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Ecology and Evolution

D-Index
38
Citations
5004
World Ranking
6696
National Ranking
84

Overview

Heiko U. Wittmer is affiliated with Victoria University of Wellington in New Zealand. Their research primarily focuses on environmental science, with a significant body of work in ecology. Wittmer's contributions span diverse subfields including ecology, evolution, behavior and systematics, ecological modeling, small animals, and nature and landscape conservation.

The scientist has published extensively in the domains of wildlife ecology and conservation, animal ecology and behavior studies, and animal behavior and welfare studies. Additional topics of research include species distribution and climate change, animal behavior and reproduction, avian ecology and behavior, and rangeland and wildlife management.

Frequent publication venues for Wittmer include:

  • Ecology and Evolution
  • Ecological Applications
  • Oecologia
  • Biological Conservation
  • Ecography

Wittmer's notable recent papers include:

  • "Network structure of vertebrate scavenger assemblages at the global scale: drivers and ecosystem functioning implications" (2020, Ecography)
  • "Functional traits driving species role in the structure of terrestrial vertebrate scavenger networks" (2021, Ecology)
  • "Implications of large-scale infrastructure development for biodiversity in Indonesian Borneo" (2022, The Science of The Total Environment)
  • "The ecology of human-caused mortality for a protected large carnivore" (2023, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences)
  • "Can't bear the competition: Energetic losses from kleptoparasitism by a dominant scavenger may alter foraging behaviors of an apex predator" (2021, Basic and Applied Ecology)

Wittmer collaborates frequently with several researchers, including:

  • Christopher C. Wilmers
  • L. Mark Elbroch
  • Maximilian L. Allen
  • Bogdan Cristescu
  • Quinton Martins

The bulk of Wittmer's work lies within the interdisciplinary exploration of how species interactions and ecosystem processes influence biodiversity and conservation outcomes. Their research addresses the ecological roles and behaviors of vertebrate scavengers, the impacts of human development on wildlife, and species-specific responses to environmental pressures. This body of work contributes to understanding wildlife behavior, species networks, and integrative conservation strategies grounded in ecological science.

Best Publications

  • The role of predation in the decline and extirpation of woodland caribou

    Heiko U. Wittmer;Heiko U. Wittmer;Anthony R. E. Sinclair;Bruce N. McLellan

  • Changes in landscape composition influence the decline of a threatened woodland caribou population.

    Heiko U. Wittmer;Heiko U. Wittmer;Bruce N. Mclellan;Robert Serrouya;Clayton D. Apps

  • Population dynamics of the endangered mountain ecotype of woodland caribou (Rangifer tarandus caribou) in British Columbia, Canada

    Heiko U Wittmer;Bruce N McLellan;Dale R Seip;James A Young

  • The comparative effects of large carnivores on the acquisition of carrion by scavengers.

    Maximilian L. Allen;L. Mark Elbroch;Christopher C. Wilmers;Heiko U. Wittmer

  • A review of the population dynamics of mule deer and black‐tailed deer Odocoileus hemionus in North America

    Tavis D. Forrester;Heiko U. Wittmer

  • Predator-mediated allee effects in multi-prey systems.

    Bruce N. McLellan;Robert Serrouya;Heiko U. Wittmer;Stan Boutin

  • The effects of puma prey selection and specialization on less abundant prey in Patagonia

    L. Mark Elbroch;Heiko U. Wittmer;Heiko U. Wittmer

  • Home sweet home: fitness consequences of site familiarity in female black-tailed deer

    Tavis D. Forrester;Tavis D. Forrester;David S. Casady;Heiko U. Wittmer

  • Scavenging in the Anthropocene: Human impact drives vertebrate scavenger species richness at a global scale.

    Esther Sebastián‐González;Jomar Magalhães Barbosa;Juan M. Pérez‐García;Juan M. Pérez‐García;Zebensui Morales‐Reyes

  • Nowhere to hide: pumas, black bears, and competition refuges

    L. Mark Elbroch;Patrick E. Lendrum;Maximilian L. Allen;Maximilian L. Allen;Heiko U. Wittmer;Heiko U. Wittmer

  • Puma spatial ecology in open habitats with aggregate prey

    L. Mark Elbroch;Heiko U. Wittmer;Heiko U. Wittmer

  • A restricted hybrid zone between native and introduced red fox (Vulpes vulpes) populations suggests reproductive barriers and competitive exclusion.

    Benjamin N. Sacks;Benjamin N. Sacks;Marcelle Moore;Mark J. Statham;Heiko U. Wittmer;Heiko U. Wittmer

  • Trophic Facilitation or Limitation? Comparative Effects of Pumas and Black Bears on the Scavenger Community

    Maximilian L. Allen;L. Mark Elbroch;Christopher C. Wilmers;Heiko U. Wittmer

  • Factors influencing variation in site fidelity of woodland caribou (Rangifer tarandus caribou) in southeastern British Columbia

    Heiko U. WittmerH.U. Wittmer;Bruce N. McLellanB.N. McLellan;Frederick W. HoveyF.W. Hovey

  • Factors associated with survival of reintroduced riparian brush rabbits in California

    Laurissa P. Hamilton;Laurissa P. Hamilton;Patrick A. Kelly;Daniel F. Williams;Douglas A. Kelt

  • Using Predator-Prey Theory to Predict Outcomes of Broadscale Experiments to Reduce Apparent Competition

    Robert Serrouya;Meike J. Wittmann;Bruce N. McLellan;Heiko U. Wittmer

  • Viability of mountain caribou in British Columbia, Canada: Effects of habitat change and population density

    Heiko U. Wittmer;Heiko U. Wittmer;Robert N.M. Ahrens;Bruce N. McLellan

  • Spatial factors related to mortality and population decline of endangered mountain caribou

    Clayton D. Apps;Bruce N. Mclellan;Trevor A. Kinley;Robert Serrouya

  • Conservation strategies for species affected by apparent competition.

    Heiko U. Wittmer;Robert Serrouya;L. Mark Elbroch;Andrew J. Marshall

  • Dynamics of a small population of endangered huemul deer (Hippocamelus bisulcus) in Chilean Patagonia

    Paulo Corti;Paulo Corti;Heiko U. Wittmer;Heiko U. Wittmer;Marco Festa-Bianchet

Frequent Co-Authors

Christopher C. Wilmers
Christopher C. Wilmers University of California, Santa Cruz
Andrew J. Marshall
Andrew J. Marshall University of Michigan–Ann Arbor
Benjamin N. Sacks
Benjamin N. Sacks University of California, Davis
Doug P. Armstrong
Doug P. Armstrong Massey University
Douglas A. Kelt
Douglas A. Kelt University of California, Davis
Antoni Margalida
Antoni Margalida Spanish National Research Council
Ainara Cortés-Avizanda
Ainara Cortés-Avizanda Spanish National Research Council
Marco Heurich
Marco Heurich University of Freiburg
David Wilson
David Wilson Binghamton University
Sergio A. Lambertucci
Sergio A. Lambertucci National University of Comahue

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