Presentation Details
| Thrill or trap? Conflict coyotes thrive in urban chaos Yizi Li1, Ben Dantzer2, Jack T.Evans3, Glen Cartwright4, Sarah Benson-Amram1. 1University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.2University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA.3Ministry of Water, Land, and Natural Resource Stewardship, Surrey, British Columbia, Canada.4British Columbia Trappers Association, Langley, British Columbia, Canada |
Abstract
Urbanization presents both ecological opportunities and physiological challenges to wildlife, shaping their behavior, health, and physiology. Coyotes (Canis latrans) have recently expanded into densely populated metropolitan regions across North America, accompanied by increasing human–coyote conflict. To assess the physiological consequences of city-dwelling, we necropsied and sampled coyotes from conflict conditions along an urban–rural gradient in Fraser River Lowlands, Canada, and quantified hair cortisol concentration (HCC). To identify key predictors, we applied linear regressions incorporating body condition indices derived from biometric measurements and habitat parameters obtained from landscape mapping analyses. Preliminary results indicate that elevated HCC is predicted by parasite status, but reduced HCC in individuals occupying more urbanized habitats, suggesting habituation to disturbances and utilizing anthropogenic resources. The study highlights the complexity of assessing physiology in free-ranging urban wildlife and underscores the importance of understanding stress modulation to predict conflicts and inform evidence-based management strategies for coexistence.
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