Giorgia Ausilio

I am a postdoctoral researcher at Grimsö Wildlife Research Station. Originally from Switzerland, I moved to Sweden in 2016 after completing my bachelor’s degree in the UK to pursue a master’s degree. After completing my PhD in Norway in 2022, in collaboration with SLU, I have continued as a researcher at SLU, working on several research projects.

My research focuses on predator–prey interactions and human-mediated risk in large mammal systems, with particular emphasis on how hunting practices and large carnivores shape ungulate behaviour, movement, and survival.

I am currently involved in a project investigating how hunting with dogs affects wild boar social cohesion, movement patterns, and use of agricultural fields. In this study, we deploy GPS collars on group-leading females in each wild boar group, complemented by GPS ear tags on smaller piglets that cannot carry a collar.

In parallel, I examine how the presence of large carnivores modifies moose responses to hunting dogs, highlighting interactive and context-dependent risk effects. This work is conducted in collaboration with the Swedish Moose Hunting Dog Association.

During my PhD, I was part of GRENSVILT, a transboundary research programme between Sweden and Norway aimed at understanding and reducing cross-border conflicts related to large carnivores, ungulates, forestry, and hunting. This experience highlighted that effective wildlife conservation, management, and research cannot be separated from governance structures or from the realities of local livelihoods. Ignoring these dimensions limits both the relevance and impact of ecological research. As a result, close collaboration with relevant stakeholders and interest groups has become a central component of my work and will remain so in my future research.

I am highly field-oriented and place strong emphasis on animal welfare. I have a particular interest in wildlife capture, anaesthesia, and handling. 

Ausilio, G., Wikenros, C., Sand, H., Devineau, O., Wabakken, P., Eriksen, A., ... & Zimmermann, B. (2025). Contrasting risk patterns from human hunters and a large carnivore influence the habitat selection of shared prey. Oecologia, 207(7), 118.

Wikenros, C., Nordli, K., Amato, G., Persson, J., Ausilio, G., Versluijs, E., ... & Aronsson, M. (2024). Carnivore guild utilization of hunter‐provided food sources in boreal forest. Wildlife Biology, 2024(6), e01249.

Ausilio, G., Sand, H., Wikenros, C., Aronsson, M., Milleret, C., Nordli, K., ... & Zimmermann, B. (2024). Effects of large carnivores, hunter harvest, and weather on the mortality of moose calves in a partially migratory population. Wildlife Biology, 2024(6), e01179.

Mayer, M., Furuhovde, E., Nordli, K., Ausilio, G., Wabakken, P., Eriksen, A., ... & Zimmermann, B. (2024). Monitoring GPS‐collared moose by ground versus drone approaches: efficiency and disturbance effects. Wildlife Biology, e01213.

Ausilio, G., Wikenros, C., Sand, H., Wabakken, P., Eriksen, A., & Zimmermann, B. (2022). Environmental and anthropogenic features mediate risk from human hunters and wolves for moose. Ecosphere, 13(12), e4323.

Johansson, Ö., Ausilio, G., Low, M., Lkhagvajav, P., Weckworth, B., & Sharma, K. (2021). The timing of breeding and independence for snow leopard females and their cubs. Mammalian Biology, 101(2), 173-180.

Ausilio, G., Sand, H., Månsson, J., Mathisen, K. M., & Wikenros, C. (2021). Ecological effects of wolves in anthropogenic landscapes: the potential for trophic cascades is context-dependent. Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution, 8, 577963.