SENTINELS OF THE CITY
Our research
While urban ecology has made great strides in recent years, there is still a lot to understand about our urban wildlife. They share our cities and are impacted by our choices, but the impact of socioecological factors on our landscape and their effects on urban wildlife is still unclear. While all urban wildlife are affected by the the factors that impact their habitats, some are more vulnerable than others. Our goal is to understand the impact of environmental health within and across West Coast cities on urban carnivores, primarily coyotes and raccoons, using three main data streams: carcasses, scats, and camera traps. Our research will focus on abundance, diet, disease dynamics, and exposure to toxicants (heavy metals and rodenticides) in coyote and raccoon populations in the Seattle-Tacoma metro area, the San Francisco Bay Area, and the Los Angeles metro area. We are using pre-existing tools such as CalEnviroScreen and the Washington Environmental Health Disparities Map to inform our research.
Overview
Our study areas
Our research takes place in three major metropolitan regions.
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In the Pacific Northwest, we will focus on the Seattle - Tacoma Metropolitan Area, characterized by . Learn more about Seattle coyotes at our sister project, the Seattle Coyote Study.
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In Northern California, the Bay Area is comprised of 7 different counties with a variety of ecosystems adjacent to highly urbanized areas including coastal scrub, oak grassland savannah, and coastal forests. Focal cities will consist of San Francisco, Oakland, and San Jose. Learn more about Bay Area work from the Schell Lab.
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Our research in Southern California with consist of the greater Los Angeles Metropolitan Area, with focal cities of Los Angeles and Long Beach.
Our research methods
Our research consists of three main data streams from the 3 focal study areas:
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1) Coyote fecal collection
2) Camera trap networks
3) Carcass salvage