Wildlife Conservation at a Garden Level: The Effect of Robotic Lawn Mowers on European Hedgehogs (Erinaceus europaeus)

Research output: Contribution to journal › Journal article › Research › peer-review

Standard

Wildlife Conservation at a Garden Level : The Effect of Robotic Lawn Mowers on European Hedgehogs (Erinaceus europaeus). / Rasmussen, Sophie Lund; Schrøder, Ane Elise; Mathiesen, Ronja; Nielsen, Jeppe Lund; Pertoldi, Cino; Macdonald, David W.

In: Animals, Vol. 11, No. 5, 1191, 2021.

Research output: Contribution to journal › Journal article › Research › peer-review

Harvard

Rasmussen, SL, Schrøder, AE, Mathiesen, R, Nielsen, JL, Pertoldi, C & Macdonald, DW 2021, 'Wildlife Conservation at a Garden Level: The Effect of Robotic Lawn Mowers on European Hedgehogs (Erinaceus europaeus)', Animals, vol. 11, no. 5, 1191. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani11051191

APA

Rasmussen, S. L., Schrøder, A. E., Mathiesen, R., Nielsen, J. L., Pertoldi, C., & Macdonald, D. W. (2021). Wildlife Conservation at a Garden Level: The Effect of Robotic Lawn Mowers on European Hedgehogs (Erinaceus europaeus). Animals, 11(5), [1191]. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani11051191

Vancouver

Rasmussen SL, Schrøder AE, Mathiesen R, Nielsen JL, Pertoldi C, Macdonald DW. Wildlife Conservation at a Garden Level: The Effect of Robotic Lawn Mowers on European Hedgehogs (Erinaceus europaeus). Animals. 2021;11(5). 1191. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani11051191

Author

Rasmussen, Sophie Lund ; Schrøder, Ane Elise ; Mathiesen, Ronja ; Nielsen, Jeppe Lund ; Pertoldi, Cino ; Macdonald, David W. / Wildlife Conservation at a Garden Level : The Effect of Robotic Lawn Mowers on European Hedgehogs (Erinaceus europaeus). In: Animals. 2021 ; Vol. 11, No. 5.

Bibtex

@article{02dbb089c1764e19aae459640a2b8d88,
title = "Wildlife Conservation at a Garden Level: The Effect of Robotic Lawn Mowers on European Hedgehogs (Erinaceus europaeus)",
abstract = "Simple Summary: Injured European hedgehogs are frequently admitted to hedgehog rehabilitation centres with different types of cuts and injuries. Although not rigorously quantified, a growing concern is that an increasing number of cases may have been caused by robotic lawn mowers. Research indicates that European hedgehogs are in decline. It is therefore important to identify and investigate the factors responsible for this decline to improve the conservation initiatives directed at this species. Because hedgehogs are increasingly associated with human habitation, it seems likely that numerous individuals will encounter several robotic lawn mowers during their lifetimes. Consequently, this study aimed to describe and quantify the effects of robotic lawn mowers on hedgehogs, and we tested 18 robotic lawn mowers in collision with dead hedgehogs. Some models caused extensive damage to the dead hedgehogs, but there were noteworthy differences in the degree of harm inflicted, with some consistently causing no damage. None of the robotic lawn mowers tested was able to detect the presence of dead, dependent juvenile hedgehogs, and no models could detect the hedgehog cadavers without physical interaction. We therefore encourage future collaboration with the manufacturers of robotic lawn mowers to improve the safety for hedgehogs and other garden wildlife species.We tested the effects of 18 models of robotic lawn mowers in collision with dead European hedgehogs and quantified the results into six damage categories. All models were tested on four weight classes of hedgehogs, each placed in three different positions. None of the robotic lawn mowers tested was able to detect the presence of dependent juvenile hedgehogs (",
keywords = "animal behaviour, applied conservation biology, Erinaceus europaeus, human-wildlife conflicts, robotic lawn mowers, wildlife conservation, ENGLAND, DECLINE",
author = "Rasmussen, {Sophie Lund} and Schr{\o}der, {Ane Elise} and Ronja Mathiesen and Nielsen, {Jeppe Lund} and Cino Pertoldi and Macdonald, {David W.}",
year = "2021",
doi = "10.3390/ani11051191",
language = "English",
volume = "11",
journal = "Animals",
issn = "2076-2615",
publisher = "MDPI",
number = "5",

