changing environments. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Wildlife in Natural and Altered Environments)
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21 pages, 2796 KiB  
Article
Are Painted Turtles (Chrysemys picta) Resilient to the Potential Impact of Climate Change on Vitamin D via Overgrown Floating Vegetation?
by Nicholas E. Topping and Nicole Valenzuela
Diversity 2025, 17(6), 414; https://doi.org/10.3390/d17060414 - 12 Jun 2025
Viewed by 326
Abstract
Floating aquatic vegetation and algal blooms are increasing with global warming, potentially reducing UVB exposure and, consequently, vitamin D (vit-D) synthesis in freshwater turtles. Vit-D mediates calcium metabolism and overall health, yet the effects of floating aquatic vegetation on vit-D levels remain unclear, [...] Read more.
Floating aquatic vegetation and algal blooms are increasing with global warming, potentially reducing UVB exposure and, consequently, vitamin D (vit-D) synthesis in freshwater turtles. Vit-D mediates calcium metabolism and overall health, yet the effects of floating aquatic vegetation on vit-D levels remain unclear, as is whether turtles actively avoid habitats with abundant floating vegetation. Here, we address these questions by quantifying vit-D3 levels in the blood of adult female painted turtles (Chrysemys picta) exposed to high-vegetation (darker/colder) or clear-water (lighter/warmer) treatments for one month outdoors and one month indoors at a single temperature during late summer and early fall. The observed circulating vit-D3 levels resembled those reported for other freshwater turtles, declined over time in both treatments, and were marginally lower under high vegetation after 60 days compared to clear water. However, this difference disappeared after correcting for lymph contamination and multiple comparisons, suggesting that perhaps adult females are robust to the effect of floating vegetation, but whether they were buffered by vit-D3 stores in lipids is unclear. Additionally, in subsequent years, females were exposed to habitat choice experiments and exhibited a strong preference for high floating vegetation over clear water, both as a group (outdoors) and individually (outdoors, and indoors at 21 °C and 26 °C), consistent with known benefits conferred by floating vegetation (food, predator avoidance). While no ill effects of high vegetation nor behavioral avoidance were detected here, longer experiments at different seasons on both sexes and varying ages are warranted before concluding whether painted turtles are truly resilient in their vit-D levels or if, instead, a tradeoff exists between the known benefits of floating vegetation and potential [yet unidentified] detrimental effects (lower dissolved oxygen or vit-D) when vegetation is overgrown for extended periods. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Wildlife in Natural and Altered Environments)
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10 pages, 2705 KiB  
Article
Vertical Distribution of Culicoides Biting Midges in Temperate Forests
by Rasa Bernotienė, Rimgaudas Treinys and Dovilė Bukauskaitė
Diversity 2024, 16(9), 585; https://doi.org/10.3390/d16090585 - 16 Sep 2024
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1746
Abstract
Culicoides biting midges are small dipterous insects known as biological vectors of arboviruses, protozoa, and filaria parasites worldwide. Many studies on Culicoides focus on trapping them at ground level, without considering the best trap heights for different vector species. This implies that we [...] Read more.
Culicoides biting midges are small dipterous insects known as biological vectors of arboviruses, protozoa, and filaria parasites worldwide. Many studies on Culicoides focus on trapping them at ground level, without considering the best trap heights for different vector species. This implies that we might overlook insects positioned higher in the canopy. From June to August, we used UV traps to catch Culicoides biting midges at three different heights in three temperate mature forest areas in east Lithuania, Baltic region of Europe. We conducted this study to test the differences in midge numbers, male and female proportions, and female parity at each height. We caught the majority of biting midges (80.6%) at the mid-canopy and high-canopy. A higher number of female Culicoides midges than males was caught, with the proportion of males varying based on height and reaching its lowest point at ground level. No significant difference between the proportion of nulliparous and parous females caught at different height was detected. Culicoides pictipennis and C. festivipennis were the most common species of biting midge we found. They were found in the mid-canopy (86.8%) and the high-canopy (50.0%), respectively. Culicoides kibunensis was next, found at ground level (66.2%), and C. punctatus was found at the high canopy strata (63.0%). Each species’ abundance was seasonal dependent. Information on the vertical distribution of vector species in the temperate forest ecosystem is an important step in understanding patterns of vector borne disease transmission in wildlife. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Wildlife in Natural and Altered Environments)
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9 pages, 3256 KiB  
Article
Wood Mice Utilize Understory Vegetation of Leafless Dead Dwarf Bamboo Culms as a Habitat and Foraging Site
by Rui Kajita and Hisashi Kajimura
Diversity 2024, 16(8), 458; https://doi.org/10.3390/d16080458 - 1 Aug 2024
Viewed by 1042
Abstract
In this study, we conducted a field survey in Aichi Prefecture, central Japan, to clarify whether rodent activity is affected by the presence or absence of dead culms of the dwarf bamboo Sasa borealis, a species characterized by a 120-year cycle of [...] Read more.
