Ecology, Management and Conservation of Vertebrates: 2nd Edition

Topic Information

Dear Colleagues,

Vertebrates are one of the most threatened forms of biodiversity in the context of global climate change. The destruction and fragmentation of habitats and the impact of human activities, illegal trafficking, invasive alien species, emerging diseases and climate change are some of the main drivers behind the decline in their populations. Great effort has been made in recent decades to research and develop new methodologies for the study and quantification of these impacts, and to provide novel proposals to promote the conservation of this group of fauna. This Topic aims to gather a wide range of primary research papers regarding vertebrate conservation around the world, offering examples from a broad spectrum of themes representing the current state of the field.

Potential topics include, but are not limited to, the following:

(1) Novel approaches to the biology of vertebrate conservation;

(2) Studies on the drivers of vertebrate population decline;

(3) The results of conservation plans and strategies;

(4) Relevant aspects of the ecology of vertebrate populations in relation to their conservation;

(5) The incorporation of local perspectives into vertebrate conservation.

Prof. Dr. Miguel Lizana
Dr. Víctor Colino-Rabanal
Topic Editors

Keywords

Participating Journals

Journal Name	Impact Factor	CiteScore	Launched Year	First Decision (median)	APC
Animals animals	2.7	5.2	2011	17.1 Days	CHF 2400	Submit
Birds birds	1.4	2.7	2020	23.3 Days	CHF 1400	Submit
Diversity diversity	2.1	4.0	2009	16.6 Days	CHF 2100	Submit
Life life	3.4	6.0	2011	16.6 Days	CHF 2600	Submit

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Published Papers (3 papers)

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All Animals Birds Diversity Life

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16 pages, 4795 KB  

Open AccessArticle

Foraging Habitat Selection of Shrubland Bird Community During the Dry Season in Tropical Dry Forests

by Anant Deshwal, Pooja Panwar, Brian M. Becker and Steven L. Stephenson

Diversity 2026, 18(1), 25; https://doi.org/10.3390/d18010025 - 1 Jan 2026

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Abstract

Unmitigated climate change, coupled with habitat loss, has made the grassland and shrubland bird communities particularly vulnerable to extinction. Climate change-induced drought reduces net primary productivity, food availability, habitat quality, and alters vegetation structure. These factors collectively increase mortality in grassland and shrubland [...] Read more.

Unmitigated climate change, coupled with habitat loss, has made the grassland and shrubland bird communities particularly vulnerable to extinction. Climate change-induced drought reduces net primary productivity, food availability, habitat quality, and alters vegetation structure. These factors collectively increase mortality in grassland and shrubland birds. However, limited data on habitat use by tropical birds hampers the development of effective management plans for drought-affected landscapes. We examined the foraging sites of 18 shrubland bird species, including two endemic and four declining species, across three shrubland forest sites in the Eastern Ghats of India during the dry season. We recorded microhabitat features within an 11 m radius of observed foraging points and compared them with random plots. Additionally, we examined the association between bird species and plant species where a bird was observed foraging. Foraging sites differed significantly from random plots, indicating active selection of microhabitats by shrubland birds. Using linear discriminant analysis, we found that the microhabitat features important for the bird species were presence of ground cover, shrub density, vegetational height, and vertical foliage stratification. Our results show that diet guild and foraging strata influence the foraging microhabitat selection of a species. Microhabitat attributes selected by shrubland specialist species differed from those of generalist shrubland users. Thirteen out of 18 focal species showed a significant association with at least one plant species. Birds were often associated with plants that were green during the dry season. Based on habitat selection and plant associations, we identified several habitat attributes that can be actively managed. Despite being classified as wastelands, the heavily degraded shrub forests can be rehabilitated through strategic and selective harvesting of forest products, targeting invasive species, and a spatially and temporally controlled livestock grazing regime. Full article

(This article belongs to the Topic Ecology, Management and Conservation of Vertebrates: 2nd Edition)

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15 pages, 3797 KB  

Open AccessArticle

Foraging Environment Shapes the Gut Microbiota of Two Crane Species in the Yellow River Delta Wetland

by Xiaodong Gao, Yunpeng Liu, Bo Zhou, Jingyi Yu, Lei Li, Qingming Wu, Jun Wang and Shuai Shang

Diversity 2026, 18(1), 14; https://doi.org/10.3390/d18010014 - 25 Dec 2025

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Abstract

The foraging environment is a critical source of microbes for wild birds, yet its role in shaping the gut microbiota of sympatric crane species remains poorly understood. This study investigated this relationship in the Yellow River Delta wetland by analyzing the microbial communities [...] Read more.

