PhD in Sustainable development and cooperation

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Supervisor

Phd thesis

Sustainability of human activities in a complex predator-prey system in the Western Alps: relationships among roe deer, wolves, hunters, farming, and mountain tourism.

Website: https://www.lifewolfalps.eu

The return of wolves in the Alps in the last decades brought a strong conflict with human activities, manly farming and hunting. At the same time, anthropogenic disturbance can influence predator–prey interactions: human-dominated landscapes can be regarded as a system, in which  humans are perceived as predators, inducing spatial responses in both large carnivores and ungulates. Understanding the effects of human activities on prey-predator dynamics in a strongly anthropogenic landscapes is crucial to fostering their sustainable development.

This study builds upon the concept of landscape of fear, which predicts that preys adapt their habitat selection in time and space, to avoid or minimise the risk of predation. Currently, three main contrasting hypotheses address the potential impact of humans on prey-predator relationship: 1) risk enhancement: humans can increase prey exposure to other natural predators; 2) risk reduction: humans can reduce the risk of predation from alternative predators; 3) human shield: humans may not be perceived as predators by prey, but rather as refuge (shield).

The aim of the study is to test the above hypotheses, quantifying spatial and temporal behavioural responses of roe deer (Capreolus capreolus), based on radiocollared GPS positions of captured animals, to perceived predation risk from wolves and humans (hunting, farming, mountain tourism), while also accounting for the presence of competitive alternative preys (domestic and wild), alternative predators (life guarding dogs) and environmental features. The study is carrying out within the LIFE WOLFALPS EU project and it is conducted simultaneously in four distinct areas across the Alps presenting different degree of interactions between predators, preys and humans. The one I am focusing on is in the Maritime Alps and corresponds roughly to the territory of a wolf pack, in the Cuneo Province, mainly in Pesio Valley.