Effects of Wildfire on Mammalian carnivores
Project Lead: Megan Jennings
I recently completed my dissertation, which focused on understanding how mammalian carnivores respond to wildfires in southern California. In 2003, three wildfires burned over 300,000 acres in San Diego County. Then in 2007, four wildfires burning in Santa Ana wind conditions burned almost 350,000 acres in San Diego. These events inspired me to ask questions about how fire changes the landscape for wide-ranging carnivores in shrubland ecosystems where fire is a frequent visitor. One of the main goals of this research is to inform applied conservation efforts and to facilitate landscape connectivity in the highly fragmented southern California ecosystem. If fires change the way animals move through their environment, and conservation efforts don’t take that into account, will that affect the overall efficacy of those efforts?
My study incorporated data from several different studies to examine these questions. I analyzed remote camera data collected by collaborators at USGS, Colorado State University, and the Irvine Ranch Conservancy from sites across southern California to determine if the presence and species richness of several species of mammalian carnivores is different in burned and unburned sites. For my questions about animal movement and habitat use in response to burned habitat and human development, I worked with GPS tracking data from three mammalian carnivores common in southern California: bobcats, coyotes, and pumas. I selected these three focal species because they known to exhibit a range of sensitivity to habitat fragmentation and human activities (coyotes being least sensitive, and pumas most sensitive), and would allow us to examine how these predators response to shifts in the natural disturbance process associated with human activities. I analyzed bobcat and coyote tracking data from several locations in Orange County collected during studies undertaken by USGS and Colorado State University. I analyzed data on puma movement collected by collaborators at UC Davis on the Mountain Lion Project to understand how burned areas may influence movement and habitat use by a larger and wider-ranging carnivore species.
Follow the link to view my dissertation.
My study incorporated data from several different studies to examine these questions. I analyzed remote camera data collected by collaborators at USGS, Colorado State University, and the Irvine Ranch Conservancy from sites across southern California to determine if the presence and species richness of several species of mammalian carnivores is different in burned and unburned sites. For my questions about animal movement and habitat use in response to burned habitat and human development, I worked with GPS tracking data from three mammalian carnivores common in southern California: bobcats, coyotes, and pumas. I selected these three focal species because they known to exhibit a range of sensitivity to habitat fragmentation and human activities (coyotes being least sensitive, and pumas most sensitive), and would allow us to examine how these predators response to shifts in the natural disturbance process associated with human activities. I analyzed bobcat and coyote tracking data from several locations in Orange County collected during studies undertaken by USGS and Colorado State University. I analyzed data on puma movement collected by collaborators at UC Davis on the Mountain Lion Project to understand how burned areas may influence movement and habitat use by a larger and wider-ranging carnivore species.
Follow the link to view my dissertation.
