Large-scale experimental assessment of coyote behavior across urban and rural landscapes

Carnivores must navigate the complexities of human modifications to their environment. Natural resources and biodiversity decline in urban areas, while people in rural areas often pose greater direct risk through actions such as hunting. To evaluate if carnivore populations adapt their behavior to local risks in rural and urban environments, we compared behavioral responses to novel objects in coyotes (Canis latrans). We placed an attractant at arrays of 30 camera-trap stations at 16 pairs of urban and rural field sites across the USA, with a novel object placed at half of the stations. Coyotes exhibited more cautious behavior and remained farther from the attractant at all sites with the novel object; however, urban coyotes got closer to the attractant than rural coyotes. There were few behavioral differences between urban and rural coyotes and none between eastern and western coyotes. Coyotes across the USA exhibit neophobic behavior but urban coyotes, especially western coyotes, are willing to take more risk (i.e., be closer to the attractant). The consistency in most metrics of coyote behavior suggest that solutions developed in one area could be universally useful. This study also demonstrates the effectiveness of a large, collaborative approach to studying broad-scale patterns in behavioral traits.

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Publication Details

Journal
Scientific Reports
Published
2025-12-17
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-33189-y
Primary Topic
Wildlife Ecology and Conservation
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
0.00

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article

Large-scale experimental assessment of coyote behavior across urban and rural landscapes

Emily C. Davis, Emma J. Palmer, Scott LaPoint, Laura R. Prugh et al.
Scientific Reports
Wildlife Ecology and Conservation
article

Large-scale experimental assessment of coyote behavior across urban and rural landscapes

Emily C. Davis, Emma J. Palmer, Scott LaPoint, Laura R. Prugh, Jeffrey T. Schultz, Michel T. Kohl, Stewart W. Breck, Austin M. Green, John F. Benson, Kyle D. Dougherty, Julie K. Young, Çaḡan H. Şekercioḡlu, Justin L. Brown, Sarah Benson‐Amram, Lauren A. Stanton, Lucian Himes, Stephanie Keller, Christopher Nagy, Javier Monzón, Christopher J. Schell, Roland Kays, Trayl Grace, Remington J. Moll, Stan Gehrt, Benjamin Carr, Travis Gallo, Kate Ritzel, Kaitlin O. Goode, Seth P. D. Riley, Jonathon D. Cepek, Molly Henling, Sam Raber, Grayson Cahal
article en

Abstract

Carnivores must navigate the complexities of human modifications to their environment. Natural resources and biodiversity decline in urban areas, while people in rural areas often pose greater direct risk through actions such as hunting. To evaluate if carnivore populations adapt their behavior to local risks in rural and urban environments, we compared behavioral responses to novel objects in coyotes (Canis latrans). We placed an attractant at arrays of 30 camera-trap stations at 16 pairs of urban and rural field sites across the USA, with a novel object placed at half of the stations. Coyotes exhibited more cautious behavior and remained farther from the attractant at all sites with the novel object; however, urban coyotes got closer to the attractant than rural coyotes. There were few behavioral differences between urban and rural coyotes and none between eastern and western coyotes. Coyotes across the USA exhibit neophobic behavior but urban coyotes, especially western coyotes, are willing to take more risk (i.e., be closer to the attractant). The consistency in most metrics of coyote behavior suggest that solutions developed in one area could be universally useful. This study also demonstrates the effectiveness of a large, collaborative approach to studying broad-scale patterns in behavioral traits.

Scientific ReportsVol. 16(1)
Pepperdine University (US), University of Nebraska–Lincoln (US), Utah State University (US), University of Wyoming (US), National Park Service (US), Georgia Department of Natural Resources (US), North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences (US), Koç University (TR), University of British Columbia (CA), University of New Hampshire (US), George Mason University (US), University of Georgia (US), University of Washington (US), University of Utah (US), Black Rock Forest Consortium (US), Cleveland Metroparks (US), Life Services (United States) (US), Louisiana Department of Natural Resources (US), The Ohio State University (US), University of Maryland, College Park (US), University of California, Berkeley (US), Barnard College (US)
National Science Foundation, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Utah State University, University of Utah, University of Wyoming, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, National Wildlife Research Center
Openalex Percentile: Top 60%
Wildlife Ecology and Conservation
DOIOpen Access PDFOpenAlex
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