Federated Biology in the Wider World
This page serves as forum in which faculty explain how their research is being used in the real world to help solve problems, preserve the environment, improve quality of life, etc.
Helping Elephants Roam Free
Gareth Russell, Assistant Professor and member of the Ecology and Evolution research group, recently published a paper with various colleagues analysing the movement of elephants in various reserves in southern Africa. The goal is to help local managers and conservation biologists test the feasibility of allowing elephants to roam outside of protected areas. For this to work, we must have a good idea about where the elephants would go. The study develops predictive models of elephant habitat preference based on tracking individuals with GPS collars. For the most part, elephants prefer to stay near water, and in closed woodland, and tend to avoid people except when people are also near water! For more details, and to download the study, see Gareth's web site.