Tag: Research stories

Human-wildlife interactions, Invasive species, Research summaries, Urban ecosystems

Research stories: Maps and models to curb the spread of the abominable puncturevine

Trevor Caughlin and co-authors describe how the local impacts of an invasive plant motivated research to understand where it spreads. Biological invasions threaten global biodiversity, motivating studies to control invasive species’ spread. We studied outbreaks of puncturevine (Tribulus terrestris), an invasive species in Western North America. While our team appreciates the global threats posed by invasive species, the motivation for our newly published study was … Continue reading Research stories: Maps and models to curb the spread of the abominable puncturevine

AER | ESELeave a comment
Human-wildlife interactions, Monitoring and methods, Pathogens and disease, Practitioners, Research summaries

Research stories: Using accelerometers to uncover wildlife behaviour

How can we study wildlife behaviours associated with disease transmission without altering those behaviours ourselves, via our presence? Authors Van de Vuurst and Alexander share their latest Practice Insights that explore a new method to overcome this problem. Wildlife research is a job made of calluses, sweat and patience. From sample gathering along stream banks to telemetry surveys across frozen tundra, all wildlife professionals are … Continue reading Research stories: Using accelerometers to uncover wildlife behaviour

AER | ESE2 Comments
Agriculture, Citizen science, Monitoring and methods, Research summaries

Research Stories: From wildlife-savers to citizen scientists

Johanna Kauffert and co-authors take us back to one early morning of a fawn rescue in June in order to demonstrate how opportunistically sampled field data of wildlife volunteers can be used to reconstruct birth distributions. It’s early morning (or rather still in the middle of the night) when I get up to drive to the countryside with my colleagues. Before the first rays of … Continue reading Research Stories: From wildlife-savers to citizen scientists

AER | ESELeave a comment
Forests, Monitoring and methods, Research summaries

Research stories: How to (almost) double woodland carbon overnight

How much carbon is stored in the aboveground biomass (AGB) of Wytham Woods aka the ‘most studied forest in the world’? Professors Mat Disney and Kim Calders thought this would be very well-known but were surprised to find this perhaps wasn’t the case after all. They discuss how their team approached their latest research. Over the years, a number of studies have estimated the carbon … Continue reading Research stories: How to (almost) double woodland carbon overnight

AER | ESE3 Comments
Citizen science, Monitoring and methods, Research summaries

Research stories: Strava, GBIF and Citizen Science

Lead author Caitlin Mandeville recalls how she and her co-authors kept their focus close to home in their latest research that explores connections between citizen science and recreation in natural areas. Just about every community has some small, unassuming natural areas that are mainly known to locals: a neighbourhood park, a small wildlife preserve, a field on the edge of town. These places might not … Continue reading Research stories: Strava, GBIF and Citizen Science

AER | ESE3 Comments
Citizen science, Coastal and marine, Practitioners, Research summaries, Restoration

Research stories: Boxing for conservation

Authors Brian Burke and Darren O’Connell discuss the conservation of roseate terns at Europe’s largest colony on Rockabill Island in Dublin, Ireland, with their latest research highlighting the important role artificial nestboxes have played in the species’ population growth and recovery. The role of a tern warden on Rockabill Island has been described on more than one occasion as a dream job. A summer spent … Continue reading Research stories: Boxing for conservation

AER | ESELeave a comment
Citizen science, Freshwater, Infographic, Monitoring and methods, Research summaries, Themed collections, Urban ecosystems

Research stories: The power of participatory research

Lead author Rachel Aronoff recalls her discovery of Hackuarium, a community laboratory, whose study on lake water quality demonstrates how meaningful environmental monitoring can be achieved with participatory research. It was late in 2015 when I first encountered Hackuarium and its ‘biohacker’ members while organising a biosensor course in collaboration with several of its members – I had never seen anything like it. Who were … Continue reading Research stories: The power of participatory research

AER | ESELeave a comment
Human-wildlife interactions, Invasive species, Monitoring and methods, Podcast, Research summaries, Video

Research Stories: The hunt for arctic aliens

Authors Ronja Wedegärtner and Jesamine Bartlett recall their team’s expedition in the high-Arctic Svalbard to monitor alien flora and publish their latest research which presents the most comprehensive survey of alien vascular species in the archipelago to date. Whilst we do not hunt for extra-terrestrial aliens that may or may not be hidden under the ice (as some on the more unbridled sections of the … Continue reading Research Stories: The hunt for arctic aliens

AER | ESE1 Comment
Coastal and marine, Monitoring and methods, Research summaries

Research Stories: A mission to tag giant mantas in northern Peru

Authors Kerstin Forsberg and Samantha Andrzejaczek recall their team’s efforts working with NGOs and local government, scientists and community to produce their latest research on the behaviour and conservation of manta rays in northern Peru. It was a sunny day in May 2018, and we were out in the waters of Tumbes, northern Peru, searching for endangered giant oceanic manta rays (Mobula birostris). Our team … Continue reading Research Stories: A mission to tag giant mantas in northern Peru

AER | ESELeave a comment