HUMANS OF TYSON 2021

Wildlife Monitoring

Gaining insights into local animal communities and how they are changing over time is critical for making informed conservation and landscape management decisions. The Wildlife Monitoring team is involved in projects aimed at keeping track of local fauna. The St. Louis Wildlife Project uses camera trapping technology to look at large mammals along an urban to rural gradient, focusing on patterns of diversity and activity based on different habitat types. With the geographic scale of this project, data can be used to ask questions about what is happening to communities localized in our city, as well as in broader regional sections. The project contributes to the Urban Wildlife Information Network, a larger project with 35 cities in North America.

The team collaborates with the Tick and Wildlife Ecology team to monitor wildlife at Tyson, providing important baseline data on species and habitats to inform researchers. Together they have also been reviewing literature on descriptions and definitions of urbanization.

Ultimately, the Wildlife Monitoring team’s goal is to observe how species are adapting to urbanization and to learn how animals and humans can coexist in urban spaces in ways that minimize negative conflicts.

Explore the team member profiles below to learn more about their perspectives during summer 2021.