Evolutionary Ecology - Dispersal in small organisms
Guest Editors
Aurélie Coulon, Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle; Centre d’Ecologie et des Sciences de la Conservation (CESCO), Paris; and Centre d'Ecologie Fonctionnelle et Evolutive (CEFE), Montpellier, France
Frank W. Stearns, Department of Biological Sciences, Stevenson University, Owings Mills, MD, USA
Theme & Objective
In 1975, Daniel Otis Wolfenbarger published Factors Affecting Dispersal Distances of Small Organisms. Although reviews were generally positive, Dr. Ronald J. Prokopy lamented some omissions particularly with regard to analysis and synthesis of the massive amount of data compiled. In his review, Dr. Prokopy mentioned that Wolfenbarger was hinting at a follow-up volume. This volume was never written, and this special issue will revisit the theme on the 50th anniversary of the original publication.
Dr. Wolfenbarger focused on small organisms as macroorganism dispersal was well studied. Similarly, as in his book, this special issue will cover viruses, bacteria, plants, fungus, and insects. Dispersal is still a major research initiative. Restricting to small organisms will focus the discussion while providing a range of papers on taxa that share similar challenges to dispersal. This solicitation calls for papers on behavior, ecology, genetics, and evolution that deal with factors promoting and restricting dispersal. The effects on dispersal for landscape connectivity, distributions, invasions, host diversity, and speciation are of particular interest.
We seek Research Articles (this opens in a new tab), Perspectives (this opens in a new tab), and Review Articles (this opens in a new tab) for this special issue. We especially encourage research groups from underrepresented regions to submit their work in any of the proposed areas. Students and Early Career Researchers (this opens in a new tab) are also encouraged to submit their research.
All manuscripts will be peer-reviewed by experts.
Pre-submission enquiries are welcome.
SUBMISSION DEADLINE: November 1, 2024
- Please follow the submission guidelines (this opens in a new tab) and our checklist (this opens in a new tab).
- Please submit online via SNAPP (this opens in a new tab) and select article type “Special Issue: Dispersal in small organisms”.
EXPECTED PUBLICATION: 2025
(Accepted articles will be made available Online First (this opens in a new tab) on an ongoing basis.)
About the Guest Editors
Dr. Aurélie Coulon (PhD), lead Guest Editor of this Special Issue, is an Associate Professor whose research focuses on movement ecology. She studies the factors influencing animal movements (especially dispersal) and gene flow, with a particular emphasis on landscape composition and structure. Dr. Coulon also studies how human-triggered landscape modifications like fragmentation affect animal movements and the consequences on population functioning and structure. Her research is mostly based on telemetry (GPS) data and landscape genetics on a range of animal species (amphibians, reptiles, mammals). Dr. Coulon is also an Associate Editor of Evolutionary Ecology. Read more about her research activities here (this opens in a new tab).
Dr. Frank W. Stearns (PhD) is an evolutionary geneticist whose research focuses on molecular evolution and ecological genetics. He is primarily interested in speciation, adaptation genetics, and mutation dynamics. Previous studies have involved laboratory research, manipulative field experiments, and computational approaches. Dr. Stearns has worked with plants, insects, and bacteria and typically takes mathematical models and tests them under experimental conditions. He is currently studying the for gene as a candidate gene for dispersal genetics related to speciation in the Enchenopa binotata cryptic species complex. Dr. Stearns’s research activities can be viewed here (this opens in a new tab).
Contact Information
Aurélie Coulon
Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle
Centre d’Ecologie et des Sciences de la Conservation (CESCO)
Paris
France
aurelie.coulon@mnhn.fr (this opens in a new tab)
and
Centre d'Ecologie Fonctionnelle et Evolutive (CEFE)
Montpellier
France
Frank W. Stearns
Department of Biological Sciences
Stevenson University
Owings Mills, MD
USA
fstearns@stevenson.edu (this opens in a new tab)
Keep up with the latest Evolutionary Ecology content by signing up for Journal Alerts today (this opens in a new tab)!