In this study, we conducted a field survey in Aichi Prefecture, central Japan, to clarify whether rodent activity is affected by the presence or absence of dead culms of the dwarf bamboo Sasa borealis, a species characterized by a 120-year cycle of large-scale flowering, seeding, and dying. We found that a relatively larger number of wood mice, Apodemus speciosus and Apodemus argenteus, were caught using Sherman live traps in areas with dead S. borealis culms than in areas lacking the culms, thereby indicating that S. borealis culms, even if dead and leafless, can function as shelters in which the mice can evade predation. However, in the years when A. speciosus was abundant, A. argenteus avoided areas inhabited by A. speciosus and was restricted to areas lacking dead culms, which were devoid of shelter. A feeding experiment using Castanea crenata acorns clearly revealed that a larger number of acorns were foraged by mice in areas containing dead culms. Moreover, in the area with dead culms, the mice preferentially removed sound acorns prior to taking acorns that had been vacated by infesting moth larvae. These findings indicate that the shelter function of dead culms enables mice to carefully select sound acorns, which are nutritionally more beneficial than those that have been infested by moth larvae. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Wildlife in Natural and Altered Environments)
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13 pages, 999 KiB  
Article
For a Different Kind of Wildlife Management: Actions in Favour of the Wilderness as a Space for Experience and a Means of Diffusing Practices in Europe
by Alexandra Locquet and Laurent Simon
Diversity 2022, 14(10), 819; https://doi.org/10.3390/d14100819 - 29 Sep 2022
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2944
Abstract
In response to the present ecological crisis, new approaches to environmental conservation and management are being developed in Europe. One of the axes considered by nature protection stakeholders since the 2000s is to encourage the return of the wilderness. This has led to [...] Read more.
In response to the present ecological crisis, new approaches to environmental conservation and management are being developed in Europe. One of the axes considered by nature protection stakeholders since the 2000s is to encourage the return of the wilderness. This has led to the deployment of a variety of initiatives, mainly led by civil and non-profit organisations. The objective here, through the analysis of the discourses of stakeholders—from semi-directive interviews—and the initiatives developed in Western Europe, is to understand how the multitude of projects carried out throughout Europe constitutes a proposal for new environmental management practices. Indeed, the studied initiatives introduce a paradigm shift by reflecting a will to go beyond the mere preservation of nature in order to contribute to a global territorial transition. To this end, the studied projects propose to create both a social and interspecies link around their sites, but also to ensure the development of virtuous economic forms in the territories. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Wildlife in Natural and Altered Environments)
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35 pages, 443 KiB  
Article
Wolves, Crows, Spiders, and People: A Qualitative Study Yielding a Three-Layer Framework for Understanding Human–Wildlife Relations
by Uta M. Jürgens, Paul M. W. Hackett, Marcel Hunziker and Anthony Patt
Diversity 2022, 14(8), 591; https://doi.org/10.3390/d14080591 - 23 Jul 2022
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 4651
Abstract
Human dimensions research has proposed a multitude of variables impacting the viability of wildlife populations. Extant approaches to systematizing these variables have mostly focused on human relations to only one animal species or taxon and are largely descriptive, rather than explanatory. In this [...] Read more.
