Animal Ecology and Conservation Group

Emily Reilly is a PhD student following up on previous research into translocations of red squirrel populations into woodlands in the west of Ireland. The original translocations to Connemara, Co. Galway and Ballina, Co Mayo took place in 2005 and 2008 respectively. Two previous PhD candidates had helped to conduct the translocations and investigated the initial success of the conservation work as the populations became established. Emily’s research revisits both populations, with an aim to conduct the long-term monitoring of these populations, assess their overall fitness and track their dispersal from the original translocation sites. She employs various techniques such as hair tubes, live trapping, and citizen science in her research. Early results show the populations persist in both areas, with the Ballina squirrels in particular found in large numbers in an expanding range.

This project, conducted by postgraduate student Emma Roberts, aims to investigate population dynamics of urban red squirrel populations in Galway, and model movement and dispersal through the fragmented habitat. This information will help to determine the feasibility of population expansion into other forested areas to the west of the city, and will aid in planning for the future management of the species in Galway. This project also aims to examine the habitat preferences of urban red squirrel populations and determine the effects of anthropogenic activity and urbanization on habitat selection in Galway City. At approximately 11%, Ireland has one of the lowest percentages of forest cover in all of Europe. With an increase in urban areas, it is necessary that we investigate the suitability of urban environments in providing habitat for, and facilitating movement of wildlife.

Elaine O’Riordan is undertaking a part-time PhD research project on the ecology of the Western European Hedgehog Erinaceus europaeus in Ireland. Little research has been done on the hedgehog in Ireland to date and while it is believed to be common and widespread, more information is needed to understand the status of the Irish population. The aim of this project is to investigate the distribution and abundance of hedgehogs in urban and rural habitats in Ireland. A number of methods are being used in the project including: a citizen science recording scheme to record sightings across Ireland; a volunteer survey project using footprint tunnels to examine occupancy in different habitats and; remote encounter modelling using trail cameras to estimate hedgehog density in different environments. The web page for the project is www.irishhedgehogsurvey.com.

As one of the very few protected areas in the south west of Morocco, the Souss Massa National Park (SMNP) is characterized by a high diversity of ecosystems and is qualified as a biodiversity hotspot area within the Mediterranean basin. Reptiles play an important role in the balance of the SMNP ecosystems with respect to food chains, bio-monitors in controlling many pests and as excellent ecological indicators due to their high degree of sensitivity to environment change. However, due to human activities, many reptile species are considered to be threatened and are listed on the Red List by the IUCN. So far, very little work has been done to study the SMNP reptiles and available data on this fauna remain insufficient. This project, conducted by PhD student Abderrafea Elbahi, aims to investigate the diversity and the distribution of the SMNP reptiles according to environmental variables and to determine habitat use and ecological requirements for a range of species. In addition, protected exclusion areas will be compared with areas of high human activity for the impacts and influence on the reptile community. This project will also allow us to draw conclusions on which parts of the national park display the highest reptile diversity and require the most conservation efforts.

Within the last 50 years, the European eel (Anguilla anguilla) has gone from one of the largest freshwater fisheries resources throughout its range to being listed as critically endangered. During their downstream spawning migrations from rivers and lakes to the ocean, silver eels are exposed to considerable interference from in-channel structures and the biomass of eels successfully escaping from European rivers has greatly diminished.

The European Union introduced legislation requiring member states to enable, with a high probability, the escapement to the sea of at least 40% of the silver eel biomass that would exist under pristine conditions. Monitoring compliance with the EU target requires that silver eel population size and the biomass successfully escaping from rivers are calculated annually. These values have traditionally been quantified using fisheries catch data. However, catch data is only considered robust where fishing is constant throughout the migration period. Unfortunately, monitoring the entire migration period is a costly and difficult task. Eamonn Lenihan’s research focuses on the development of alternative monitoring protocols to quantify eel migrations involving novel acoustic camera, modelling and sampling approaches. Additional research has been conducted to assess the ability of underwater strobe light arrays to guide eels away from hazardous areas in an effort to enhance escapement.