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
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Human activity impacts wildlife in protected tropical areas
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Inauguration Liesbeth Bakker: ‘If you give nature room, it returns rapidly’
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Inaugural lecture Frank van Langevelde: “Just ringing the alarm isn’t going to protect nature”
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Tropical vegetation benefits less from elevated atmospheric CO2 than previously thought
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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Floating photovoltaic systems homogenize the waterbird communities across subsidence wetlands in the North China Plain
Journal of Environmental Management (2024), Volume: 349 - ISSN 0301-4797 -
Reactive response to predation risk affects foraging time of hares, yet not their phosphorus intake
Mammalian Biology (2023) - ISSN 1616-5047 -
Tree cover and its heterogeneity in natural ecosystems is linked to large herbivore biomass globally
One Earth (2023) - ISSN 2590-3330 -
More than 10,000 pre-Columbian earthworks are still hidden throughout Amazonia
Science (New York, N.Y.) (2023), Volume: 382, Issue: 6666 - ISSN 0036-8075 - p. 103-109.