23.04.2024: Starting in Zurich (Switzerland), the StadtWildTiere project has since been expanded to a total of 13 cities in Austria, Germany and Switzerland, including Vienna and Berlin. Observations of random encounters with wild animals in urban neighbourhoods are collected on a joint online platform. In Austria, reports can be submitted via the website www.stadtwildtiere.at. A recently published international study involving the University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna has now analysed the benefits of this transnational initiative.

StadtWildTiere collects sightings of wildlife in cities to raise awareness of biodiversity in urban areas throughout Central Europe. The collection of data also serves as a basis for scientific analyses. Furthermore, the knowledge collected by the citizens is used to promote nature and biodiversity in urban areas.

Climate change, interactions: Community project uncovers the unknown for the first time

Urban ecology is still a young field and urban wildlife populations have not yet been the focus of many studies. "StadtWildTiere enables us to recognise previously hidden patterns and temporal trends, e.g. in the context of urban densification and the heat island effect, particularly with regard to climate change. The initiative can therefore also serve as a sensor for future interactions between humans and wildlife," explains study co-author Theresa Walter from the Research Institute of Wildlife Ecology at Vetmeduni.

Important basis for decisions at political level

In the long term, the scientists suggest that projects such as StadtWildTiere should create a basis for comparative, international monitoring in order to close the existing gaps in knowledge about urban wildlife populations. According to study co-author Richard Zink from the Konrad Lorenz Institute for Comparative Behavioural Research (KLIVV) at Vetmeduni, the data obtained from the study goes far beyond science: "This knowledge is also of crucial importance for political decision-makers and wildlife managers in order to establish the right strategies and measures. In particular, this also concerns the question of how to effectively improve biodiversity in cities."

 

The article „StadtWildTiere – added value and impact of transnational urban wildlife community science projects“ by Madeleine Geiger, Anouk Lisa Taucher, Sandra Gloor, Mirco Lauper, Sarah Kiefer, Sophia E. Kimmig, Janette Siebert, Theresa Walter, Richard Zink, Fabio Bontadina and Daniel Hegglin was published in „Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution“.

 

Scientific article

 

 

StadtWildTiere