Monitoring Urban European Hares (Lepus europaeus Pallas) with Citizen Science and a Thermal Spotter
Abstract
:1. Introduction
2. Materials and Methods
2.1. Citizens Science
2.2. Survey with Thermal Spotter
2.3. Data Analysis
3. Results
3.1. Citizens Science in Aalborg and Aarhus
3.1.1. Number of Reports
3.1.2. Densities of Hares in Different City Zones
3.1.3. Time of Day When Hares Were Seen by Citizens
3.2. Monitoring Hares with a Thermal Spotter
4. Discussion
4.1. Are Urban Areas Better Habitats than Rural Habitats for Hares?
4.2. Density of Hares in Different City Zones
4.3. Methods for Monitoring Hares in Urban Areas
Author Contributions
Funding
Data Availability Statement
Acknowledgments
Conflicts of Interest
Appendix A
Distance to Center | No. of Hare Locations Within Distance | No. of Hare Locations Inside Circle the Section | Area of Circle Section | Density of Hare Locations | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Aarhus | 1 km | 77 | 77 | 2.95 | 26.12 |
It il | 2 km | 207 | 130 | 7.78 | 16.72 |
3 km | 307 | 100 | 11.10 | 9.04 | |
4 km | 368 | 61 | 14.10 | 4.33 | |
5 km | 444 | 76 | 17.04 | 4.46 | |
6 km | 531 | 87 | 21.96 | 3.96 | |
7 km | 560 | 29 | 26.57 | 1.09 | |
Aalborg | 1 km | 103 | 103 | 3.14 | 32.79 |
2 km | 306 | 203 | 8.24 | 24.63 | |
3 km | 451 | 145 | 14.88 | 10.02 | |
4 km | 542 | 91 | 19.23 | 4.73 | |
5 km | 595 | 53 | 24.98 | 2.12 | |
6 km | 642 | 47 | 31.23 | 1.51 | |
7 km | 648 | 6 | 36.08 | 0.17 |
Location | Apartment Blocks | Private Gardens | Cemeteries/Parks | Industrial and Harbor Area |
---|---|---|---|---|
Apartment blocks | - | χ2 = 0.19, p = 0.66 | χ2i2 = 6.8, p < 0.01 | χ2 = 3.8, p = 0.07 |
Private gardens | χ2 = 0.19, p = 0.66 | - | χ2 = 11.1, p < 0.001 | χ2 = 4.0, p < 0.05 |
Cemeteries/Parks | χ2 = 6.8, p < 0.01 | χ2 = 11.1, p < 0.001 | - | χ2 = 1.3, p = 0.26 |
Industrial and harbor areas | χ2 = 3.8, p = 0.07 | χ2 = 4.0, p < 0.05 | χ2 = 1.3, p = 0.26 | - |
Locality | Date | Time | Area Scanned | Reported by Citizens | Number Spotted | Hares per km2/100 ha |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Park and playground “Karolinelund” | 30 May | 18:08 | 3.84 ha | 11 (16) | 1 | 26 |
Cemetary Vesterbro | 30 May | 20:00 | 10.56 ha | 11 (21) | 3 | 27 |
Green site “Fjordmarken” | 30 May | 21:00 | 7.87 ha | 3 (4) | 4 | 51 |
Salt marsh Lindholm beach park | 30 May | 22:00 | 10. 20 ha | 3 (7) | 3 | 29 |
Area around apartment blocks “Carl Klitgårdsvej” | 30 May | 22:40 | 6.46 ha | 9 (20) | 0 | 0 |
Area around apartment blocks “Blegkilde” | 18 September | 20:40 | 9.65 ha | 15 (24) | 5 | 52 |
Area around apartment blocks “Borgmester Jørgensens Vej” | 18 September | 21:33 | 6.57 ha | 4 (11) | 4 | 61 |
Area around apartment blocks “Rughaven” | 18 September | 22:06 | 3.77 ha | 6 (12) | 3 | 25 |
Residential area “Øgadekvarteret” | 18 September | 22:31 | 10.43 ha | 14 (18) | 9 | 87 |
Green area at the harbor area | 18 September | 23:23 | 2.37 ha | 26 (51) | 3 | 125 |
Castle Park | 18 September | 23:38 | 1.48 ha | 5 (6) | 0 | 0 |
Park “Jomfru Ane” | 18 September | 23:54 | 1.09 ha | 1 (1) | 0 | 0 |
Mean number of hares per ha/km2 | - | - | - | 168/297 | - | 40 |
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Type of Location | Aarhus n = 629 | Aalborg n = 659 |
---|---|---|
Apartments areas | 309 | 257 |
Private gardens | 137 | 205 |
Parks | 55 | 19 |
City centers | 35 | 39 |
Port areas | 23 | 56 |
Commercial districts | 23 | 49 |
University parks | 11 | 10 |
Hospital lawns | 11 | 2 |
Cemeteries | 11 | 7 |
Allotment | 10 | 10 |
Holiday home area | 1 | 0 |
Field | 2 | 0 |
Construction site | 1 | 0 |
Salt meadow | 0 | 1 |
Football pitch | 0 | 2 |
Calk mining pit | 0 | 1 |
City wood | 0 | 1 |
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Pagh, S.; Jensen, L.L.; Pertoldi, C.; Larsen, H.L. Monitoring Urban European Hares (Lepus europaeus Pallas) with Citizen Science and a Thermal Spotter. Urban Sci. 2025, 9, 27. https://doi.org/10.3390/urbansci9020027
Pagh S, Jensen LL, Pertoldi C, Larsen HL. Monitoring Urban European Hares (Lepus europaeus Pallas) with Citizen Science and a Thermal Spotter. Urban Science. 2025; 9(2):27. https://doi.org/10.3390/urbansci9020027
Chicago/Turabian StylePagh, Sussie, Lasse Lange Jensen, Cino Pertoldi, and Hanne Lyngholm Larsen. 2025. "Monitoring Urban European Hares (Lepus europaeus Pallas) with Citizen Science and a Thermal Spotter" Urban Science 9, no. 2: 27. https://doi.org/10.3390/urbansci9020027
APA StylePagh, S., Jensen, L. L., Pertoldi, C., & Larsen, H. L. (2025). Monitoring Urban European Hares (Lepus europaeus Pallas) with Citizen Science and a Thermal Spotter. Urban Science, 9(2), 27. https://doi.org/10.3390/urbansci9020027