Group of collaborators in BlueSky @richardyarnell.bsky.social @robdavis1104.bsky.social @conniegitau.bsky.social

🐆 Tourist sightings improve the precision of camera trap‐derived density estimates (Remote Sensing in Ecology and Conservation) – Rachael Leeman’s first PhD output.
lnkd.in/g-Xnr726

🦔 Habitat and predator heterogeneity influence the density of a declining mammal (Oikos) – Hongli Yu’s second PhD output.
(accepted – link coming soon!)

🐕 Direct interactions between livestock guarding dogs and wildlife in a transhumance grazing system (Conservation Science and Practice) – Bethany Smith’s second PhD output.
lnkd.in/g_uCjYpZ

🔊 The Role of Ecoacoustics in Monitoring Ecosystem Degradation and Restoration (Restoration Ecology) – Consolata Gathoni’s first PhD output.
lnkd.in/gbw7v_fw

Our critique, based on decades of research, highlights how the study’s narrow 19-month windo fails to reflect the long-term ecological consequences of rising livestock presence in the Reserve.

As a group of 33 researchers with deep, long-term involvement in the Mara, we have published a response to a recent study by Xu and Butt (2024, PNAS) that claims livestock grazing has little effect on wildlife in Kenya’s Maasai Mara National Reserve.

Habitat quality, food availability & human presence shape these species' interactions.1️⃣ Hedgehogs are vulnerable in simplified rural landscapes. 2️⃣ Urban & mixed landscapes may support coexistence. 3️⃣ Future studies should explore hedgehog-only areas to test the "landscape of fear" hypothesis further.

Hedgehog proximity to buildings suggests these aren’t just "fear refuges"—they may offer food & safety. Badgers, on the other hand, avoid human proximity, showing preferences for arable/woodland, even with lower prey biomass.

Badgers and hedgehogs often share landscapes, but their interactions can limit hedgehog populations. Our study highlights how differences in habitat selection might allow these species to coexist. Badgers may push hedgehogs into suboptimal habitats with less food.

@conniegitau.bsky.social

Consolata Gitau, one of the authors, is a PhD candidate at Nottingham Trent University
www.ntu.ac.uk/internationa...