Sammy Ball

Atlantic Technological University | ATU · Marine Freshwater Research Centre

Understanding how animals move and use space within an environment is vital for the development and implementation of effective management actions. Within airfield environments, animal movement can present a substantial risk to aircraft, resulting in wildlife‐aircraft collisions (strikes) if animals enter into the manoeuvring areas of the airfield,...

Airfield environments can be attractive to a broad range of wildlife, including mammals, and rates of wildlife-aircraft collisions are generally increasing, globally. It is important, therefore, that the components of an airfield that may be attractive to wildlife and the effectiveness of current mammal-exclusion and strike miti-gation measures, ar...

Abstract Reported strike events between wildlife and aircraft are hazardous to aircraft and airfield operations and are increasing globally. To develop effective mitigation strategies, the relative hazard a species poses to aircraft, as well as information relating to its life history, are key to the development of effective mitigation strategies i...

Collisions between wildlife and aircraft are a serious and growing threat to aviation safety. Understanding the frequency of these collisions, the identity of species involved, and the potential damage that can be inflicted on to aircraft aid mitigation efforts by airfield managers. A record of all animal carcasses recovered from Dublin Internation...

The number of reported collisions (i.e. strikes) between aircraft and wildlife is increasing globally, with consequences for personnel and passenger safety as well as for industry economics. These are important considerations for airport operators that are obliged to mitigate wildlife hazards at airfields. Incidents involving mammals account for ap...

A 5 minute virtual presentation analysing strike data with the Irish hare from 1990- 2019, alongside aircraft movement numbers. Using GLM, we determine that increasing aircraft movements are not solely responsible for the recorded increase in strike events and there is little seasonality to strikes. We look at the damage potential of such strike ev...

The Irish hare Lepus timidus hibernicus is an endemic subspecies of Mountain hare and Ireland's only native lagomorph. The endoparasite community composition of the Irish hare was examined from 22 carcasses opportunistically sourced from wildlife strike events (with aircraft and vehicles) from three counties in the Republic of Ireland. Three parasi...

A 10 minute presentation explaining the methodology used to collect ecological data on the Irish hare population residing at Dublin Airport alongside population size estimates (from distance sampling) and activity patterns by monitoring the circadian rhythm of the Irish hares at the airfield via camera traps

Emerging Infectious Diseases (EIDs) play an important role in the current biodiversity crises that ultimately impacts on human welfare by disrupting vital ecosystem services such as crop pollination. The European honeybee (Apis mellifera), is the most commonly managed insect pollinator worldwide but has suffered from mass population declines over t...

A short investigation in to the parasitofauna of the Irish Hare (Lepus timidus hibernicus) as a fourth year project