Wed, Aug 17, 2022: 5:00 PM-6:30 PM
ESA Exhibit Hall
Background/Question/Methods
Although urbanization can have a variety of detrimental effects on mammalian carnivore communities, some carnivore species have the capacity to exploit and even thrive in urban habitats. Coyotes and free-ranging cats are two examples of mammalian carnivores that make use of greenspaces in urban areas. Their distribution is thought to be influenced by several factors including human population density, patch area, habitat type, habitat heterogeneity, developed land cover, and biogeographical barriers. The aim of the current study was to determine which of these factors best explain coyote and free-ranging cat occupancy and detection probability in various greenspaces of the New York metropolitan area and to assess whether free-ranging cats avoid habitats occupied by coyotes. The study addresses the following questions: (1) What factors contribute to coyote and free-ranging cat occupancy and detection probability in the New York metropolitan area? (2) Do free-ranging cats avoid habitats occupied by coyotes? To address these questions, we deployed 138 motion activated camera traps across 31 urban greenspaces, and we used occupancy models to investigate which factors best explain coyote and free-ranging cat occupancy and detection probability in the New York metropolitan area.
Results/Conclusions
We found that several factors influence coyote and free-ranging cat occupancy and detection probability in the New York metropolitan area. Specifically, coyotes were more likely to be detected in natural habitats and in sites with relatively low human population densities; however, despite this finding, coyotes were still found more often in human-altered habitats. These results suggest that some anthropogenic factors, including fragmentation and development, influence coyote detection probability, while other anthropogenic factors, such as access to human-derived food resources, influence coyote occupancy. Moreover, coyote occupancy was greater on the mainland (Bronx and Westchester) than nearby islands (Long Island, Manhattan, and Randall’s Island). Measures of free-ranging cat distribution were driven by several anthropogenic factors, including patch area, developed land cover, and habitat type, as well as the presence or absence of coyotes. Notably, we found that free-ranging cat detection probability was lower in habitats where coyotes were present than in habitats where coyotes were absent. Collectively, these results reveal the complexities of a highly urbanized city in terms of harboring mesocarnivores such as coyotes and free-ranging cats, and the dynamic interplay between anthropogenic, biogeographical, and interspecific variables.
Although urbanization can have a variety of detrimental effects on mammalian carnivore communities, some carnivore species have the capacity to exploit and even thrive in urban habitats. Coyotes and free-ranging cats are two examples of mammalian carnivores that make use of greenspaces in urban areas. Their distribution is thought to be influenced by several factors including human population density, patch area, habitat type, habitat heterogeneity, developed land cover, and biogeographical barriers. The aim of the current study was to determine which of these factors best explain coyote and free-ranging cat occupancy and detection probability in various greenspaces of the New York metropolitan area and to assess whether free-ranging cats avoid habitats occupied by coyotes. The study addresses the following questions: (1) What factors contribute to coyote and free-ranging cat occupancy and detection probability in the New York metropolitan area? (2) Do free-ranging cats avoid habitats occupied by coyotes? To address these questions, we deployed 138 motion activated camera traps across 31 urban greenspaces, and we used occupancy models to investigate which factors best explain coyote and free-ranging cat occupancy and detection probability in the New York metropolitan area.
Results/Conclusions
We found that several factors influence coyote and free-ranging cat occupancy and detection probability in the New York metropolitan area. Specifically, coyotes were more likely to be detected in natural habitats and in sites with relatively low human population densities; however, despite this finding, coyotes were still found more often in human-altered habitats. These results suggest that some anthropogenic factors, including fragmentation and development, influence coyote detection probability, while other anthropogenic factors, such as access to human-derived food resources, influence coyote occupancy. Moreover, coyote occupancy was greater on the mainland (Bronx and Westchester) than nearby islands (Long Island, Manhattan, and Randall’s Island). Measures of free-ranging cat distribution were driven by several anthropogenic factors, including patch area, developed land cover, and habitat type, as well as the presence or absence of coyotes. Notably, we found that free-ranging cat detection probability was lower in habitats where coyotes were present than in habitats where coyotes were absent. Collectively, these results reveal the complexities of a highly urbanized city in terms of harboring mesocarnivores such as coyotes and free-ranging cats, and the dynamic interplay between anthropogenic, biogeographical, and interspecific variables.