# Davies Lab ![LiDAR Sensors](/sites/g/files/omnuum6851/files/styles/hwp_21_9__1920x825/public/2025-09/Sensors.png?itok=pGSmvTKF) ## Welcome to the Davies Lab! Our research examines how animals interact with the environment and each other to affect ecosystem processes at landscape scales. We draw on the fields of community and ecosystem ecology, animal behavior, and remote sensing to explore multiple facets of animal-ecosystem interactions in a spatially explicit manner. A key component of our work investigates how global change, including climate and land-use change, alter animal-driven processes and influence the direction of their effects. We integrate field measurements, GPS telemetry, and remote sensing products (including LiDAR, hyperspectral, and satellite data) to answer questions ranging from the role of animals in shaping vegetation and modifying nutrient cycles, to how land-use changes that alter habitat heterogeneity affect animal behavior and subsequent ecosystem impact. Please use the tabs above to learn more about who we are and what we do, and feel free to [contact us](/contact-us "Contact Us") if you have questions or want to get involved. *Image courtesy of Evan Hockridge.* ## Recent Publications Download 6 citations download- [BibTeX](/bibcite/export?pager_style=no_pager&number_of_items=6&sort_field=bibcite_year--desc&taxonomy_filters%5Bfield_hwp_c_publications12345678%5D&&&format=bibtex) - [EndNote X3 XML](/bibcite/export?pager_style=no_pager&number_of_items=6&sort_field=bibcite_year--desc&taxonomy_filters%5Bfield_hwp_c_publications12345678%5D&&&format=endnote8) - [EndNote 7 XML](/bibcite/export?pager_style=no_pager&number_of_items=6&sort_field=bibcite_year--desc&taxonomy_filters%5Bfield_hwp_c_publications12345678%5D&&&format=endnote7) - [Endnote tagged](/bibcite/export?pager_style=no_pager&number_of_items=6&sort_field=bibcite_year--desc&taxonomy_filters%5Bfield_hwp_c_publications12345678%5D&&&format=tagged) - [Marc](/bibcite/export?pager_style=no_pager&number_of_items=6&sort_field=bibcite_year--desc&taxonomy_filters%5Bfield_hwp_c_publications12345678%5D&&&format=marc) - [PubMedId](/bibcite/export?pager_style=no_pager&number_of_items=6&sort_field=bibcite_year--desc&taxonomy_filters%5Bfield_hwp_c_publications12345678%5D&&&format=pubmed_id) - [RIS](/bibcite/export?pager_style=no_pager&number_of_items=6&sort_field=bibcite_year--desc&taxonomy_filters%5Bfield_hwp_c_publications12345678%5D&&&format=ris) ### 2025 Bradford EM, Hockridge EG, Gibbon GEM, Kibongui G, Mouamana A, Ngama G, Osner N, and Davies AB. 2025. “[Natural Forest Clearings Enable the Persistence of Stable Spotted Hyena Populations in Congo Basin Rainforests](https://doi.org/10.1111/btp.70065)”. Biotropica, 57, 5 Bradford EM, Hockridge EG, Gibbon GEM, Kibongui G, Mouamana A, Ngama G, Osner N, and Davies AB. 2025. “[Natural Forest Clearings Enable the Persistence of Stable Spotted Hyena Populations in Congo Basin Rainforests](https://doi.org/10.1111/btp.70065)”. Biotropica, 57, 5 - add\_circle\_outline do\_not\_disturb\_on Abstract Spotted hyenas (*Crocuta crocuta*) are a large carnivore species known to range across broad savanna regions of sub-Saharan Africa. Although hyenas have occasionally been observed in rainforest habitat, they have been considered largely transient through... Wang Z, Singh J, and Davies AB. 2025. “[Consistent Patterns of LiDAR-Derived Measures of Savanna Vegetation Complexity Between Wet and Dry Seasons](/publication/consistent-patterns-lidar-derived-measures-savanna-vegetation-complexity-between-wet)”. Ecological Indicators, 170 Wang Z, Singh J, and Davies AB. 2025. “[Consistent Patterns of LiDAR-Derived Measures of Savanna Vegetation Complexity Between Wet and Dry Seasons](/publication/consistent-patterns-lidar-derived-measures-savanna-vegetation-complexity-between-wet)”. Ecological Indicators, 170 - add\_circle\_outline do\_not\_disturb\_on Abstract Metrics of structural vegetation complexity derived from airborne Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) have been used extensively in studies on plant ecology, animal behavior and the distribution of biodiversity. However, the acquisition of remotely-sensed... Coverdale TC, Boucher PB, Singh J, and Davies AB. 2025. “[Quantifying Aboveground Herbaceous Biomass in Grassy Ecosystems: A Comparison of Field and High-Resolution UAV-LiDAR Approaches](https://zslpublications.