Skip to main content

Rewilding: reintroduction and restoration

Guest Editors:
Serge Morand: CNRS, Kasetsart University, Thailand
Maria João Ramos Pereira: Zoology Department, Biosciences Institute, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil & Centre for Environmental and Marine Studies, University of Aveiro, Portugal


In recent years, rewilding has gained increasing attention as a conservation strategy for restoring degraded ecosystems and promoting biodiversity. Numerous rewilding projects have been launched around the world with the aim of reintroducing animal species that have been lost or extirpated from an area and restoring natural processes and ecological interactions. Detailed information on the ecological roles, habitat requirements, social behavior, and interactions of animal species is crucial for the success of rewilding projects. 

This Collection aimed to collate research articles on rewilding projects with the goal of better understanding the framework needed to reach United Nations Sustainable Development Goals 14 (Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development) and 15 (Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss).

Meet the Guest Editors

Back to top

Serge Morand: CNRS, Kasetsart University, Thailand

Researcher at the CNRS, Serge Morand is based in Thailand at the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine of the University of Kasetsart and Visiting Professor at the Faculty of Tropical Medicine of Mahidol. He is a disease ecologist with a background in evolutionary ecology and zoology. He leads projects on the impacts of planetary changes (climate, land use, urbanization) on the links between biodiversity, health and societies in Southeast Asia. He is now interested on the health benefits of reforestation and rewilding.

Maria João Ramos Pereira: Zoology Department, Biosciences Institute, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil & Centre for Environmental and Marine Studies, University of Aveiro, Portugal

Maria João is an Assistant Professor at the Zoology Department, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, and a Member of the Graduate Programs in Animal Biology and Ecology at the same university. She is also a Collaborator of the Centre for Environmental and Marine Studies, Universidade de Aveiro, Portugal. Coordinator of the Bird and Mammal Evolution, Systematics and Ecology Lab, in her research Maria João integrates studies in evolutionary, community and population ecology, phylogeography and population genetics to understand ecological and evolutionary patterns and processes of vertebrate diversity. In 2019 and again in 2021 she was elected Vice-President of the Brazilian Bat Research Society.

About the collection

In recent years, rewilding has gained increasing attention as a conservation strategy for restoring degraded ecosystems and promoting biodiversity. Numerous rewilding projects have been launched around the world with the aim of reintroducing animal species that have been lost or extirpated from an area and restoring natural processes and ecological interactions. Detailed information on the ecological roles, habitat requirements, social behavior, and interactions of animal species is crucial for the success of rewilding projects. 

This Collection aims to collate research articles on rewilding projects with the goal of better understanding the framework needed to reach United Nations Sustainable Development Goals 14 (Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development) and 15 (Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss).

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

•    Trophic cascades: the ecological effects of top predators on lower trophic levels, including their impact on prey populations, herbivory, and overall ecosystem structure.
•    Keystone species: the ecological roles and potential impact on biodiversity and ecosystem functioning.
•    Habitat restoration: impacts on native species, population dynamics, species interactions, and the recovery of ecosystem services.
•    Species reintroduction: ecological requirements, behavior, and population dynamics of reintroduced species, as well as monitoring their survival, reproductive success, and interactions with other species.
•    Conservation genetics: assessment of genetic diversity, evaluation of the potential for inbreeding or genetic bottlenecks.
•    Wildlife corridors: effectiveness of corridors in facilitating species movement, gene flow, and maintaining ecological connectivity.
•    Behavioral ecology: foraging behavior, social dynamics, reproductive strategies, and habitat preferences to inform reintroduction programs.

Image credit: Fyle / stock.adobe.com

  1. Nowadays rewilding has received an increasing focus as a sustainable conservation tool for restoring damaged or disturbed habitats. Many types of rewilding initiatives have been implemented all over the globe ...

    Authors: Ashish Kumar Arya
    Citation: BMC Zoology 2023 8:26
    Content type: Editorial Published on:

Submission Guidelines

Back to top

This Collection welcomes submission of original Research Articles. Should you wish to submit a different article type, please read our submission guidelines to confirm that type is accepted by the journal. Articles for this Collection should be submitted via our submission system, Snapp. During the submission process you will be asked whether you are submitting to a Collection, please select "Rewilding" from the dropdown menu.

Articles will undergo the journal’s standard peer-review process and are subject to all of the journal’s standard policies. Articles will be added to the Collection as they are published.

The Guest Editors have no competing interests with the submissions which they handle through the peer review process. The peer review of any submissions for which the Guest Editors have competing interests is handled by another Editorial Board Member who has no competing interests.