🚨 New paper led by Terry-Lee Honiball in Wiley Ecology & Evolution using camera traps 📸 to investigate carnivore dynamics 🦁🐆🐾 around elephant carcasses 🐘

Elephant carcasses provide high volumes of carrion biomass, which may influence coexistence dynamics between the carnivore guild 🦁🐾

One of Wildlife Ecology Lab recent PhD graduates in the news dailymaverick.co.za/article/2024-0…

Some great images here of Wildlife Ecology Lab PhD student, Elizabeth Overton, who is studying the cheetah population in Tswalu Kalahari Reserve

Elizabeth's study uses camera traps 📸, DNA metabarcoding 🧬, movement data and direct observations to understand cheetah ecology & predator-prey dynamics

⬆️ foraging & activity under high heat loads 🌡️☀️ highlights the need to meet nutritional requirements while avoiding nocturnal activity in areas of increased 🦁 pressure

Such a trade-off may become increasingly costly under predicted climate shifts in sub-Saharan Africa ☀️🦓

New paper out from Wildlife Ecology Lab Mika Vermeulen . See why this is a hot paper here doi.org/10.1002/ece3.1…

Great piece by Hayley Clements & Alta De Vos on S. Africa's controversial National Biodiversity Economy Strategy. Helped me understand it better and how it tries to enhance the relevance of biodiversity conservation to the average South African. theconversation.com/south-africas-…

New in Ecology: Applying the multivariate Hawkes process (originally developed to study earthquakes!) to #CameraTrap data reveals interspecific interactions among savanna predators & prey
doi.org/10.1002/ecy.42…

W/ #OpenData on Figshare

Lisa Nicvert Jan A Venter 🇿🇦 Michael Somers

New paper by Joti Daya on black rhino diets in Welgevonden Reserve by Wildlife Ecology Lab doi.org/10.2989/102201…

Great study by Lisa Nicvert in colaboration with Wildlife Ecology Lab Snapshot Safari

New paper out. Lots of collaborators and a great initiative. nature.com/articles/s4159…
Wildlife Ecology Lab

🚨 New Wildlife Ecology Lab paper in #FoodWebs

We report on trophic interactions between #cheetah & #baboon and suggest baboons could be an underreported source of food loss & kleptoparasitism!

Thanks to WildlifeACT in Hluhluwe–iMfolozi for some great 📸!

sciencedirect.com/science/articl…

Smithsonian scientists Arlo Hinckley and Melissa Hawkins and colleagues have identified five new species of soft-furred hedgehogs. Two are entirely new to science and three have been elevated from subspecies to the level of species using DNA analysis and physical characteristics.

Meet Zanri Strydom Dr Zanri Strydom Wildlife Ecology Lab most receint doctoral graduate. Very proud of her and her research outputs about Cape gannets.

Congratulations to our Honours cohort who presented their final research projects this week! 🥳

All had fantastic projects & great to see their hard work pay off! 🤩

From carnivore carcass interactions & rhino body conditioning to pop. densities of spotted hyaena & 🐆! 🦁🦏🇿🇦🇱🇰

Registration is now open for the 2024 African Field School on Design and Analysis of Camera Trap Studies. wildecolabdotcom.wordpress.com/courses/

Registration is now open for the 2024 African Field School on Design and Analysis of Camera Trap Studies. Early bird fee applies so register soon.

wildecolabdotcom.wordpress.com/courses/

Researchers discover the first snake trace in the fossil record in South Africa 🐍

They estimate the marks were made between 83,000 - 93,000 years ago ⬇

tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.10…

International Ichnological Association Mark Bateman Hayley Cawthra Jan A Venter 🇿🇦

New paper from Wildlife Ecology Lab

The hassles of citrus farming in Africa are quite unique

New paper from Wildlife Ecology Lab and Michael Somers
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ec…