Research

Sustainable development, as formulated in the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), requires the preservation of biodiversity. Central European landscapes are characterized by shrinking habitats for various wildlife species, reduced habitat suitability, and increasing fragmentation. A functioning and sufficient gene flow is essential for the long-term survival of wildlife populations. So far, the functional connectivity has been insufficiently considered in landscape planning and management processes. Nearly half of Austria's national territory is covered by forests, and nearly another one-third consists of agricultural land, which together represent a significant proportion of potential wildlife habitats. Management measures on these areas determine the quality of habitats but also play a crucial role in shaping connectivity between usable habitat areas and opportunities for gene flow. Efforts to increase the resilience of forest ecosystems and numerous ecosystem services require complex decision-making and management situations for land managers. Therefore, integrative studies are needed to examine the landscape structure in terms of existing landscape connectivity and to provide decision-making tools for land managers in a usable form. The aim of this study is to model the distribution of potential wildlife habitats and their functional connectivity in selected regions. We focus particularly on: (1) The functional connectivity of various animal species on a fine spatial scale, (2) The impacts of current landscape features and existing infrastructure on connectivity, and (3) Supporting habitat managers in their management decisions by making our models available to stakeholders.

Sustainable development, as outlined by the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), necessitates the preservation of biodiversity, specifically emphasized by SDG 15. Within Central Europe, habitats of wildlife populations are limited and sufficient gene flow is mandatory for their long-term survival. While significant progress has been made in protection of habitats on sites, functional connectivity has not been recognized so far within landscape planning processes. Simultaneously, sustainable development also demands a transition to renewable energy sources to achieve climate neutrality. Within Austria’s aims to meet 100% of its energy consumption from renewable sources by 2030, a focus is laid on additional wind power production with the federal state of Lower Austria representing by far the largest potential for development. While both aims are absolutely necessary for sustainable development, they are seemingly contradictory, calling for integrative studies to generate fundamental for landscape planning. Hence, this study aims to evaluate the impact of existing and future renewable energy projects on wildlife functional connectivity in Vienna and Lower Austria. We specifically focus on (1) modeling functional connectivity across various taxa on a fine spatial scale, (2) assess the effects of current and proposed wind power plants on connectivity, and (3) support regional spatial planning by providing our models to stakeholders. Ultimately, this integrative approach is meant as a first step to resolve conflicts between renewable energy expansion and biodiversity preservation, promoting sustainable development.

Our general aim is to get an understanding of how social behavior is shaped by environment conditions and how individual vital rates vary with individual characteristics, social behavior and environmental conditions. To this end, we ask the following specific questions: 1) How can the social structure of snowfinches during winter be characterized, and how is the social structure influenced by environmental conditions? How long do groups of individuals identified to be socially linked stay together along the year? 2) Which phenotypes are dominant under different social environments, and how is this relationship influenced by environmental conditions? 3) Has social behavior , in particularly consequences in terms of getting access to resources such as food and roosting sites 4) How is social behavior linked to vital rates under different environmental conditions? Can social behavior mitigate environmental effects on survival and reproduction?