
Wildlife Ecology and Conservation Group
In the Anthropocene, human pressures on wildlife are reaching unprecedented levels. Animals, plants, and entire ecosystems must bear these pressures across different spatial and temporal scales. The Wildlife Ecology and Conservation Group (WEC) studies how humans influence wildlife. We examine both direct mechanisms like hunting and fire, and mechanisms that are more indirect and that are part of larger-scale processes, such as climate change.
Chair holder
News

Wildlife cameras
Camera traps provide an easy and non-invasive way to study wildlife. However, manually processing the millions of images that a typical study generates quickly becomes a challenge.By leveraging artificial intelligence, Agouti can automatically recognise many species and filter blank images.
Our research themes
Education
The Wildlife Ecology and Conservation Group is involved in teaching several courses. Additionally you can do an internship or thesis at our department.
Latest publications
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Urbanization enhances body condition, but not innate immune defences, in a common waterbird
Royal Society Open Science (2025), Volume: 12, Issue: 1 - ISSN 2054-5703 -
Multiple variants of tick-borne encephalitis virus in voles, mice and ticks, the Netherlands, 2021 to 2023
Eurosurveillance (2025), Volume: 30, Issue: 4 - ISSN 1025-496X -
Unlocking the Value of Ranger-Based Monitoring for Biodiversity Conservation and Protected Area Management
Conservation Letters (2025), Volume: 18, Issue: 1 - ISSN 1755-263X -
Wild boar hunting and trapping as a threat for wildlife conservation on Sumatra, Indonesia
Conservation Science and Practice (2025), Volume: 7, Issue: 2 - ISSN 2578-4854