Project R-15045

Towards a better integration of multi-species interactions in wildlife management decision-making (Research)

Models supporting decision-making in terrestrial wildlife management describe the effect of management actions on a single species. As such, an integrated approach considering the effect of these actions on multiple species simultaneously is lacking. This can cause unintended consequences for species interacting with the focal species, potentially resulting in ineffective conservation efforts and biodiversity loss. Bridging the gap between community ecology and management decisionmaking is imperative for more informed wildlife management. To address this, I will use state-of-theart tools to integrate multi-species interactions into a wildlife management decision-making framework, and to evaluate the possibilities, prerequisites, and (dis)advantages of this approach compared to a single-species one. Moreover, I will apply both single- and multi-species approaches to a real-world case in Flanders, where I will focus on mammals involved in human-wildlife conflicts, to demonstrate the use of the multi-species approach for real systems under management and inform evidence-based decision-making. I will assess real-world stakeholders' perceptions and acceptance of decision-making advice derived from both approaches to gain insight into the underlying rationale of their perceptions and practical applications of such advice. By yielding new insights on the integration of multi-species interactions into decision-making processes, this research will be a novel contribution to science.

01 October 2024 - 30 September 2028