Mechanisms and Ecology of Migration and Homing
A special issue of Life (ISSN 2075-1729). This special issue belongs to the section "Diversity and Ecology".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 1 February 2026 | Viewed by 3
Special Issue Editor
Interests: biology; systematics; evolution; mole-rats; behavioral and sensory ecology; biogeography of small mammals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Homing is broadly defined as the ability to return to a goal location (e.g., breeding grounds, familiar sites) after displacement, which can be either active or passive. It has been shown in a taxonomically diverse range of vertebrates, including homing pigeons, migratory birds, sea turtles, amphibians, and fish that rely on a multitude of visual, olfactory, acoustic, celestial, magnetic, and self-motion (idiothetic) cues. Surprisingly, however, systematic studies characterizing navigational strategies and underlying sensory mechanisms in non-migratory species, particularly in mammals, are scarce.
Migration in an eco-ethological sense refers to long-distance seasonal movements between two areas (“return migration”). In some species (including eels and Pacific salmon), roundtrip migration is accomplished only once in lifetime. In others, migration by experienced individuals (that have completed at least one roundtrip migration) has been shown to involve navigational processes, the mechanisms behind which can be studied by analyzing the conditions under which failures occur, either in natural populations or experimentally through the displacement and release of migrating individuals and the subsequent analysis of their trajectories.
The study of migration and homing has a multi- and interdisciplinary character, with significant heuristic potential to enhance our knowledge and open up new horizons in understanding the diversity of life, as well as ourselves.
Prof. Dr. Hynek Burda
Guest Editor
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Keywords
- migration
- homing
- navigation
- spatial orientation
- magnetoreception
- cognitive maps
- seasonality
- spatial memory
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