Raptors are birds of prey ranging from owls and eagles to hawks and falcons. Many of these species rely on forested habitat for survival. Yet we know surprisingly little about the plight of forest-dependent species given recent human-induced forest loss. This is concerning given their important role in ecosystems that affects human well-being, such as organic waste removal, disease regulation, and pest control.

 In collaboration with the Peregrine Fund, Wageningen University, and Henan University, we are assessing recent extent and intensity of forest loss within the distribution ranges of 370 forest-dependent raptors. Our aim is to identify the subset of species that are in dire risk of extinction from deforestation and therefore require urgent conservation attention. 

Image credits: Adobe Stock

Camilla Colotte is exploring the drivers of decline for pen shells, unique marine bivalves that improve water quality and provide habitat for coastal biodiversity. As part of her capstone thesis project, Camilla conducted a systematic review of >100 scientific papers and identified 24 unique drivers that are linked to the decline of 12 pen shell species. These drivers range from pathogens and human pressures to abiotic factors.

Given there are 55 known species of pen shells, her review has exposed a tremendous gap in knowledge on the status and threats to most species.  Her work is currently under peer review for publication, so stay tuned!

Image credits: Adobe Stock (top); Colotte et al., in prep (bottom)

Rik Lardinois is exploring the global patterns of human impact across 28 large carnivore species. Large carnivores are positioned at the top of food chains in ecosystems, meaning they play an important role in maintaining healthy environments. As part of his bachelor's thesis by research, Rik is conducting a spatial analysis of human threats on large carnivores using data on area of habitat and standardised threat data. His results will help decision makers identify areas where conservation action is needed to improve biodiversity outcomes.

Image credit: Christopher O'Bryan

The European Commission recently voted to downgrade the protection status of wolves (Canis lupus) across the European Union. While the campaign to reduce the protection of wolves has been met with considerable criticism by the scientific community, it is unclear how the mainstream online news media has portrayed this change in status. Are they portraying the change as a positive move for farmers, or as a negative move for wolf conservation?

The role media plays in portraying large carnivores is important for understanding human perceptions of large carnivores and their conservation, which can exacerbate or mitigate conflict. As such, we are conducting a large-scale media content analysis of wolf portrayal across the EU.

Image credits: Adobe Stock

In collaboration with Arizona State University, we are using predictive population models to estimate the global population size of wild pigs (Sus scrofa). Wild pigs are one of the most widespread terrestrial vertebrates as they are native in much of Europe and southeast Asia but have spread to every continent except Antarctica. Through their digging of soil, they cause significant damage to native ecosystems and agricultural areas. As such, predicting the future distribution and population size of wild pigs is of critical importance for understanding potential impacts and management strategies.

Image credits: Adobe Stock (top); O'Bryan et al. 2021 (bottom)