Urban mesopredator distribution: examining the relative effects of landscape and socioeconomic factors

Abstract

Cities harbor biodiversity, which has complex outcomes, both for humans and other animals. The situation is particularly complicated with carnivorous species such as mesopredators, which elicit strong positive and negative responses from urban residents. As cities are dominated by anthropogenic forces, socioeconomic factors likely play a major ecological role that has gone mostly unexplored for mammalian species. We used a large database of motion-triggered camera imagery to investigate relationships between landscape and socioeconomic features and the distribution of three mammalian mesopredator species in Chicago, IL. Coyotes and raccoons were most likely to colonize less urban sites, and coyotes were least likely to go extinct within sites with a high average per capita income. Opossum showed somewhat different dynamics, with added availability of habitat and increased housing density decreasing odds of new colonization. In general the socioeconomic variables performed at least as well as the habitat factors tested, indicating that there is a significant role of both biotic and abiotic features in driving species distribution in this area. We suggest that new ecological frameworks incorporating both socioeconomic and ecological factors will be needed for the long-term management and conservation of wildlife in urban regions.