Little information exists on coyote (Canis latrans) space use and habitat selection in the southeastern United States and most studies conducted in the Southeast have been carried out within small study areas (e.g., ≤1,000 km2). Therefore, studying the placement, size, and habitat composition of coyote home ranges over broad geographic areas could provide relevant insights regarding how coyote populations adjust to regionally varying ecological conditions. Despite an increasing number of studies of coyote ecology, few studies have assessed the role of transiency as a life-history strategy among coyotes. During 2009–2011, we used GPS radio-telemetry to study coyote space use and habitat selection on the Albemarle Peninsula of northeastern North Carolina. We quantified space use and 2nd- and 3rd-order habitat selection for resident and transient coyotes to describe space use patterns in a predominantly agricultural landscape. The upper limit of coyote home-range size was approximately 47 km2 and coyotes exhibiting shifting patterns of space use of areas >65 km2 were transients. Transients exhibited localized space use patterns for short durations prior to establishing home ranges, which we defined as “biding” areas. Resident and transient coyotes demonstrated similar habitat selection, notably selection of agricultural over forested habitats. However, transients exhibited stronger selection for roads than resident coyotes. Although transient coyotes are less likely to contribute reproductively to their population, transiency may be an important life history trait that facilitates metapopulation dynamics through dispersal and the eventual replacement of breeding residents lost to mortality.

Pine (Pinus spp.)‐dominated forests are commonly managed with prescribed fire in the southeastern United States to reduce fuel loads, maintain diverse plant communities, and increase habitat quality for wildlife. Prescribed fire alters understory vegetation, which is a key component of nesting habitat for ground‐nesting birds. We assessed the influences of vegetation, prescribed fire, and landscape features (e.g., roads, edge) on nest site selection and nest survival of eastern wild turkeys (Meleagris gallopavo silvestris) in a pine‐dominated ecosystem in west‐central Louisiana. We radio‐marked 55 female wild turkeys and evaluated vegetation and landscape characteristics associated with 69 nests during the 2014 and 2015 reproductive periods. We used conditional logistic regressions with matched‐pairs case‐control sampling and information‐theoretic approaches to determine if vegetation characteristics within 15 m of a nest site, distances to surrounding vegetation communities and edges, and prescribed fire history of patches where a nest was located influenced nest site selection. We calculated hazard ratios for covariates in our top‐performing models to determine if any of these characteristics affected nest site survival. Turkeys in our study had a longer reproductive season and higher nesting and renesting rates relative to other populations in the southeastern United States. At the local scale, turkeys nested in areas with higher percent ground cover vegetation. At the landscape scale, turkeys nested closer to roads and farther from edges of 2 plant communities. Turkeys selected to nest in forest stands burned 2 years prior. Nest survival was not affected by percent ground cover, distance to roads, or distance to edge but was negatively associated with time‐since‐fire; turkey nests in stands burned ≥3 years prior had lower survival than nests in stands burned the current year. We suggest that burning on a 3‐year fire return interval is compatible with management for wild turkeys in southeastern pine‐dominated forests. © 2017 The Wildlife Society.

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Following precipitous population declines as a result of intensive hunting and th century predator-control programmes, hybridization of the Critically Endangered red wolf Canis rufus with coyotes Canis latrans posed a significant challenge for red wolf recovery efforts. Anthropogenic mortality and hybridization continue to pose challenges; the increasing number of wolf deaths caused by humans has limited wolf population growth, facilitated the encroachment of coyotes into eastern North Carolina, and affected the formation and disbandment of breeding pairs. We assessed the effects of anthropogenic mortality on Canis breeding units during a -year period (-). Our results show that deaths caused by people accounted for .% of breeding pair disbandment, and gunshots were the primary cause of mortality. Red wolves replaced congeneric breeding pairs . % of the time when pairs disbanded under natural conditions or as a result of management actions. Since the mid s anthropogenic mortality has caused annual preservation rates of red wolf breeding pairs to decline by %, and replacement of Canis breeders by red wolves to decline by %. Our results demonstrate that human-caused mortality, specifically by gunshots, had a strong negative effect on the longevity of red wolf pairs, which may benefit coyotes indirectly by removing their primary competitor. Coyotes are exacerbating the decline of red wolves by pair-bonding with resident wolves whose mates have been killed.

Changing predator communities have potential to complicate management focused on ensuring sustainable white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) populations. Recent research reported that predation on neonates by coyotes (Canis latrans) and bobcats (Lynx rufus) can limit recruitment. However, no research has been conducted in areas of the southeastern United States with 3 sympatric neonate predators such as coyote, American black bear (Ursus americanus), and bobcat. Our objectives were to estimate neonate survival rates, identify causes of neonate mortality, and determine which biological and landscape characteristics were related to neonate survival. During 2013-2015, we captured 70 neonates with the aid of vaginal implant transmitters on Tensas River National Wildlife Refuge in northeastern Louisiana, USA. We monitored neonates every 8 hours until 6 weeks of age and daily until 12 weeks of age, and assigned cause of death from field and DNA evidence. Survival of neonates to 12 weeks was 0.271 (95% CI ¼ 0.185-0.398). Of 51 mortalities, 45 (88%) were attributed to predation, 4 (8%) to starvation, 1 (2%) to other causes, and 1 (2%) to unknown causes. We used an information-theoretic approach to compare Cox proportional hazards models containing various combinations of biological and habitat covariates. Our best-supported model contained sex, mass at birth, distance to cropland, young reforestation (planted 2000-2009), and old reforestation (planted 1980-1989). Based on hazard ratios, survival was 81% higher for males than females, and survival increased 81% with every 1-kg increase in birth mass. Survival increased 8% for every 100-m increase in distance from cropland or young reforestation, and decreased 11% with every 100-m increase in distance from old reforestation, which may be a result of spatial variation in predator distribution. Our results emphasize the importance of site-specific monitoring of neonate recruitment rates in areas with burgeoning predator communities. We conclude, however, that although predation pressure was high, survival rates were similar to those observed in 2-predator systems in the region, suggesting the possibility that an upper limit to predation rates may exist for white-tailed deer neonates. Ó 2017 The Wildlife Society.