Introduction

We are living in an increasingly urbanized world, with over half of the global human population residing in cities. Urbanization, as one of the most extreme forms of land-use alteration, often leads to dramatic environmental changes, including habitat loss and fragmentation, increased temperatures (the heat island effect), elevated light and noise pollution, introduction of non-native species, as well as permanent human disturbance in cities. Accordingly, urbanization frequently results in the loss of the world’s biodiversity and the homogenization of its biota. Ecologists, conservationists and land-use planners are increasingly concerned about the effects of urbanization on wildlife living in cities.

Birds are one of the most widely used taxa in the study of urban ecology. Although urbanization is a global active research field, our understanding of how it affects species diversity, community composition, species interactions, and the evolution of birds in urban environments remains insufficient. Meanwhile, in recent years, this research field is developing rapdily and has evolved from describing patterns to understanding underlying processes and mechanisms.

To reflect the new advances in the field, we propose a virtual special issue entitled "Bird ecology, evolution and conservation in an urbanizing world". We invite high-quality research articles and reviews that offer innovative ideas and insights into this important area of study.

Topics covered

The coverage includes, but is not limited to, the following research topics:

• Avian diversity and urbanization
• Avian community composition and urbanization
• Avian population ecology and urbanization
• Avian behavioral ecology and urbanization
• Species interactions and urbanization
• Avian evolution/speciation and urbanization
• Avian conservation and urbanization

Important deadlines

• Submission opens: January 1, 2025
• Submission deadline: August 31, 2025
• Final decision: Average 6 weeks after submission

Submission instructions

All submissions to this Virtual Special Issue will undergo the full standard peer-review process of the journal Avian Research. Manuscripts should be formatted according to the Guide for Authors of the journal and submitted via the online editorial system. Remember to select the abbreviated title of this Virtual Special Issue: “VSI: Impacts of urbanization on birds” when submitting the manuscript.

For more information, please contact the editorial office: avianresearch@bjfu.edu.cn

Guest editors