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The annual SOLA Team Race is back after a two-year The annual SOLA Team Race is back after a two-year hiatus, and PopEcol team had an absolute blast covering 114km around Zurich. Go Residuals! 💪🎉
Our research group’s 2019 MSc student cohort is. Our research group’s 2019 MSc student cohort is... how to put it... quite special. #officedoorart
@nagmeyarkin’s new composition “Wounded Elepha @nagmeyarkin’s new composition “Wounded Elephant” together with images from our field site in Okavango. Nağme’s work draws attention to world elephant population declines in the face of habitat destruction and poaching. You can listen to the full track following the profile link. #elephant #woundedelephant #africa #okavangodelta
A group retreat is a̶n̶ o̶p̶p̶o̶r̶t̶u̶i̶ A group retreat is a̶n̶ o̶p̶p̶o̶r̶t̶u̶i̶t̶y̶ 𝗮 𝗿𝗶𝘀𝗸 to bring a research group c̶l̶o̶s̶e̶r̶ 𝘁𝗼𝗼 𝗰𝗹𝗼𝘀𝗲 together. 🙃
Our new paper published in Oecologia shows how Our new paper published in Oecologia shows how food, predators, and people influence giraffe social behavior. Adult giraffe groups were more food-focused, not much affected by predation risk. Meanwhile, when predation risk was high, groups with calves were more often in dense bushes than open grasslands. Interestingly, adult females with calves were more likely to be found closer to traditional pastoralist communities (livestock-keeping, non-farming people). This long-term study of giraffes in the Tarangire ecosystem, Tanzania is conducted by the @wild_nature_institute. Link in profile for more info on the study.
It’s pup rearing season for African wild dogs in It’s pup rearing season for African wild dogs in Botswana. Usually once per year, the dominant female of a pack gives birth to a litter of about 6-14 pups. The wild dog pack in this video has been around for seven years and the dominant female is currently nursing her sixth litter. Watch and listen to these twelve puppies suckling milk and see how their father is enjoying a “pup-bath”. The mother is wearing a collar that helps us keeping track of this pack to collect long-term data on survival, reproduction, and dispersal – all critical information needed to predict future population trends of this endangered species. #endangeredspecies #wilddogs #wilddog #fieldwork #africanwildlife #africanwilddog #africanwilddogs #africanwilddogsofinstagram #Okavango #Botswana @botswanapredatorconservation
That time of the year again! "Residuals" (our team That time of the year again! "Residuals" (our team of biodemographers & assoc.) collectively survives another #SOLA relay race. #PopEcol #SOLA2019
How a species responds to rapid climate change can How a species responds to rapid climate change can be complicated. Our new paper in Science (link in bio) used long-term data on the Kalahari meerkat to explore how predicted climate changes might affect population persistence over time. Warming and rainfall changes in one part of the year had a negative impact on survival and persistence, whereas similar changes during another part of the year had the opposite effect. Understanding such variability will be essential as we attempt to understand the broader influence of climate change.
Waterbucks, the handsomest antelopes of Africa, bo Waterbucks, the handsomest antelopes of Africa, both males and females. @wild_nature_institute
Gentle giants of Tarangire.. strolling through the Gentle giants of Tarangire.. strolling through the place like they own everything. @wild_nature_institute
Isn’t this just so much flamboyance to forgo one Isn’t this just so much flamboyance to forgo one’s chance at breeding? White-fronted bee eaters are cooperative-breeders (like meerkats and wild dogs) and help raise each other’s offspring at the expense of their own.
These cool guys are the red-fronted lemurs, the mo These cool guys are the red-fronted lemurs, the most numerous diurnal lemur species in the Kirindy forest. Compared to leaf-loving sifakas, these are more generalists and spend a good chunk of their time foraging on the forest floor. They live in groups of up to ~20 individuals and are pretty non-aggressive towards each other and other conspecific groups. It is interesting to observe their calm and curious nature. In almost any other social species, it’s quite common to see some sort of aggression or drama. These guys are just chill. They observe you with big curious eyes and piglet-like grunting noises.
Always great to see our own research featured on t Always great to see our own research featured on the cover of a prestigious journal - a furry tummy might have helped😎 Check profile link to our paper: “Density‐dependent dispersal strategies in a cooperative breeder” #popecol #meerkat #kalahari #dispersal
2️⃣ A pride of her own #cheetah #tarangire #po 2️⃣ A pride of her own #cheetah #tarangire #popecol #tanzania
1️⃣ Meet the most amazing mom of the Tarangire 1️⃣ Meet the most amazing mom of the Tarangire! Cheetahs on average give birth to 3-4 cubs, but only a few lucky ones survive the first year. Go ahead and count yourself to see how many cubs this supermom managed to raise. In smaller parks like the Tarangire (~3000km2) cheetahs are hammered by lions and leopards due to limited niche. They need larger habitats like the Serengeti (15000km2) to persist via “fugitive coexistence”. This mom was super cautious, and her cubs were very well trained following her closely. She did not risk it when a warthog family passed close by. And, there were two lions sleeping under a tree only half a km away. The mom and the cubs were all in great condition; whatever she is doing, she is doing it perfect! #cheetah #tarangire #popecol #tanzania
A closer look at one of our study species, the gra A closer look at one of our study species, the gray mouse lemur. Our colleagues from the German Primate Center (DPZ) have been studying this population for the last 25 years, keeping track of birth, life, and death of each individual in the study plot. It is one of the smallest primates in the world - consider it as your smallest cousin! :) It’s nocturnal and arboreal, feeding on fruit, insects, flowers, nectar, and tree gum. During the rainy season, forest is lush with food, but during the hot dry season, they go on a fast, often spend their days in torpor. #lemur #madagascar #biodemography #popecol #populationecology
The winter months of June, July, and August mark t The winter months of June, July, and August mark the coldest period of the year in Northern Botswana. It is this cool period that African wild dogs choose for whelping, as pup rearing is energetically costly for a pack. Some pups were born more than two months ago and already start showing their tricolor pelage, whereas pups of other packs were only born a month ago and therefore are mostly black still. #endangeredspecies #wilddogs #wilddog
#africanwildlife #africanwilddog #africanwilddogs #africanwilddogsofinstagram #Botswana
This magnificent adult male giraffe is one of >300 This magnificent adult male giraffe is one of >3000 giraffes in the Tarangire ecosystem of northern Tanzania, individually recognized by their unique spot patterns and monitored continuously over 7 years in Project GIRAFFE.
While following the tracks of a pack of wild dogs, While following the tracks of a pack of wild dogs, it is not uncommon to come across another representative of Africa’s large carnivores. #leopard #fieldwork #africanwildlife #Okavango #Botswana
"Residuals" (our team of biodemographers & assoc.) "Residuals" (our team of biodemographers & assoc.) conquers another 114km-long #SOLA relay race around Zurich. #PopEcol #SOLA2018
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Population Ecology Research Group  |  Department of Evolutionary Biology & Environmental Studies  |  University of Zurich