Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: Conflict zones are inherently hazardous and inaccessible for researchers, which results in a knowledge gap about the immediate effects of armed conflicts on the environment, particularly wildlife. We used camera-trap detections to investigate the impact of armed conflict on wildlife activity patterns before, during, and after the Russian occupation of the Chornobyl Exclusion Zone (Ukraine) in 2022 and compared it to the same period in 2021. Mammal species responded to armed conflict through immediate behavioral adjustments, including reduced activity during night and on dates when armed-conflict activities intensified. Our results provide insight into wildlife's behavioral responses to armed conflict in real time and underscore the potential of camera trapping to quantify the ecological effects of war.
Source: Science
Institutions: University of Freiburg, University of South-Eastern Norway, Frankfurt Zoological Society, Norwegian University of Life Sciences, BOKU University, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, Estación Biológica de Doñana, Institute of Nature Conservation, Universidad de Huelva, Polish Academy of Sciences, Chornobyl Radiation and Ecological Biosphere Reserve, Fukushima University, Bavarian Forest National Park, National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, Institute of Geography of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, University of Inland Norway
Language: English
Subfield: Ecology
Field: Environmental Science
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: bronze
Award: G1849165830
OpenAlex ID: W7165193776