
MDPI World Wildlife Day Webinar 2025
Part of the MDPI World Wildlife Day Webinar series
3 March 2025, 15:00 (CET)
Wildlife, Conservation, Biodiversity
Welcome Message
In commemoration of World Wildlife Day 2025 (https://www.un.org/en/observances/world-wildlife-day), MDPI is organizing a special webinar to bring together researchers and experts to discuss the crucial role of biodiversity conservation and sustainable practices in preserving our ecosystems for future generations. This webinar will provide a platform for meaningful discussions and knowledge exchange on the importance of wildlife protection and the responsible management of natural resources.
We are very much looking forward to seeing you at the MDPI World Wildlife Day Webinar 2025. Please find below an up-to-date outline of the presenters.
Date: 03 March 2025 at 03:00 p.m. CET | 09:00 a.m. EST | 10:00 p.m. CST Asia
Webinar ID: 823 4465 5373
Webinar Secretariat: journal.webinar@mdpi.com
Journals' Section - Wildlife & Conservation
If you have an interest in wildlife and conservation research, we invite you to explore our relevant journals' section that cover a wide range of topics in this field:
- Wildlife (Section of Animals)
- Ecology and Conservation (Section of Animals)
- Conservation Biology and Biodiversity (Section of Biology)
- Plant Genetic Resources (Section of Plants)
- Land, Biodiversity, and Human Wellbeing (Section of Land)
If you are interested in submitting your work or learning more, please do not hesitate to reach out. We would be happy to discuss potential collaborations or publishing opportunities.
Keynote Speakers

Institute of Botany and Botanical Garden Jevremovac, Faculty of Biology, University of Belgrade, Belgrade, Serbia,
Center of Plant Biotechnology and Conservation (CPBC), Belgrade, Serbia,
Department of Plant Biology, Institute of Biology and Ecology, Faculty of Science, Pavol Jozef Šafárik University in Košice, Košice, Slovakia
Integrative Conservation of Bryophytes
Prof. Dr. Marko Sabovljevic is a bryophyte biologist who deals with all aspects of bryophyte science both in the laboratory and in the field. His main focus is on diversity, ecology, eco-physiology, and the integrative conservation of threatened taxa of bryophytes. He runs the biggest in vitro collection of bryophytes (in Belgrade) with ca. 300 species (excluding different genotypes) from all over the world

Department of Biology, University of Florida, United States
What Have We Learned from Phylogenomic Studies of Birds? Takeaways for World Wildlife Day.
Prof. Dr. Edward Louis Braun is a Professor of Biology at the University of Florida, one of the major research universities in the US state of Florida. His research focus is the intersection of biodiversity and genomics. Most of his work has been in the areas of computational biology, molecular evolution, and phylogenetics. He is interested in models of genomic change and using those models to make historical and functional inferences at a variety of scales (ranging from molecules to whole organisms and populations). He worked on understanding the evolution, genomics and biodiversity of birds, but he also studied a number of other taxa including plants, insects, algae, and fungi.

Center for Species Survival, Smithsonian National Zoo & Conservation Biology Institute
The Whistling Hunters’: An Elusive and Enigmatic Wild Dog of Asia
Dr. Nucharin Songsasen is the Center Head of the Center for Species Survival. She joined the Smithsonian in 2002 when offered the opportunity to study the reproductive biology of domestic and wild carnivores. Over the years, she has built the Global Canid Conservation Program and expanded this conservation and research initiative from a laboratory setting to field conservation in a range countries, including Brazil and Thailand. Dr. Nucharin is a leading expert in the field of canid reproductive biology. Research conducted in her laboratory focuses on developing innovative technologies to rescuing valuable genetics from wild canids and felids, while improving human reproductive health. In addition to reproductive research, she has collaborated with SCBI scientists and developed partnerships with national and international governmental and non-governmental organizations to address many threats to the sustainability of wild canids, including the maned wolf, dhole, red wolf, and African painted dog, living in zoos or the wild. Dr. Nucharin has adjunct appointments at the Cornell University and George Mason University. She is also a member of the IUCN’s Canid Specialist Group (CSG), the coordinator of CSG’s Dhole Working Group and the Maned wolf Species Survival Plan (MWSSP), as well as being Reproductive Advisor to the Canid Taxon Advisory Group. Dr. Nucharin received her Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree from the Kasetsart University in Thailand, and her Master of Science and doctoral degrees from the University of Guelph in Canada.
Program
Speaker/Presentation |
Time in CET |
MDPI Introduction | 3:00 pm - 3:10 pm |
Prof. Dr. Marko Sabovljevic Integrative Conservation of Bryophytes |
3:10 pm - 3:40 pm |
Prof. Dr. Edward L. Braun What Have We Learned from Phylogenomic Studies of Birds? Takeaways for World Wildlife Day. |
3:40 pm - 4:10 pm |
Dr. Nucharin Songsasen The Whistling Hunters’: An Elusive and Enigmatic Wild Dog of Asia |
4:10 pm - 4:40 pm |
Q&A Session | 4:40 pm - 4:55 pm |
Closing of Webinar |
4:55 pm - 5:00 pm |
Relevant Special Issues
Animals
Adaptations for Animal Survival: Morphological Features or Physiological Mechanisms—Second Edition
Guest Editor: Prof. Dr. Roberto Cabo
Deadline for Manuscript Submissions: 31 May 2025
Population Genetics and Conservation Genetics of Wildlife
Guest Editor: Dr. Philip Lavretsky
Deadline for Manuscript Submissions: 10 June 2025
Biology
Advances in Wildlife Conservation and Habitat Management in the Anthropocene
Guest Editors: Dr. Yiannis G. Zevgolis and Prof. Dr. Panayiotis G. Dimitrakopoulos
Deadline for Manuscript Submissions: 31 July 2025
Managing Hybridizing Populations: Threats or Opportunities for Conservation?
Guest Editors: Prof. Dr. Ettore Randi and Prof. Dr. Marco Musiani
Deadline for Manuscript Submissions: 30 November 2025
Plants
Biodiversity Management and Conservation: Exploring the Dynamics of Alien and Native Plant Species
Guest Editors: Dr. Carmelo Maria Musarella, Dr. Carmelo Maria Musarella, Dr. Ana Cano-Ortíz and Dr. Catarina Isabel Rodrigues Meireles
Deadline for Manuscript Submissions: 31 March 2025
Diversity, Distribution and Conservation of Bryophytes
Guest Editor: Dr. Marta Puglisi
Deadline for Manuscript Submissions: 30 May 2025