Changes in wildlife activity patterns in response to war in Ukraine
Data files
Apr 30, 2026 version files 3 MB
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R2data_analyses.R
74.14 KB
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R2events_stations.xlsx
2.87 MB
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README.md
3.61 KB
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total_events.xlsx
56.43 KB
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. Data are organised into R-ready Excel spreadsheets, accompanied by R scripts for data setup, model fitting and validation.
Dataset DOI: 10.5061/dryad.jwstqjqpk
Description of the data and file structure
These datasets contain camera-trap detections of terrestrial mammals collected in the Chornobyl Exclusion Zone (Ukraine) in 2021 and 2022. Camera-trap detections in 2022 were collected across stations exposed to armed conflict (Russian occupation).
Files and variables
File: R2data_analyses.R
Description: Code for data import, cleaning, reshaping, and statistical modelling. Includes model validation (DHARMa), model selection (MuMIn), and visualisation of model predictions.
File: total_events.xlsx
Description: Contains species detections data for 2021 and 2022, separated by year (2021, 2022) and period (pre-occupation, occupation, post-occupation). Sheets: before2021, occupation2021, before2022, occupation2022, after2022
Variables
- effort - number of 10-minute sampling intervals with active camera trap coverage
- n.detections - count of independent detections per species per effort unit
- species - species identity
- period - sampling period relative to occupation (pre-occupation, occupation, post-occupation)
- year - 2021, 2022
- ct - camera trap station
- time period - dial category of detection (day, night, with twilight merged into night)
File: R2events_stations.xlsx
Description: Provides detailed 2022 detections at the camera trap station level, including station characteristics (distance to main roads, distance to sites with permanent human presence), precipitation, armed conflict intensity index, and thermal anomaly day.
Variables
- effort - number of 10-minute sampling intervals with active camera trap coverage
- n.detections - count of independent detections per species per effort unit
- species - species identity
- ct - camera trap station
- time period - dial category of detection (day, night, with twilight merged into night)
- road - distance to nearest main (paved) road
- site - distance to nearest site with permanent human presence
- precipitation - daily (24h, mm)
- jdate - Julian date
- ac_intensity_mean - index of armed conflict intensity for each date of the occupation period
- wake.days - binary indicator of whether detection occurred within a date (24h) with a thermal anomaly (detected by NASA FIRMS)
Code/software
- RStudio version 4.5.1
- library(R.utils)
- Import the utility functions (some of the API of this package is experimental)
- library(reshape2)
- library(dplyr)
- library(tidyverse)
- library(readxl)
- library (DHARMa)
- model validation
- library(MASS)
- glm.nb
- library(ggh4x)
- facet visualisation
- library(glmmTMB)
- library(pscl)
- library(MuMIn)
- library(performance)
- r2 Nakagawa
- library(sjPlot)
Access information
Data was derived from the following sources:
- S. Obrizan, T. Fedonyuk, A. Zymaroeva, A. Varukha, “Nature Chronicles: annual report of the Chornobyl Radiation and Ecological Biosphere Reserve for 2022” (Tech. Rep. 6, 2023) pp. 17-34. (in Ukrainian)
- Weather history for IKYIV410 (12-18 April 2022). (The Weather Company, 2023); https://www.wunderground.com/dashboard/pws/IKYIV410 (Accessed 24 July 2023).
- Fire Information for Resource Management System (FIRMS). NASA Earth Science Data Systems (ESDS). (NASA FIRMS 2024). Available online: https://www.earthdata.nasa.gov/data/tools/firms (accessed on July 25, 2024).