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Wildlife management decisions are rarely settled by ecological data alone. They live or die in the messy human world of competing values. Understanding what people think and why is as much a scientific skill as counting animals in a field. This tutorial walks you through quantitative analysis of a real attitude survey, using R. Background and Learning Objectives The ecological context The Irish…
Generate Random Sampling Points by Minimum Distance Anthony Caravaggi 2026-03-25 Overview This document demonstrates how to generate random sampling points within a polygon while enforcing a minimum distance between points using a Simple Sequential Inhibition (SSI) process. Libraries library(sf) library(spatstat.geom) library(spatstat.random) library(dplyr) library(ggplot2) library(maptiles)…
Tracking the distribution and ecology of red-necked wallabies in Great Britain.
Roadkill is a major threat to wildlife and can also cause accidents with social and economic costs. This research compiles 208,570 records of terrestrial vertebrates from 54 countries between 1971 and 2024, combining surveys and other observations. This dataset helps identify high-risk roads, vulnerable species, and populations at risk, while reducing duplicate data collection. By providing a…
Even when using the same data, researchers can reach very different conclusions because of the choices they make in analyzing it. In a study with 174 teams, analyses of Blue Tits and Eucalyptus trees showed wide variation in results. Some effects were strong, some weak, and some opposite to the average trend. These differences weren’t explained by the methods or peer reviews used. The study…
Wildlife collisions with aircraft are a growing safety concern, but most research focuses only on the first strike, not the risk of scavengers or predators causing a secondary strike. At Dublin Airport in Ireland, which sees nearly 24 hare strikes per year, researchers used motion-activated cameras and rat carcasses to mimic hare strikes. Over 82 trials, Hooded Crows were the main species…
Wildlife collisions with aircraft are an increasing safety concern worldwide. At Dublin Airport, researchers studied Irish hares (Lepus timidus hibernicus) using motion-activated cameras to understand how their activity relates to aircraft strikes. The hares showed a clear bimodal pattern, being most active at sunrise and sunset. Strike records matched these peak activity times closely, showing a…
Airfields attract many types of wildlife, and collisions with aircraft are increasing worldwide. A survey of 22 European airfields found mammals present at all sites, with foxes and rabbits most common. Habitats like heathland or peatland increased mammal diversity. Fencing and grass management were widely used to reduce strikes, while controlling water sources was seen as most effective. The…