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The Daily OrangeAn unknown threat
In the first study of its kind, researchers survey the effects of New York state's coyotes on the deer population
By Max Woolley
Posted: 3/19/08, 12:30 AM EST Section: News
The coyote first arrived in New York state in 1925, but until recently, no research been done to examine its ecological and predatory influence. Dr. Jacqueline Frair, an assistant professor of conservation biology and wildlife management at the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry, has taken up that task.
"In 1925 there was the first official sighting of a coyote. Now they are in every county in the state outside of New York City, and they are very common," Frair said. "Everybody has seen coyotes. Everywhere I go in the state someone has a story about a coyote in his backyard."
Last May, Frair along with James Gibbs, an associate professor of conservation biology and wildlife management, and two graduate students, Christina Boser and Robin Holevinski, began the five-year research project to analyze the influence of coyotes on the deer population.
The study is centered in Steuben and Otsego counties, which have nearly the highest and lowest deer populations in the state respectively, but statewide research is being conducted.
"As soon as I walked in here, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) asked me to do coyote study," said Frair, who started at ESF in August of 2006. "The coyotes aren't from here; they are a western and southern species. It wasn't until humans took wolves and cougars out of the system that they started moving in from the west."
The DEC is the major financial backer for the study, providing $600,000 for research. That money will go toward buying equipment and paying for graduate assistants said Gordon Batcheller, wildlife biologist with the Bureau of Wildlife for the DEC.
There are two major components of the research, coyote scat analysis and Global Positioning System tracking. Researchers in the field have been collecting scat, or animal droppings, in order to analyze the percentage of deer in the coyote's diet.
"We are taking the scat collected in the field, washing all the fecal matter out and identifying the hair or bones left in it," said Christina Boser, a graduate student and researcher. "We are trying to determine what the coyotes are eating and in what proportion. We look at the hair and bone under the microscope and compare them to known samples."
"In 1925 there was the first official sighting of a coyote. Now they are in every county in the state outside of New York City, and they are very common," Frair said. "Everybody has seen coyotes. Everywhere I go in the state someone has a story about a coyote in his backyard."
Last May, Frair along with James Gibbs, an associate professor of conservation biology and wildlife management, and two graduate students, Christina Boser and Robin Holevinski, began the five-year research project to analyze the influence of coyotes on the deer population.
The study is centered in Steuben and Otsego counties, which have nearly the highest and lowest deer populations in the state respectively, but statewide research is being conducted.
"As soon as I walked in here, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) asked me to do coyote study," said Frair, who started at ESF in August of 2006. "The coyotes aren't from here; they are a western and southern species. It wasn't until humans took wolves and cougars out of the system that they started moving in from the west."
The DEC is the major financial backer for the study, providing $600,000 for research. That money will go toward buying equipment and paying for graduate assistants said Gordon Batcheller, wildlife biologist with the Bureau of Wildlife for the DEC.
There are two major components of the research, coyote scat analysis and Global Positioning System tracking. Researchers in the field have been collecting scat, or animal droppings, in order to analyze the percentage of deer in the coyote's diet.
"We are taking the scat collected in the field, washing all the fecal matter out and identifying the hair or bones left in it," said Christina Boser, a graduate student and researcher. "We are trying to determine what the coyotes are eating and in what proportion. We look at the hair and bone under the microscope and compare them to known samples."
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