The burgeoning energy demand worldwide has led to a proliferation of hydroelectric dams, firstly in the northern hemisphere and subsequently across tropical developing countries, which have become the new hydropower frontier. Given the relatively flat terrain in lowland tropical and sub-tropical forests, after damming, all low elevation areas are inundated, while previous ridgetops often become islands. Currently, hydropower development is one of the primary means of habitat loss and fragmentation in tropical forests, hence a key threat to biodiversity.

We are organizing a special issue in Zoological Research: Diversity and Conservation (ZRDC) to synthetize the current knowledge on biodiversity responses to habitat loss and insular fragmentation induced by hydroelectric dams. To do so, we are inviting colleagues currently working on these artificial insular landscapes covering multiple zoological groups (e.g., birds, mammals, lizards, and insects). Our overhanging aims are to organize timely and novel research summarizing such ecological impacts across artificial insular landscapes and proposing guidelines for biodiversity conservation and sustainable hydropower development. In this issue, we will publish original papers in habitat fragmentation and biodiversity conservation, especially on these topics:

·       Biodiversity patterns across gradients of habitat loss and insular fragmentation, including taxonomic, phylogenetic, and functional responses of invertebrates and vertebrates

·       Current knowledge and the consequences of insular habitat fragmentation on biodiversity

·       Theoretical advancements in understanding the impacts of damming on biodiversity

·       Strategies and management policies for decision-makers to improve biodiversity conservation and sustainable hydropower developments

·       Studying the general effects of habitat loss and fragmentation induced by damming worldwide, and potential applications to other non-insular fragmented landscapes

Contributions can be in any original research format of ZRDC: Research articles, Brief reports, Opinions, Reviews, Notes, Editorials, Research highlights, Commentaries, and Letters to the editor. For the details, please see the author guideline (https://www.zoores.ac.cn/news/zrdc/65ab1179-929a-4047-9227-159de4f0bf36_en.htm).

Manuscript should be submitted online through https://mc03.manuscriptcentral.com/zr before August 31, 2023. Authors should indicate in the Cover Letter that the manuscript is submitted to the ‘Insular habitat fragmentation Special Issue’ of the journal ZRDC.

Special issue editors:

Ana Filipa Palmeirim (Research Centre in Biodiversity and Genetic Resources (CIBIO) - University of Porto, anafilipapalmeirim@gmail.com)

Xingfeng Si (East China Normal University, sixf@des.ecnu.edu.cn)