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/rse2.70023)”. Remote Sensing in Ecology and Conservation Coverdale TC, Boucher PB, Singh J, and Davies AB. 2025. “[Quantifying Aboveground Herbaceous Biomass in Grassy Ecosystems: A Comparison of Field and High-Resolution UAV-LiDAR Approaches](https://zslpublications.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/rse2.70023)”. Remote Sensing in Ecology and Conservation - add\_circle\_outline do\_not\_disturb\_on Abstract Grassy ecosystems cover >25% of the world’s land surface area. The abundance of herbaceous vegetation in these systems directly impacts a variety of ecological processes, including carbon sequestration, regulation of water and nutrient cycling, and... ### 2024 Wang Z, Huben R, Boucher PB, Van C, Zeng J, Chung N, Wang J, King J, Knecht RJ, Ng’iru I, Baraza A, Baker CCM, Martins DJ, Pierce NE, and Davies AB. 2024. “[Automated Detection of an Insect-Induced Keystone Vegetation Phenotype Using Airborne LiDAR.](/publications/automated-detection-insect-induced-keystone-vegetation-phenotype-using)”. Methods in Ecology and Evolution, 15, Pp. 978-93 Wang Z, Huben R, Boucher PB, Van C, Zeng J, Chung N, Wang J, King J, Knecht RJ, Ng’iru I, Baraza A, Baker CCM, Martins DJ, Pierce NE, and Davies AB. 2024. “[Automated Detection of an Insect-Induced Keystone Vegetation Phenotype Using Airborne LiDAR.](/publications/automated-detection-insect-induced-keystone-vegetation-phenotype-using)”. Methods in Ecology and Evolution, 15, Pp. 978-93 - add\_circle\_outline do\_not\_disturb\_on Abstract - [ descriptionPublisher's Version](https://besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/2041-210X.14298) 1. Ecologists, foresters and conservation practitioners need ‘biodiversity scanners’ to effectively inventory biodiversity, audit conservation progress and track changes in ecosystem function. Quantifying biological diversity using remote sensing methods... - [ descriptionPublisher's Version](https://besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/2041-210X.14298) J Singh, JE Donaldson, S Archibald, CL Parr, MD Voysey, and AB Davies. 2024. “[Small-Scale Fires Interact With Herbivore Feedbacks to Create Persistent Grazing Lawn Environments](https://besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/1365-2664.14645)”. Journal of Applied, 61, 7, Pp. 1531-45 J Singh, JE Donaldson, S Archibald, CL Parr, MD Voysey, and AB Davies. 2024. “[Small-Scale Fires Interact With Herbivore Feedbacks to Create Persistent Grazing Lawn Environments](https://besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/1365-2664.14645)”. Journal of Applied, 61, 7, Pp. 1531-45 - add\_circle\_outline do\_not\_disturb\_on Abstract - [ descriptionPublisher's Version](https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/ele.14272) 1. Fire-herbivory feedbacks strongly influence the formation of grazing lawns in savanna ecosystems. Preliminary findings suggest that small-scale (<25 ha) fires can engineer grazing lawns by concentrating herbivores on the post-burn green flush; however... - [ descriptionPublisher's Version](https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/ele.14272) SD Allison, SJ Law, AB Davies, H Flores-Moreno, BJ Wijas, AR Yatsko, Y Zhou, AE Zanne, and Eggleton. 2024. “[The Challenge of Estimating Global Termite Methane Emissions](/publications/challenge-estimating-global-termite-methane-emissions)”. Global Change Biology, 30, 6, Pp. e17390 SD Allison, SJ Law, AB Davies, H Flores-Moreno, BJ Wijas, AR Yatsko, Y Zhou, AE Zanne, and Eggleton. 2024. “[The Challenge of Estimating Global Termite Methane Emissions](/publications/challenge-estimating-global-termite-methane-emissions)”. Global Change Biology, 30, 6, Pp. e17390 - add\_circle\_outline do\_not\_disturb\_on Abstract - [ descriptionPublisher's Version](https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/gcb.17390) Methane is a powerful greenhouse gas, more potent than carbon dioxide, and emitted from a variety of natural sources including wetlands, permafrost, mammalian guts and termites. As increases in global temperatures continue to break records, quantifying... - [ descriptionPublisher's Version](https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/gcb.17390)