LB 11-143 - Long-term ecological research through a camera trap network in an urbanized protected area

Background/Question/Methods:

The National Park Hoge Kempen (NPHK) in East-Belgium is a typical representation of a fragmented urban protected area within a multi-use ecosystem. As such, it is prone to a high level of human-wildlife interaction. To enable and advise nature managers and policy makers in balancing the needs of both wildlife and humans, we perform long-term ecological research in the park. Besides recognizing the NPHK as an eLTER site, we established a camera trap network (2017 – ongoing) to monitor wildlife throughout the park. Using a long-term sampling design and corresponding structured data management within Agouti (as part of the Lifewatch-Belgium research infrastructure) we gradually unravel the effects of human activities on local mammal activity patterns and their distribution.

Results/Conclusions:

The first three years of monitoring provided us with a better knowledge of the wildlife composition in the NPHK. Moreover, we analysed camera trap data of wild boar (Sus scrofa) and roe deer (Capreolus capreolus) behaviour in response to human disturbance. These results revealed that wild boar had a clear preference for night time, and even shifted their activity from twilight to the middle of the night when human activity increased. Roe deer on the other hand appeared to be most active during twilight throughout the year, but showed an activity increase towards night time when human pressure was high. These first results reconfirm the importance of integrating the effects of human activities on wildlife when developing management plans for protected areas and national parks.

We are convinced that long-term ecological monitoring, including accurate socio-ecological data is indispensable for decision makers to devise evidence-based adaptive nature management plans within the complex structure (habitat, species and zoning) of an urban protected area.





Lifewatch is a European research infrastructure program and can be seen as a virtual biodiversity laboratory.