Small Mammals as Contributors to Terrestrial Ecosystem Functioning
A special issue of Animals (ISSN 2076-2615). This special issue belongs to the section "Mammals".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 15 April 2025 | Viewed by 475
Special Issue Editors
Interests: hoofed, semi-aquatic, carnivore and small mammal ecology; threatened and invasive mammal species; large carnivores; spatial distribution; population management and computer modeling; biodiversity and ecological diversity
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
This Special Issue aims to bring together researchers to advance the understanding of the ecological importance of small mammals, thereby contributing to the knowledge of terrestrial ecosystem functioning and conservation efforts. We aim to explore and highlight the important role that small mammals play in terrestrial ecosystems. Small mammals are integral to various ecological processes, and, despite their small size, these mammals can have significant impacts on ecosystem structure and function, making them essential for maintaining biodiversity and ecosystem health.
The essential topics of this SI include, but are not limited to, the following:
- Population dynamics and community structure of small mammals (with an emphasis on habitat use and selection and interactions with predators and parasites);
- Ecological roles and functions of small mammals (such as burrowing activities, foraging behaviors, seed predation/dispersal);
- Responses to environmental changes (evaluation of climate change impacts and anthropogenic influences);
- Small mammal management and conservation.
We would like to emphasize long-term investigations of small mammals that are essential for a comprehensive understanding of their ecological roles, adaptive strategies, and responses to environmental changes. Such studies will enhance our understanding of ecological and evolutionary processes, and will ultimately contribute to the preservation of biodiversity and ecosystem functioning.
Dr. Linas Balčiauskas
Dr. Alexander Csanády
Guest Editors
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. Animals is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly 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 2400 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
- small mammals
- long-term studies
- monitoring
- climate change
- environmental changes
- disease ecology
- trophic interactions
- genetic diversity
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