Conservation Ecology and Management of Mammalian Predators
A special issue of Life (ISSN 2075-1729). This special issue belongs to the section "Animal Science".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 August 2026 | Viewed by 2420
Special Issue Editors
Interests: population dynamics; ungulates; predator–prey interactions; wildlife conservation; wildlife management
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Carnivores are the top players in ecological processes, and these roles are parts of different debates in wildlife conservation and management. This Special Issue focuses on the crucial aspects of carnivores, particularly mesocarnivores (medium-sized mammalian species). Our aim is to cover the following areas: (1) predator–prey dynamics and the regulation of prey populations, e.g., small mammals. (2) Intraguild competition—how they compete for similar prey resources, leading to niche partitioning where species adapt their hunting strategies, activity patterns, or habitat use to avoid direct competition and whether this allows for coexistence among species? (3) Influence of prey availability on competing predators—the abundance of prey species significantly influences the activity and distribution of carnivores, affecting their interactions with each other. (4) Prey population control and ecosystem dynamics—when and how do they exert top-down control on prey populations, and can they affect species spread within ecosystems? How can top-down or bottom-up regulation affect ecosystems, influencing plant communities, nutrient cycling, and habitat structure? (5) Impact on prey behaviour and ecosystem dynamics—the presence of carnivores can alter the behaviour of prey species, affecting their distribution and abundance. How can these interactions contribute to the overall dynamics of the ecosystem, influencing vegetation patterns, nutrient cycling, and ecosystem functions? (6) Species spread and invasion—large- and medium-sized carnivores can either facilitate or hinder the spread of other species, including invasive species, through their control of prey populations or interactions with other carnivores. Why have some of them become invasive, alien, or native?
Prof. Dr. Sándor Csányi
Prof. Dr. Miklós Gábor Heltai
Guest Editors
Manuscript Submission Information
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Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 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
- mammalian predators
- mesocarnivores
- terrestrial predators
- predator–prey interactions
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