Advances in Marine Mammal Cognition and Cognitive Welfare
A special issue of Animals (ISSN 2076-2615). This special issue belongs to the section "Animal Welfare".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (15 February 2024) | Viewed by 22403
Special Issue Editors
Interests: animal cognition; animal communication; cognitive welfare; cetaceans
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Marine mammals, perhaps especially dolphins and sea lions, have been among the most popular animals in zoos and aquariums for several decades. During that same time period, a number of studies have suggested that at least some of these species possess complex cognitive and communicative abilities. Historically, discussions and regulations regarding marine mammal welfare have focused primarily on the physical needs of these animals (e.g., nutrition, health, space, noise, etc.). In order to maximize their welfare in both managed care and wild settings, however, it is also important to consider their cognitive needs. Because species differ in the ways in which they take in, process, and act on information, strategies and practices for enhancing cognitive welfare will ideally be informed by an understanding of the perceptual, cognitive, and behavioral abilities of each species.
To that end, the goal of this Special Issue is to bring together a body of research on the cognition and cognitive welfare of marine mammals. We welcome original research articles and reviews that speak to issues regarding the cognitive abilities and/or cognitive well-being of any marine mammal species. Relevant topics include (but are not limited to): specific cognitive capacities (e.g., reasoning, problem solving, imitation, cooperation), cognitive challenges, choice and control, cognitive enrichment, positive reinforcement training, and reviews of the cognition of individual species (especially understudied species).
We look forward to receiving your contributions.
Dr. Kelly Jaakkola
Dr. Malin Lilley
Guest Editors
Manuscript Submission Information
Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.
Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Animals is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.
Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.
Keywords
- animal cognition
- animal welfare
- cognitive enrichment
- marine mammals
- cetaceans
- pinnipeds
- sirenians
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