Event Report

Recording: Expert Talk on how wildlife movement data could help in preventing the spread of infectious diseases with Martin Wikelski

wikelski wildlife movement data

August 23rd at 14:00 – 15:15 CEST

Identifying and reducing human health risks from wildlife trade within a One Health framework needs an internationally coordinated and cooperative approach. Preventing future pandemic outbreaks will need to also address health risks in dealing with wildlife trade, contact and potential spillover, and thus prevention at the source. To create a platform to foster exchange, aiming to reduce the risk of future pandemics, the International Alliance against Health Risks in Wildlife Trade is cordially inviting you see the expert talk recording.

Wikelski wildlife movement

As the founding Director of the Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior and Professor in Biology at the University of Konstanz, Prof. Dr. Martin Wikelski investigates global animal movement with the goal of creating an intelligent sensor network of animals—the “Internet of Animals”—and protecting animals worldwide. He has pioneered a system for continuously tracking thousands of animals from space, ICARUS, and in doing so has opened up a frontier in harnessing animal observation as a tool for conservation and more effective management of and response to health risks. Martin Wikelski will share some of the latest data on animal movement around the planet. He will highlight how this helps us to preserve biodiversity, to secure our global food supplies, to anticipate pandemics and potentially to predict natural disasters. Previously, he worked at, among others, University of Washington, Seattle, Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Panama, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, and Princeton University.