Linnea Worsøe Havmøller defends her thesis at Natural History Museum of Denmark

PhD defence: Linnea Worsøe Havmøller

Dhole Ecology and Conservation

Supervisors:
Associate Professor Peter Rask Møller, NHMD
Associate Professor Morten Tange Olsen, Globe Institute
PhD Carl Træholt, Copenhagen Zoo

Assessment Committee:
Associate Professor Camilla Wilkenros, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
Professor Rosie Woodroffe, Zoological Society of London
Associate professor Natasha de Vere (chair), NHMD

Summary:
In my PhD I investigated the ecology and conservation of the often overlooked canid species the dhole, also known as Asiatic wild dog. Dholes were once found throughout Asia but have disappeared from more than 80% of their former range and are now primarily confined to small pockets of natural habitats and protected areas in South and Southeast Asia. During my thesis I together with co-authors updated the distribution and status of dholes in Indonesia (chapter I); Investigated the use of multiple novel population models to estimate population size of dholes in the Western Ghats in India from camera trap data (chapter II); Studied the activity patterns of dholes, their putative prey, and competitors in Baluran National Park in Indonesia, as well as differences in timing of the activity between dholes roaming alone or in pairs and packs of dholes (chapter III); and finally investigated what drivers in time and space that affect the areas dholes and leopards use in Baluran National Park (chapter IV).

A digital version of the PhD thesis can be obtained from the PhD secretary, phd@snm.ku.dk