Predicting Mesopredator Occupancy in the Portland Metropolitan Area

Mesopredators—medium-sized predators such as coyote (Canis latrans), common raccoon (Procyon lotor), and Virginia opossum (Didelphis virginiana)—are well established in cities and live closely with humans. However, we still know relatively little about these animals’ habitat selection and behavior as they navigate urban space. How do spatial attributes like the proximity to water or housing density affect where mesopredators choose to live? As part of an ongoing study, we are exploring the spatial occupancy of three mesopredator species as a function of land cover characteristics and sociodemographic factors in the Portland metropolitan area. In collaboration with the nationwide Urban Wildlife Information Network (UWIN), we established 25 monitoring sites along a trans-Portland transect extending 50 kilometers from Hillsboro to Gresham. Using motion-triggered camera traps active from spring 2019 to spring 2021 we collected occupancy results for three non-domestic mesopredator species: coyote (268 detections), common raccoon (218 detections), and Virginia opossum (406 detections). We used 40 landscape and sociodemographic attributes to characterize the habitat around each camera trap, allowing us to measure the influence of features such as human population density, road density, and household income on the presence of mesopredators. This presentation will provide an update on the Portland UWIN project and this specific study, emphasizing the application of this research in urban wildlife management and building habitat connectivity.