}

RIS

TY - JOUR

T1 - Wildlife Conservation at a Garden Level

T2 - The Effect of Robotic Lawn Mowers on European Hedgehogs (Erinaceus europaeus)

AU - Rasmussen, Sophie Lund

AU - Schrøder, Ane Elise

AU - Mathiesen, Ronja

AU - Nielsen, Jeppe Lund

AU - Pertoldi, Cino

AU - Macdonald, David W.

PY - 2021

Y1 - 2021

N2 - Simple Summary: Injured European hedgehogs are frequently admitted to hedgehog rehabilitation centres with different types of cuts and injuries. Although not rigorously quantified, a growing concern is that an increasing number of cases may have been caused by robotic lawn mowers. Research indicates that European hedgehogs are in decline. It is therefore important to identify and investigate the factors responsible for this decline to improve the conservation initiatives directed at this species. Because hedgehogs are increasingly associated with human habitation, it seems likely that numerous individuals will encounter several robotic lawn mowers during their lifetimes. Consequently, this study aimed to describe and quantify the effects of robotic lawn mowers on hedgehogs, and we tested 18 robotic lawn mowers in collision with dead hedgehogs. Some models caused extensive damage to the dead hedgehogs, but there were noteworthy differences in the degree of harm inflicted, with some consistently causing no damage. None of the robotic lawn mowers tested was able to detect the presence of dead, dependent juvenile hedgehogs, and no models could detect the hedgehog cadavers without physical interaction. We therefore encourage future collaboration with the manufacturers of robotic lawn mowers to improve the safety for hedgehogs and other garden wildlife species.We tested the effects of 18 models of robotic lawn mowers in collision with dead European hedgehogs and quantified the results into six damage categories. All models were tested on four weight classes of hedgehogs, each placed in three different positions. None of the robotic lawn mowers tested was able to detect the presence of dependent juvenile hedgehogs (

AB - Simple Summary: Injured European hedgehogs are frequently admitted to hedgehog rehabilitation centres with different types of cuts and injuries. Although not rigorously quantified, a growing concern is that an increasing number of cases may have been caused by robotic lawn mowers. Research indicates that European hedgehogs are in decline. It is therefore important to identify and investigate the factors responsible for this decline to improve the conservation initiatives directed at this species. Because hedgehogs are increasingly associated with human habitation, it seems likely that numerous individuals will encounter several robotic lawn mowers during their lifetimes. Consequently, this study aimed to describe and quantify the effects of robotic lawn mowers on hedgehogs, and we tested 18 robotic lawn mowers in collision with dead hedgehogs. Some models caused extensive damage to the dead hedgehogs, but there were noteworthy differences in the degree of harm inflicted, with some consistently causing no damage. None of the robotic lawn mowers tested was able to detect the presence of dead, dependent juvenile hedgehogs, and no models could detect the hedgehog cadavers without physical interaction. We therefore encourage future collaboration with the manufacturers of robotic lawn mowers to improve the safety for hedgehogs and other garden wildlife species.We tested the effects of 18 models of robotic lawn mowers in collision with dead European hedgehogs and quantified the results into six damage categories. All models were tested on four weight classes of hedgehogs, each placed in three different positions. None of the robotic lawn mowers tested was able to detect the presence of dependent juvenile hedgehogs (

KW - animal behaviour

KW - applied conservation biology

KW - Erinaceus europaeus

KW - human-wildlife conflicts

KW - robotic lawn mowers

KW - wildlife conservation

KW - ENGLAND

KW - DECLINE

U2 - 10.3390/ani11051191

DO - 10.3390/ani11051191

M3 - Journal article

C2 - 33919297

VL - 11

JO - Animals

JF - Animals

SN - 2076-2615

IS - 5

M1 - 1191

ER -

ID: 272427612