Revealing the hidden lives of non-breeding Black-tailed Godwits

In this blog post, Taylor Craft discusses the use of GPS tracking and satellite imagery to uncover the lives of Black-tailed Godwits in the Senegal Delta. You can read their latest study, published alongside co-authors, here. A pressing challenge The landscapes of the endangered continental Black-tailed Godwit face increasing pressures at nearly every key site along their migratory route. With poor recruitment limiting population growth, … Continue reading Revealing the hidden lives of non-breeding Black-tailed Godwits

Gulls as evil and allies to detect antibiotic resistance in agricultural environments

Víctor Martín and Joan Navarro talk us through how gulls tagged with GPS and tested for pathogens can be used as tools to detect early pathogen circulation and pollution sources in the environment. This is explored further in their new research article. Antimicrobial resistance is a global health challenge, exacerbated by the overuse of antibiotics in both human and veterinary medicine. The emergence and spread of … Continue reading Gulls as evil and allies to detect antibiotic resistance in agricultural environments

Elephant expressways: Examining multi-scalar elephant connectivity in KAZA

Callie Cho and Robin Naidoo talk us through how, using observed animal movements rather than conventional resistance surface models, a connectivity conservation blueprint for African elephants in the Kavango-Zambezi transfrontier conservation area (KAZA) in southern Africa was produced. This is explored further in the new research article. A key aspect of effective conservation management is understanding landscape connectivity—how easily animals can move between vital resource … Continue reading Elephant expressways: Examining multi-scalar elephant connectivity in KAZA

Humans drive spatial variation in mortality risk for a threatened wolf population in a Canis hybrid zone

John Benson shares recent research, conducted alongside colleagues, which monitored the movement of eastern wolves in Algonquin Provincial Park, Canada. Results suggest that eastern wolves and dispersing canids survive poorly outside of APP, primarily due to human-caused mortality. Thus, expanding the threatened population outside of APP is unlikely under current management conditions. The challenge of human-caused mortality for threatened, hybridizing wolves in Canada When large … Continue reading Humans drive spatial variation in mortality risk for a threatened wolf population in a Canis hybrid zone

Fauna sentinela: como o seguimento por GPS de espécies necrófagas fornece informação sobre o cumprimento dos regulamentos de gestão de cadáveres

Patrícia Mateo Tomás fala-nos do novo estudo que visa avaliar como o rastreio remoto da vida selvagem pode contribuir para uma melhor monitorização das leis ambientais. Através do rastreamento experimental de lobos e abutres via GPS, os pesquisadores conseguiram localizar um total de 489 carcaças de gado em Espanha e Portugal. Continue reading Fauna sentinela: como o seguimento por GPS de espécies necrófagas fornece informação sobre o cumprimento dos regulamentos de gestão de cadáveres

Fauna centinela: cómo el seguimiento GPS de especies necrófagas informa el cumplimiento de la normativa de gestión de carroñas

Patricia Mateo Tomás nos habla sobre el nuevo estudio de ella y sus colegas que tiene como objetivo evaluar cómo el seguimiento remoto de la vida silvestre puede contribuir a un mejor monitoreo de las leyes ambientales. A través del seguimiento experimental de lobos y buitres a través de GPS, los investigadores pudieron localizar un total de 489 cadáveres de ganado en España y Portugal. Continue reading Fauna centinela: cómo el seguimiento GPS de especies necrófagas informa el cumplimiento de la normativa de gestión de carroñas

Sentinel wildlife: GPS-tracking of scavengers to inform compliance with regulations on carcass disposal

Patricia Mateo Tomás talks us through her and colleagues’ new study which aims to assess how remotely tracking wildlife can contribute to the better monitoring of environmental laws. Through experimentally tracking wolves and vultures via GPS, researchers were able to locate a total of 489 livestock carcasses across Spain and Portugal. Continue reading Sentinel wildlife: GPS-tracking of scavengers to inform compliance with regulations on carcass disposal

Predictive modeling of raptor movement can minimise the impact of wind energy developments

Energy generation is shifting towards renewable sources, but how do these developments impact our environment? In their latest research, Megan Murgatroyd and colleagues develop a predictive model to guide where best to locate wind turbines to minimize collision risk for a large soaring raptor. The sight of a wind farm is no longer strange to us. For some they might be seen as gentle giants, … Continue reading Predictive modeling of raptor movement can minimise the impact of wind energy developments

Bears on the move: effects of human development and climate change on hibernation in a large carnivore

How is climate change affecting both black bear hibernation and our interactions with the species? Associate Editor, Claudia Bieber comments on the recent article, Human development and climate affect hibernation in a large carnivore with implications for human–carnivore conflicts by Heather Johnson et al. As we were enduring extremely high summer temperatures in Vienna, it was indeed refreshing to find a manuscript dealing with hibernation in … Continue reading Bears on the move: effects of human development and climate change on hibernation in a large carnivore

Vaccinating badgers against TB does not change their behaviour

In this post, Rosie Woodroffe discusses her paper “Ranging behaviour of badgers Meles meles vaccinated with Bacillus Calmette Guerin”, published today in Journal of Applied Ecology. Badgergeddon! That’s how one of Britain’s national newspapers described the ongoing cull of badgers, intended to curb the spread of bovine tuberculosis (TB) to cattle. The culls are highly controversial. Farmers clamour for decisive action to control a disease … Continue reading Vaccinating badgers against TB does not change their behaviour