The foraging environment is a critical source of microbes for wild birds, yet its role in shaping the gut microbiota of sympatric crane species remains poorly understood. This study investigated this relationship in the Yellow River Delta wetland by analyzing the microbial communities of paired foraging environments and fecal samples from Common Cranes (Grus grus) and White Cranes (Grus leucogeranus) via 16S rRNA gene sequencing. Significant inter-group differences in alpha diversity (ACE, Chao1, Shannon, Simpson) indicated strong environmental filtering effects. Beta diversity (PCoA) revealed pronounced segregation between foraging and fecal samples (PC1 = 25.0%), underscoring a significant microbial turnover between the environment and the gut. Dominant phyla included Proteobacteria (24.6–37.4%), Firmicutes (4.8–29.0%), and Actinobacteriota (12.4–23.3%). LEfSe identified genus-level biomarkers highly specific to sample type and host, including Ligilactobacillus (12.1% in Common Crane feces) and Cryobacterium (9.2% in White Crane feces). SourceTracker analysis indicated that >70% of gut microbial sources remained unknown, suggesting a vast uncharacterized environmental reservoir. Functional prediction highlighted group-specific adaptations, such as elevated amino acid transport metabolism in Common Cranes (9.8% vs. 7.1%; p < 0.05), potentially linked to local dietary resources. Our findings demonstrate that the gut microbiota of cranes is synergistically shaped by host-specific factors and the unique saline–alkaline foraging environment of the wetland. Full article

(This article belongs to the Topic Ecology, Management and Conservation of Vertebrates: 2nd Edition)

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14 pages, 1154 KB  

Open AccessArticle

Birds as Environmental Bioindicators of Genotoxicity in Brazilian Cerrado Farmlands: An In Situ Approach

by Henrique Nazareth Souto, Edimar Olegário de Campos Júnior, Marcos Vinicius Bohrer Monteiro Siqueira, Carlos Fernando Campos, Cassio Resende Morais, Boscolli Barbosa Pereira and Sandra Morelli

Animals 2025, 15(21), 3208; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani15213208 - 4 Nov 2025

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Abstract

Birds have played a crucial role as environmental monitors throughout history, ranging from the use of canaries to detect methane and carbon monoxide in mines to the decline of raptors and seabirds during the DDT era due to widespread organochlorine pesticide contamination. Owing [...] Read more.

Birds have played a crucial role as environmental monitors throughout history, ranging from the use of canaries to detect methane and carbon monoxide in mines to the decline of raptors and seabirds during the DDT era due to widespread organochlorine pesticide contamination. Owing to their high diversity and capacity for bioaccumulation, birds are widely recognized as effective indicators of environmental change and pollutant exposure. Cytogenetic techniques have been increasingly applied over the past two decades to assess micronuclei formation resulting from interactions with clastogenic and aneugenic chemical compounds. The main goals of this study were (a) to evaluate a subset of the bird community in the southeastern Brazilian Cerrado as potential environmental indicators of pesticide exposure using the erythrocyte micronucleus test and (b) to investigate possible associations between bird morphometric traits and micronuclei frequency. Birds were sampled from three groups of coffee farms in the Brazilian Cerrado. Blood samples were collected from 152 individuals (122 on farms and 30 at the reference site) via the metatarsal vein, followed by slide preparation for micronucleus analysis. Two slides were prepared per bird; each slide was scored for 10,000 erythrocytes, and MN frequency was reported as the mean across slides. The species Leptotila rufaxilla, Volatinia jacarina, Galbula ruficauda, Gnorimopsar chopi, Molothrus bonariensis, Passer domesticus, Turdus leucomelas, and Turdus rufiventris exhibited six or more micronuclei per 10,000 erythrocytes, indicating the highest potential as bioindicators of environmental contamination. Micronuclei frequency in erythrocytes was positively correlated with the use of mixed pesticides, with variation depending on the size of the coffee farms. Although a slight negative biological trend was observed between micronuclei frequency and certain morphometric traits, particularly bill length, no statistically significant correlations were found. Similarly, birds from large farms exhibited a slight reduction in certain morphometric features, though these differences were also not statistically significant. These results highlight the utility of selected bird species as early-warning bioindicators for pesticide exposure in tropical agroecosystems. Full article

(This article belongs to the Topic Ecology, Management and Conservation of Vertebrates: 2nd Edition)

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