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11 March 2022 CONTRASTING ACTIVITY TIMES BETWEEN RACCOONS (PROCYON LOTOR) AND VIRGINIA OPOSSUMS (DIDELPHIS VIRGINIANA) IN URBAN GREEN SPACES
Destiny M Mims, Sophie A Yasuda, Mark J Jordan
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Abstract

As urbanization increases, impacts on urban wildlife behavior are becoming more apparent. Using camera traps, we compared activity times of Raccoons (Procyon lotor) with those of Virginia Opossums (Didelphis virginiana) in natural areas of Seattle, Washington. Previous studies found that Virginia Opossums and Raccoons are significantly more active at night than at any other time. However, these studies occurred exclusively in forested or agricultural landscapes. We deployed motion-triggered camera traps in greenspaces of Seattle to test the hypothesis that Raccoons and Virginia Opossums are both primarily active at night in an urban environment. Our results demonstrated a statistically significant difference in activity time distributions between the species. Virginia Opossums were exclusively nocturnal, whereas Raccoons allocated their activity between nocturnal and crepuscular periods. This study provides a snapshot of mesopredator behavior in an environment heavily influenced by humans and informs the effective management of Raccoons in urban areas.

Destiny M Mims, Sophie A Yasuda, and Mark J Jordan "CONTRASTING ACTIVITY TIMES BETWEEN RACCOONS (PROCYON LOTOR) AND VIRGINIA OPOSSUMS (DIDELPHIS VIRGINIANA) IN URBAN GREEN SPACES," Northwestern Naturalist 103(1), 63-75, (11 March 2022). https://doi.org/10.1898/1051-1733-103.1.63
Received: 18 February 2021; Accepted: 2 June 2021; Published: 11 March 2022
KEYWORDS
Camera trap
Didelphis virginiana
mesopredator
Procyon lotor
raccoon
Seattle
temporal activity
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