Conservation and Ecological Genetics of Threatened Plant and Animal Species: The Role of Zoos, Museums, Aquariums and Botanical Gardens

Dear Colleagues,

Genetic approaches are essential tools in the assessment, monitoring and conservation management of threatened plant and animal species, and they play also a critical role in ecological studies. Currently, when biodiversity worldwide is rapidly declining as a consequence of the direct and indirect effects of human activities, increased and correct conservation efforts are crucial.

With advances in both genetic and genomic methods, we are being faced with new, rapid, and accurate possibilities to study non-model rare species, in addition to the opportunity of using the results to appropriately target conservation projects. Similarly, ecological genetics can help us to understand species adaptations, and thus potentially predict the species' responses to future environmental changes.

This Special Issue aims to gather articles using both classical genetic and cutting-edge genomic approaches to study threatened or endangered animal and plant populations. An emphasis will be placed on ecological, conservation, evolutionary, and reproductive scientific aspects, among others. The intent is to provide an overview of the current advances, challenges, and opportunities in the conservation and ecological genetics of threatened species, and to provoke further thought on how to tackle the threats and uncertain future that many of these organisms are facing.

The Special Issue welcomes ecological and conservation genetic studies of threatened species performed by researchers associated with zoological and botanical gardens, aquariums, museums, conservation centers, organizations active in wildlife trade regulation, and other similar institutions. Colleagues with other affiliations may also submit their manuscripts if they address the topic at hand, e.g., if they focus preferentially on populations in captivity or stored in collections, or if they implement traditional or innovative technologies, strategies, and methodologies (including statistics and bioinformatics) in relation to conservation. All types of submissions, including articles, short communications, reviews, and methodological and prospective papers, will be considered.

Dr. Darina Koubínová
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. Journal of Zoological and Botanical Gardens is an international peer-reviewed open access quarterly 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 1000 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.

• conservation
• ecology
• genetics
• genomics
• plants
• animals
• threatened species
• biodiversity