Sophie Lund Rasmussen

University of Oxford | OX · Department of Biology

European hedgehogs (Erinaceus europaeus) inhabit most of Denmark, except for a few smaller islands. Research from other European countries has shown that the hedgehog populations are in decline. The exposure to chemicals might contribute to this development, although their role is currently unknown. Our research studied the occurrence of 19 selecte...

Hedgehogs (order: Eulipotyphla; family: Erinaceidae; subfamily: Erinaceinae) are familiar and popular spiny mammals, but they face many challenges in modern human-dominated environments. In this Special Issue "Applied Hedgehog Conservation Research", we present an anthology of 30 recent articles from the journal Animals, which helps fill some of th...

Hedgehogs (Order Eulipotyphla, Family Erinaceidae, Subfamily Erinaceinae) are familiar and popular spiny mammals, but they face many challenges in modern human-dominated environments [...]

Monitoring data from several European countries indicate that European hedgehog (Erinaceus europaeus) populations are declining, and research exploring the causes of the decline, including exposure to potentially harmful xenobiotics and metals, may inform conservation initiatives to protect this species in the wild. Hedgehogs are ground-dwelling ma...

Simple Summary The declining populations of European hedgehogs (Erinaceus europaeus) are increasingly inhabiting areas with human occupation. However, sharing habitats with humans comes at a cost: a residential garden holds many potential dangers for hedgehogs. Previous research has shown that certain models of robotic lawn mowers may harm hedgehog...

Simple Summary The European hedgehog is a generally welcomed but nowadays less common guest in residential gardens, as the species is in decline. Sharing habitats with humans comes at a cost: a residential garden holds many potential dangers for hedgehogs. Previous research has shown that certain models of robotic lawn mowers may harm hedgehogs. Th...

The recent development of techniques to sequence ancient DNA has provided valuable insights into the civilisations that came before us. However, the full potential of these methods has yet to be realised. We extracted ancient DNA from a recently exposed fracture surface of a clay brick deriving from the palace of king Ashurnasirpal II (883–859 BCE)...

Sources from Mesopotamia contextualize the emergence of kissing and its role in disease transmission. Read it here (open access): https://www.science.org/stoken/author-tokens/ST-1229/full

The European hedgehog is in decline, triggering a need to monitor population dynamics to optimise conservation initiatives directed at this species. By counting periosteal growth lines, we determined the age of 388 dead European hedgehogs collected through citizen science in Denmark. The overall mean age was 1.8 years (1.6 years for females and 2.1...

Previous research from several European countries has indicated that the European hedgehog (Erinaceus europaeus) is in decline. Wildlife rehabilitation centres contribute toward the protection of debilitated hedgehogs, including the young. Based on data from 27 wildlife rehabilitation centres, the mortality rate and the release rate of juvenile hed...

This is a popular scientific article in Danish communicating my research on The Danish Hedgehog Project. Read it here: https://videnskab.dk/forskerzonen/naturvidenskab/hvad-bruger-man-egentlig-697-doede-pindsvin-til

The discovery of antibiotics more than 80 years ago has led to considerable improvements in human and animal health. Although antibiotic resistance in environmental bacteria is ancient, resistance in human pathogens is thought to be a modern phenomenon that is driven by the clinical use of antibiotics1. Here we show that particular lineages of meth...

Background The European population of hedgehogs ( Erinaceus europaeus ) is declining. It is therefore essential to optimise conservation initiatives such as the rehabilitation of sick, injured and orphaned hedgehogs. Wild animals placed in captivity may be prone to chronic stress, potentially causing negative health effects. Therefore, the effects...

The European hedgehog population is declining in Europe. It is therefore important to investigate the causes for the decline and monitor the general health of the species. We investigated the endoparasite occurrence in 299 dead European hedgehogs. Of these, endoparasites were detected in 69% of the individuals tested. We identified Crenosoma striat...

Popular scientific communication article about our research on the effects of robotic lawn mowers on hedgehogs. You can read the article here: https://sciencenordic.com/animals-denmark/do-robotic-lawn-mowers-hurt-hedgehogs-dr-hedgehog-has-the-answer/1856882

A popular scientific communication article in Danish about our research on the effects of robotic lawn mowers on hedgehogs. The article can be found here: https://videnskab.dk/forskerzonen/teknologi-innovation/kan-robotplaeneklippere-draebe-pindsvin-doktor-pindsvin-har-svaret

We tested the effects of 18 models of robotic lawn mowers in collision with dead European hedgehogs and quantified the results into six damage categories. All models were tested on four weight classes of hedgehogs, each placed in three different positions. None of the robotic lawn mowers tested was able to detect the presence of dependent juvenile...

Popular scientific description of The Danish Hedgehog Project You can read the article here: https://videnskab.dk/naturvidenskab/det-danske-pindsvineprojekt-hvordan-har-vores-pindsvin-det-egentlig-derude

Objectives Low genetic diversity can lead to reduced average fitness in a population or even extinction. Preserving genetic connectivity across fragmented landscapes is therefore vital to counteract the negative consequences of genetic drift and inbreeding. This study aimed to assess the genetic composition and consequently the conservation status...

Objectives Low genetic diversity can lead to reduced average fitness in a population or even extinction. Preserving genetic connectivity across fragmented landscapes is therefore vital to counteract the negative consequences of genetic drift and inbreeding. This study aimed to assess the genetic composition and consequently the conservation status...

A popular scientific article about the Danish Hedgehog Project.

European hedgehog (Erinaceus europaeus) populations are widespread across diverse habitats but are declining in Western Europe. Drastic declines have been described in the UK, with the most severe declines occurring in rural areas. Hedgehogs are widely distributed in Denmark, but their status remains unknown. Fieldwork on hedgehogs has tended to fo...

The objective of the study was to establish and refine a method for the genomic characterization of European hedgehogs in Denmark using the second-generation genotyping technique, genotyping by sequencing (GBS). Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were filtered with a read coverage between 20 - 100 and a maximum number of missing data of 25 %. I...

Objectives A recent study from Sweden showed that European hedgehogs may constitute a reservoir for methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), but this host-parasite relationship remains to be investigated in other countries. In this study, we therefore sought to: 1) determine the dissemination of MRSA in European hedgehogs throughout Denm...

European hedgehogs in Denmark