Acceleration for Food

In the Project "Acceleration to Food", an international team led by Dr Petra Sumasgutner from the University of Vienna is researching how humans influence wild animals. With so-called accelerometers, sensors that are attached directly on the animal, behaviors such as searching for food, hunting and scavenging can be distinguished from one other, without relying on direct observations. Since these loggers are also equipped with a traditional GPS, feeding sites can be located and feeding times can be defined. We target endangered predators and scavengers, especially raptors, known to be sensitive to human influences. The more we know about spatial and temporal patterns, the better we can protect wildlife in anthropogenic landscapes. Recent advances in remote wildlife monitoring include tri-axial acceleration sensors (accelerometers) that measure body posture (static acceleration) and body velocity (dynamic acceleration). The recorded patterns can be used to interpret which behavior is shown when and where, and to quantify the associated energy expenditure. These passive sensors of change create extensive data sets that will be analyzed with machine learning. The developed algorithms will allow us to distinguish successful hunts from unsuccessful attempts and feeding on carcasses , so we can identify which anthropogenic structures or human activities influence raptor foraging behavior. In ecology, it is often difficult to disentangle the influence of infrastructure (human footprint) from that of direct disturbance (human activity). During COVID-19 related lockdowns, these two factors were decoupled in a unique way and created an unprecedented research opportunity. For this reason, we launched the `Global Anthropause Raptor Research Network` that continues to grow and is managed in collaboration with the Biologging Initiative and the Peregrine Fund. To date, over 500 raptor researchers from across the globe have indicated their interest in pooling global data sets to unravel mechanisms underlying the ongoing raptor decline. We will focus on the time surrounding the corona pandemic, to disentangle the different components of human impacts on raptors. Furthermore, we will underpin the global patterns with specifically designed supporting experiments. One involves common ravens an important member of the scavenger group to learn how animals find carcasses and how information about their location travels between individuals and across populations. A second relates to Galpagos short-eared owls the only naturally occurring avian predator on Floreana Island and how they cope with invasive mammals that were introduced by humans. Thus, we will learn about raptors as active indicators for change and the role of scavengers and predators in stabilizing ecosystems. From these results, conservation strategies will be developed so we learn how to sustainably share our planet, in order to conserve our biodiversity through the era of the Anthropocene.