Changes in wildlife activity patterns in response to war in Ukraine

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.