Over its two-year implementation, WildEuro greatly contributed to creating a collaborative European network of researchers working on wildlife monitoring through camera trapping. More than 50 collaborators from 35 research institutions contributed to a shared database, creating one of the most comprehensive repositories of camera trap data in Europe.
A key achievement was the organization of a 3-day workshop, Advancing Wildlife Monitoring through Camera Trapping Across Europe (Konstanz, Germany, November 2024), which convened experts from major initiatives such as EuroCAM, SCANDCAM, Snapshot Europe, ENETWILD, and EuropaBON. This workshop catalysed the exchange of methods, data standards, and infrastructure needs. A joint manuscript summarizing the outcomes is in preparation, and a new proposal to seek funding in support of the European camera trap community — led by the fellow — emerged directly from discussions that took place during the workshop.
Fieldwork under Objective 3 involved a citizen science collaboration, where volunteers equipped their domestic cats with innovative GPS trackers and simultaneously deployed camera traps in their gardens. This dual approach produced high-resolution movement data and wildlife images now stored in public repositories (Movebank, Wildlife Insights, and Animal Tracker) and will contribute to understanding how domestic cats affect wildlife communities in urban and suburban environments.
The project’s fellow also coordinated the Snapshot Europe initiative, engaging more than 100 researchers across more than 20 countries, producing open-access annual datasets. She co-led activities in the Biodiversa+ Big Picture project, further reinforcing the integration of WildEuro into EU-funded biodiversity monitoring efforts.
Work on Objectives 1–3 is in advanced analytical stages, with scientific papers in preparation for submission to leading peer-reviewed journals.
