People

John Loehr is a Principal Investigator leading the WildER group, and he coordinates the University of Helsinki Wild Animal Phenotyping Infrastructure. With a background in evolutionary ecology John investigates how phenotypes adapt to and interact with the environment while integrating conservation, social science and genetic perspectives into research. 

Hanna Rosti is a post doctoral researcher and a project planner at Lammi Biological Station. In her PhD she investigated the behavioral ecology and conservation biology of nocturnal mammals of the Taita Hills, Kenya and in Finland her work focuses on owl ecology and conservation. Bioacoustic methods are central to her work helping her unravel the mysteries of nocturnal mammalian and avian species.

Francesca is interested in understanding the ways that humans and wildlife coexist and how conservation can help. Her PhD investigates how mammals are affected by and adapt to changing forest habitats.
For more information, check out Francesca's and learn about what her research on the Eurasian lynx through her .  

Supervisors: Janne Sundell, Andreas Linden, John Loehr

I am a doctoral student in the LUOVA programme and passionate about mammal behaviour and acoustic communication. Conducting my master thesis research in Bethlehem, South Africa, I was able to show that female lion roars contain information about the individual calling. Building on this foundation, my PhD research continues in the field of bioacoustics, where I am investigating acoustic signalling in mammalian species with a focus on the Eurasian lynx (Lynx lynx). Going from an individual level to community dynamics, I will look at what vocalisations lynx use in the wild, exploring individual, sex and age differences as well as geographic variation. Additionally, I will focus on investigating how effectively lynx use their habitat for sound propagation, how human modification affects their calling behaviour, and how other species respond to their calls. 

• mammal behaviour
• interspecies communication
• bioacoustics
• Eurasian lynx

Supervisors: John Loehr, Mar Cabeza

In my PhD research, I focus on human-carnivore coexistence, looking to create new knowledge on how the fear of humans affects the behaviour of carnivores. Moreover, my objective is to create new solutions to aid in coexistence, with a focus on novel, automated, and adaptive methods to deter carnivores from feeding on livestock both in Finland and in East Africa.

• Human-carnivore coexistence
• Human-caused landscape of fear
• Brown bears
• Large African carnivores"

Supervisors: Mar Cabeza, John Loehr

Ira is a visiting research and cooperative partner from the University of Zagreb. Ira brings a wealth of experience from her research with lynx in the Dinaric Mountains. Her PhD focused on the ecological factors of lynx repopulation in Croatia, which she did within the project.