Human-Wildlife interaction

As human populations continuously expand into natural habitats of wild animals, interactions between humans and animals are becoming more common. Human impact on natural ecosystems have led to habitat loss and a decrease in biodiversity. On the other hand, wildlife damage to livestock and agricultural crops has led to loss of property and livelihood. Therefore, wildlife management and conservation efforts have been set in place to mitigate these conflicts. But this is just part of the story: the human impact on wildlife reaches far beyond destruction of habitats. Spillover diseases originating from factory farms have devastating effects on wild animal populations. The use of pesticides in agriculture has led to a drastic decline in pollinator populations, which again effects our own livelihood. Water and air pollution has hugely impacted wildlife worldwide and has led to a rapid decline in biodiversity. Finding a way for humans and wildlife to co-exist creates opportunities to protect biodiversity and safeguard ecosystem health. These in turn support food security and new sustainable developments, which are essential for humans and wildlife alike. This special collection aims to collate original research and review articles regarding ‘Human-Wildlife interaction’. We are looking for research from laboratory and field studies on terrestrial and aquatic animals and ecosystems. Potential topics include but are not limited to the following: - Wildlife damage and conflicts, wildlife management techniques, wildlife conservation - Invasive species, endangered or threatened species - Nuisance and over-abundant wildlife - Urban wildlife - Human impact on wildlife through agriculture, factory farming, pesticides, deforestation, pollution - Zoonotic diseases