Research
In Switzerland, especially on the Central Plateau, fields and farmland are being used more and more intensively for agriculture. As a result, small structures such as piles of branches and stones are often removed. These poorly structured fields then offer hardly any protection and habitat for animals. As biodiversity is declining worldwide, it is all the more important to preserve or build such small structures. In my master's thesis, I am investigating existing isolated small structures on the Central Plateau. These offer protection to many animals in an otherwise heavily farmed landscape and are also actively supported financially by the federal and cantonal governments. Nevertheless, the effectiveness of these isolated structures has not yet been clearly demonstrated in any study.
In my project, we are using camera trap boxes and species detection dogs to investigate the presence of stoats and weasels. These two species are indicator species that are representative of many other animal species such as small mammals, reptiles, amphibians and insects that use such small structures. We try to show how effectively these isolated small structures are used and how isolated they may be.
The Master's thesis is part of an ongoing project by Jean-Yves Humbert and Andrin Dürst, in which the effectiveness of these old and newly built small structures on the promotion of biodiversity is being investigated.
