GEOG 106 Lecture Notes - Lecture 30: Eastern Gray Squirrel, Urban Species, Brown Rat
Document Summary
Urban avoiders are species that are sensitive to changes in habitat. They generally disappear during urban development. (e. g. grizzly bear, cougar, elk). Urban adapters are species that are adaptable and thrive on urban resources (both natural and human subsidies). (e. g. raccoon, coyote, crows). Urban exploiters are species that exploit the urban environment with a close relationship with humans, rely heavily on human subsidies. (e. g. cockroaches, brown rat, house sparrow, starling, pigeons). Species that are having a large home range are mostly affected by increasing fragmentation during urbanization. So habitat connectivity is key to diverse urban wildlife. Urban adaptors are usually edge" or early successional native species that can also use urban resources. Some human created habitat (buildings, tunnels, bridges, bird boxes) and food sources (people feeding, waste, food stores, etc. ) attract urban exploiters, leading to surprising abundances and pockets of wildlife (pest). Best represented are grey squirrel, mice, hedgehog, fox, opossum, skunk, and raccoon.
