CURRENT PROJECTS

Badger habitatcompensation, Heumen, the Netherlands

Rijkswaterstaat (Directorate-General for Public Works and Water Management) is planning to construct a two-way sluice in the Maas-Waal channel near the village of Heumen in the Netherlands. For this project the vast part of the project area has to be excavated which will result for a local group of badgers in the loss of one main sett and ca. 8 ha primary foraging habitat. To compensate this loss, ca. 7,1 ha arable land will be transformed into high quality ‘badger (foraging)habitat’ by creating hedgebanks, hedgerows, ca. 6 ha grassland and constructing an artificial main sett and a wildlife underpass. When in 2011 the compensation area is functional, badgers will be relocated from the old sett to their new home and habitat.

Poster Mustelid Colloquium 2010, the Netherlands

COMPLETED PROJECTS

The diet of badgers in two habitats contrasting in earthworm densities

As part of my M.Sc. study I conducted a field/labstudy on the diet of the Eurasian badger (Meles meles) in two habitats contrasting in earthworm (Lumbricus sp.) densities. The studie was based on faecal analyses. Read and see more ->

Poster Mustelid Colloquium 2007, Czech.

Pine marten Recovery Project, Nova Scotia, Canada

Several years ago the Wildlife Division of Nova Scotia's Department of Natural Resources started a recovery project for one of it's endangered species, the pine marten (Martes americana). Fieldstudies were conducted to determine the habitat use and distribution of the marten. Weymouth area in the south of the province and the more rugged Cape Breton Highlands in the north were the two major study area's including 12 research sites. From january untill may 2003 I assisted the Wildlife Division with live-trapping, radio tracking pine marten and habitat research.
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Distribution of Common Weasel in Kielder Forest, United Kingdom

November 2003 I travelled to the UK to assist the Aberdeen Population and Ecology Research Unit (APERU) with a fieldstudy on the distribution of common weasel (Mustela nivalis vulgaris). A footprint tunnel tracking method was used to determine abundances of animals in different parts of Kielder Forest, a man-made forest area on the boarders of England and Scotland.
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Labstudy on the composition of reptilian eggs.

During an intensive labstudy of 6 months on the composition of reptilian eggs, over one hundred eggs from 13 different species where analysed. Among others the energetic contents and amounts of calcium and magnesium were determined for both eggshell as egg contents. An article in Zoo Animal Nutrition will be published within a couple of months.
Read the abstract (PDF-file)->




Macro-moth capture in "Renkums Beekdal"

A two week study on the reactive behaviour of macro moths to light involved several nighttime trapping sessions. The trapsets where located in both an open field and a forest area in nature area "Renkums Beekdal". Read more->