Submitted by AskScienceModerator t3_118wdoz in askscience
Pacmanic88 t1_j9k8uh2 wrote
What's one of the more interesting things you've learned from tracking coyote movements?
nationalgeographic t1_j9l7biz wrote
So far, one of the most interesting things that we're seeing with some coyotes we're studying in Los Angeles is that their movements can be predicted not just by ecological factors (like vegetation, habitat, and water availability), but also by sociocultural and public health-related factors, like pollution and median income. But some of them are doing some counterintuitive things (like moving toward more polluted areas, rather than away from those areas). We have a lot of hypotheses about this, such as 1) perhaps there is more trash to access in these areas, 2) perhaps there are more rodents to eat in these areas, and 3) perhaps prey animals in these polluted areas are sicker and weaker and easier to hunt. Stay tuned!
[deleted] t1_j9lp0be wrote
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