Mesocarnivores in residential yards: Influence of yard features on the occupancy, relative abundance, and overlap of coyotes, grey fox, and red fox

As conversion of natural areas to human development continues, there is a lack of information about how developed areas can sustainably support wildlife. While large predators are often extirpated from areas of human development, some medium-bodied mammalian predators (hereafter, mesocarnivores) have adapted to co-exist in human-dominated areas.

How human-dominated areas such as residential yards are used by mesocarnivores is not well understood. Our study aimed to identify yard and landscape features that influence occupancy, relative abundance and spatial-temporal overlap of three widespread mesocarnivores, namely, coyote (Canis latrans), grey fox (Urocyon cineroargenteus) and red fox (Vulpes vulpes).

Over the summers of 2021 and 2022, we deployed camera-traps in 46 and 96 residential yards, spanning from low-density rural areas (