Space Use and Multi-Scale Habitat Selection of Adult Raccoons in Central Mississippi

Chamberlain, Michael J.; Conner, L. Mike; Leopold, Bruce D.; Hodges, Kurt M.

doi:10.2307/3802775

Cited by 60 publications

(70 citation statements)

References 19 publications

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“…Multiple studies have reported scale-dependent habitat selection in raccoons (Beasley et al 2007;Bozek et al 2007;Chamberlain et al 2003); however, none of these were focused exclusively in the urban matrix. Bozek et al (2007) reported on habitat selection during foraging bouts in raccoons within a large urban park with substantial anthropogenic foods nearly continuously available.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Raccoon use of the urban matrix in the Baltimore Metropolitan Area, Maryland

et al. 2011

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The raccoon is often considered a synanthropic species; however, most urban research on this species has been restricted to urban parks or green spaces. Little is known about the persistence of synanthropic characteristics in the raccoon within the urban matrix. We examined density, den selection, home range size, habitat selection, and survival for adult raccoons (Procyon lotor) during summer (June-August) and autumn (September-November) in two residential neighborhoods, Linthicum located inland, and Riviera Beach on a peninsula in the Potomac river, in Southern Maryland. Den site selection varied by gender (P=0.0002) and study site (P=0.052), and study site interacted with gender (P=0.0063), with female raccoons denning preferentially on the ground and male raccoons in human structures in Riviera Beach while in Linthicum females denned preferentially in trees and males avoided human structures. Seasonal home range size was larger for males (P<0.0001) than females at both sites. Habitat selection varied at different hierarchical levels, and between gender, season and site. Intersite differences in habitat selection were apparent at the second order and third order scale. Aquatic and urban habitat was ranked high and woodland consistently lowest in second order scale at Riviera Beach while urban habitat was consistently ranked lowest at Linthicum where woodland ranked highest. Between the hierarchal scales (2nd and 3rd order) a difference in habitat selection occurred at Linthicum only where urban habitats ranked lowest at 3rd order. The differences in patterns of habitat selection we observed between two urban sites at different hierarchical scales suggest that resource selection is dependent upon the specific characteristics of the site and that raccoons exhibit variable responses to changes in landscape features. Finally, male survival tended to be lower (P=0.079) than female survival in both study sites. Our results reveal that raccoons can continue to exhibit synanthropic characteristics within the urban matrix even in areas with little natural habitat. This ability to adjust to different levels of development allows the raccoon to occur throughout most parts of the urban landscape, which has important management implications for human-raccoon conflicts and disease management.Urban Ecosyst (2012) 15:667-682 DOI 10.1007/s11252-011-0218-

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Raccoon use of the urban matrix in the Baltimore Metropolitan Area, Maryland

et al. 2011

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“…widespread and diffuse (see also Cottam et al 2009). Many previous studies have examined habitat use by Raccoons (e.g., Beasley et al 2007a;Chamberlain et al 2003Chamberlain et al , 2007, but few studies have related population-level responses to landscape variation at larger spatial scales (e.g., Donovan et al 1997, Oehler andLitvaitis 1996). Population-level studies require making estimates of complex parameters, such as population density and vital rates, as well as quantifying landscape metrics at spatial scales relevant to populations.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Raccoon (Procyon lotor) Activity is Better Predicted by Water Availability than Land Cover in a Moderately Fragmented Landscape

Heske

Ahlers

2016

Northeastern Naturalist

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“…Differences between use and availability may also occur when not all animals have free or equal access to all areas within their home ranges. Habitat-selection scales are often assumed to be a function of home-range sizes (e.g., Chamberlain et al, 2003;McLoughlin et al, 2002McLoughlin et al, , 2004Rettie & Messier, 2000). Thus, an important concept associated with habitat selection is home range.…”

Section: Basic Conceptsmentioning

confidence: 99%