Human dimensions research has proposed a multitude of variables impacting the viability of wildlife populations. Extant approaches to systematizing these variables have mostly focused on human relations to only one animal species or taxon and are largely descriptive, rather than explanatory. In this study, we provide a three-layer framework for understanding people’s responses to a variety of human–wildlife encounters. We conducted a comparative qualitative study, interviewing 20 stakeholders on one of three ecologically disparate model animals. Through thematic analysis, we identified person-specific, species-specific, and overarching factors whose interplay shapes people’s reactions to encounters with wildlife. The person-specific factors, individual people’s biographic backgrounds and life themes, fuel the polarization of stances towards wildlife. The species-specific factors, people’s mental images of wild animals, explain the particular character of different human–wildlife relations. The overarching factors, fundamental questions regarding the place of humans in nature or motivations of control over animal agents, stir the intensity inherent in human encounters with wildlife. This three-layer framework amends existing proposals by providing a cohesive system and an in-depth portrayal of shared and specific factors and processes in various human–wildlife relations and by elucidating their interaction in influencing people’s responses to encounters with wild animals. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Wildlife in Natural and Altered Environments)
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15 pages, 1274 KiB  
Article
Habitat Selection by Brown Bears with Varying Levels of Predation Rates on Ungulate Neonates
by Kate Twynham, Andrés Ordiz, Ole-Gunnar Støen, Geir-Rune Rauset, Jonas Kindberg, Peter Segerström, Jens Frank and Antonio Uzal
Diversity 2021, 13(12), 678; https://doi.org/10.3390/d13120678 - 17 Dec 2021
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 7432
Abstract
In northern Eurasia, large carnivores overlap with semi-domestic reindeer (Rangifer tarandus) and moose (Alces alces). In Scandinavia, previous studies have quantified brown bear (Ursus arctos) spring predation on neonates of reindeer (mostly in May) and moose (mostly in [...] Read more.
In northern Eurasia, large carnivores overlap with semi-domestic reindeer (Rangifer tarandus) and moose (Alces alces). In Scandinavia, previous studies have quantified brown bear (Ursus arctos) spring predation on neonates of reindeer (mostly in May) and moose (mostly in June). We explored if habitat selection by brown bears changed following resource pulses and whether these changes are more pronounced on those individuals characterised by higher predatory behaviour. Fifteen brown bears in northern Sweden (2010–2012) were fitted with GPS proximity collars, and 2585 female reindeers were collared with UHF transmitters. Clusters of bear positions were visited to investigate moose and reindeer predation. Bear kill rates and home ranges were calculated to examine bear movements and predatory behaviour. Bear habitat selection was modelled using resource selection functions over four periods (pre-calving, reindeer calving, moose calving, and post-calving). Coefficients of selection for areas closer to different land cover classes across periods were compared, examining the interactions between different degrees of predatory behaviour (i.e., high and low). Bear habitat selection differed throughout the periods and between low and high predatory bears. Differences among individuals’ predatory behaviour are reflected in the selection of habitat types, providing empirical evidence that different levels of specialization in foraging behaviour helps to explain individual variation in bear habitat selection. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Wildlife in Natural and Altered Environments)
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9 pages, 552 KiB  
Article
Do Active and Passive Antipredator Defences in the Toad Epidalea calamita Differ between Males and Females from Natural Habitats and Agrosystems?
by Francisco Javier Zamora-Camacho
Diversity 2021, 13(12), 614; https://doi.org/10.3390/d13120614 - 25 Nov 2021
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2275
Abstract
Due to their assumed costs, simultaneous antipredator strategies are expected to face trade-offs, which, however, could be milder in individuals subjected to a more intense predator pressure. In this work, I studied the relationship between locomotion and parotoid glands in the natterjack toad, [...] Read more.
Due to their assumed costs, simultaneous antipredator strategies are expected to face trade-offs, which, however, could be milder in individuals subjected to a more intense predator pressure. In this work, I studied the relationship between locomotion and parotoid glands in the natterjack toad, Epidalea calamita. Specifically, I predicted that individuals with reduced sprint speed would rely more on their chemical defences, having larger and more aposematically coloured parotoid glands. In addition, I expected this trade-off to be more evident in females and toads from pine grove habitats, because, according to previous work, males and toads from agrosystems are under greater predator pressure. However, sprint speed showed no relationship with coloration, but toads with proportionally greater parotoid glands were also proportionally faster. Thus, the costs of these antipredator traits might not be high enough to make them interfere, or the benefits of simultaneous optimisation of sprint speed and parotoid gland size might outweigh the costs of it in some individuals. In any case, habitat and sex did not affect these relationships, so the trends detected are valid across sexes and the habitats studied. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Wildlife in Natural and Altered Environments)
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