Wild Bird Diseases and Avian Pathogen Ecology: Drivers, Dynamics and Mitigation

Introduction

Wild birds play a critical role in ecosystems, acting as reservoirs, vectors, and sentinels of pathogens that pose threats to biodiversity, poultry/livestock, and public health. Accelerating global environmental changes, including habitat fragmentation, climate warming and intensified human-wildlife interactions, are reshaping the dynamics of avian diseases. Despite growing research interest in avian pathogens, critical gaps remain in understanding how pathogens persist, evolve and spill over within wild bird populations, as well as the complex interplay between avian ecology, disease transmission and conservation challenges. Furthermore, the convergence of disease ecology with conservation strategies and One Health frameworks, which bridge wildlife surveillance, agricultural management and human health initiatives, requires further in-depth investigation.

To address these challenges, we propose a virtual special issue titled "Wild Bird Diseases and Avian Pathogen Ecology: Drivers, Dynamics and Mitigation". We invite high-quality original research articles, reviews and perspectives that advance mechanistic insights and interdisciplinary approaches to mitigate risks to avian health and global ecosystems. 

Topics

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

• Pathogen diversity and transmission networks in wild bird populations
• Ecological and evolutionary consequences of avian epidemics
• Climate change and the emergence or re-emergence of avian zoonose
• Genomic adaptation of pathogens and avian hosts in response to environmental stressors
• Human–wild birds–poultry/livestock interfaces and spillover risks
• Wild birds conservation strategy under pandemic of avian diseases
• Innovative surveillance tools (e.g., AI-powered predictive modeling) for avian pathogen detection and outbreak risks

Submission deadline

November 30, 2025

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 choose the short title of this Virtual Special Issue: “VSI: Wild Bird Diseases and Pathogens” when submitting the manuscript.

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

Guest editors