B. (Bjorn) Mols

PhD project: How humans and predators influence deer behavior and the ecosystem

Large predators such as wolves are thought to create landscapes of fear that impact their prey’s behaviour in such a way that it can shape an ecosystem’s vegetation, ultimately affecting a variety of species. However, empirical evidence for these behaviourally mediated trophic cascades remains weak. Moreover, it is unclear how these mechanisms operate in human-dominated landscapes to which predators are returning today. Within my PhD project I investigate the impact that both humans and wolves have on deer behaviour, and how this affects the vegetation and other species.
My work, both descriptive and experimental, is conducted in the Veluwe area in The Netherlands, the Bavarian Forest in Germany, the Białowieża Forest in Poland and forests in Sweden.