Habitat Fragmentation Caused by Contaminants: Assessment of Direct and Indirect Ecological Impacts across Aquatic and Terrestrial Ecosystems

Dear Colleagues,

Habitat fragmentation, commonly defined as the discontinuity of a habitat into smaller and more isolated habitats, can be due to natural causes (e.g., fires) but is mostly due to ecosystem conversion and degradation caused by human interference (e.g., agriculture, urbanization, water diversion, contaminants). Immediate and long-lasting consequences of habitat fragmentation are the loss of biodiversity (including genetic variation) and changes in ecological interactions.

Although contamination is known as a major driver of habitat fragmentation, new chemicals are marketed every year, and cumulative impacts are expected under the current scenario of climate change; few studies have, however, focused on the effects of contamination from a landscape perspective (habitat continuity), particularly important for conservation and management actions. When habitats are fragmented by contaminants, direct effects may occur at the individual and population levels due to physiological damage on exposed organisms, whereas indirect effects may occur on organisms not directly exposed, due to the loss of resources through toxic effects or emigration to more favorable environments. Ecologically, the emigration of an organism is equivalent to its death, and such ecological death can affect the functioning (e.g., predation) and structure of the downsized or receiving communities (e.g., biodiversity). Therefore, when assessing contaminant-driven habitat degradation, both direct toxic effects and effects on the spatial distribution of the organisms should be considered. This ecological balance will be influenced by the level of contamination, the dispersal ability of the organisms, and the existence of a source population edge-of-field (external recovery) or in-field patches (internal recovery).

This Special Issue aims to deepen the discussions on contaminant-driven habitat fragmentation with a focus on existing and new fundamental knowledge and tools to assess direct and indirect ecological impacts across aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems, both at the laboratory and field scale. Authors are invited to submit original research articles, short communications, and reviews focusing on various aspects of contamination as a driver of habitat fragmentation, including (but not limited to) direct and indirect effects of chemicals, mixtures, environmental samples, and multiple stressors (particularly in the context of climate change), as well as the integration of such knowledge in population models to predict spatial and temporal field dynamics under contaminated and (re)colonization scenarios at the landscape level, contributing to improve current ecological risk assessment frameworks and conservation options.

Dr. Matilde Moreira-Santos
Dr. Cristiano V.M. Araújo
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. Toxics is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly 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 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.

• stress ecology
• landscape ecotoxicology
• habitat connectivity
• toxicity
• biodiversity loss
• emigration
• recolonization
• immigration
• population models
• conservation actions