About EOW
About the EOW
The European Observatory of Wildlife (EOW), as part of the ENETWILD project, aims at improving the European capacity for monitoring wildlife populations, implementing international standards for data collection, providing guidance on wildlife density estimation and, finally, promoting collaborative, open data networks to enhance wildlife management and scientific advancement.
The EOW approach
Progressive
The EOW network is characterized by a continuous development of all its components. From the number of collaborators and the study sites monitored to the actual monitoring protocol and the variables investigated.
Science Based
To be able to provide the European policy makers with data and tools that can actually make the difference in wildlife management.
Collaborative
The EOW is open to professionals, researchers, administrations, NGOs and whoever can contribute to our activities. Inclusiveness is crucial and all our protocols and policies are designed to allow the participation of as many collaborators as possible.
Harmonized
Through shared protocols the EOW aims to ensure harmonized data collection and comparable results at European scale.
Trainings
A thorough implementation of the density estimation methodologies is fundamental for the collection of reliable data. Therefore, every year the EOW organizes online training courses for all the collaborators, to explain the details and modifications of the protocol, making sure that it is implemented correctly.
The training courses represent a crucial aspect of the Observatory, in fact, the EOW network is made of many different professional figures, with different skills sets and professional backgrounds. Having a full, detailed training course made at the beginning of each campaign allows to considerably broaden the number of potential collaborators.
At the links below you can find the recordings of the 2024 training sessions.
The EOW protocols
EOW protocol for density estimation
For the determination of reliable density estimates of multiple species, camera trapping was selected as a non-invasive, widely applicable and affordable method to collect robust population data.
In general, CT-based surveys imply the definition of several trapping sites, whose position should follow a specific sampling design, where CTs are installed, set according to pre-defined settings, and activated for a minimum period of pre-defined length.
Among the several camera trapping methodologies that don’t require individuals to be distinguishable, we opted for the Random Encounter Model (REM; Rowcliffe et al. 2008), whose reliability and applicability has been confirmed by several papers on many different mammal taxa.
The integration of REM with photogrammetry allows to generate, through a calibration process, a three-dimensional digital representation of the scene captured by the camera, which is then used to estimate animal speed while active and actual camera detection parameters directly from the sequences of images obtained from the camera activity.
This was made possible by the use of Agouti, the online platform for the management of camera trapping projects, offering several unique tools.
Do you want to find out more about the EOW protocol? At the link below you can find the latest version of the protocol document.
Wildlife monitoring
What is wildlife monitoring?
Wildlife monitoring is conceived as the surveillance of wild animals within their environment. In other words, the regular observation and recording of parameters on a long-term scale to show trends over time.
This could focus on a certain species, its population, an ecosystem, human factors involved and the relationship and impacts among them.
To pursue useful results, all monitoring must guarantee a correct design and subsequent data analysis.
Wildlife monitoring provides information to involved stakeholders, not losing its true essence: usefulness for wildlife management.
Why monitoring wildlife?
Determining and monitoring wildlife population trends and driving factors allow obtaining baseline data to compare over time.
It provides not only a better understanding of the essential ecological, and epidemiological but also socioeconomic processes.
The information collected, once analysed, is essential for further understanding ecological relationships and for subsequent improved decision-making with technical and scientific basis.
What to monitor?
Developing clear monitoring objectives is the first step in the implementation of effective monitoring programs, and they will determine which variables to measure in relation to the different dimensions of the problem, and how to do it.
As for population data, wildlife professionals must choose between two main options when trying to assess population dynamics
- i) estimate population size / absolute density
- ii) estimate a relative index of variation (usually annual) in the size / density of the population (or even monitor only the damage caused as an indirect index of abundance).
How to monitor wildlife?
The questions (research, management related) that we are interested in answering determine the scale at which to initially propose the monitoring, the frequency and nature of the samplings, and, therefore, the accuracy and precision that we consider sufficient for our monitoring estimates.
Normally answering the questions requires multidisciplinary teamwork and monitoring several parameters, such as population and diseases, i.e., the so-called integrated monitoring.
The EOW as part of the ENETWILD network
EFSA – European Food Safety Authority – is a European agency funded by the European Union that provides independent scientific assessment and communicates on risks associated with the food chain to support decisions of the European legislative and executive institutions (Commission, Council, Parliament) and EU Member States.
EFSA funds the Enetwild project to collect comparable data at European level to analyse risks of diseases shared between wildlife, livestock, and humans; data that are also essential in conservation and wildlife management.
This project attempts to improve the European capacities for monitoring of wildlife population, developing standards for data collection, validation and, finally, create and promote a data repository.