Hello, I’m Nicole Gorman, a Zoology grad student at SIU. I study the spatial ecology of predators in southern and central Illinois, focusing on bobcats and coyotes as my study species. Similar to the deer project, I trap bobcats and coyotes and fit them with GPS collars, which transmits the data that I use. I’m interested in how these predator species move and use space around Illinois and how their movement choices are affected by the landscape around them, such as the habitat types and human development. I’m currently looking into the size of their home ranges and which resources they select within their home ranges.
On average, I’ve found that the coyotes have home ranges of about 80 square miles and the bobcats have home ranges of about 16 square miles. However, not every individual behaves the same, and males of both species have larger home ranges than females, while individuals that live around agriculture appear to have larger home ranges than those that live in forests. I’ve also found that both bobcats and coyotes prefer forested habitat over agriculture and urban environments, and they tend to stay in areas closer to water and farther from roads. There’s a lot more to look into, so I’m looking forward to continue to diving further into these spatial patterns and finding out more about what drives these predators’ preferences.