The effects of landscape and yard features on mammal diversity in residential yards within Northwest Arkansas, USA

Background: Lyme borreliosis is the most frequent zoonotic disease in the northern hemisphere and is transmitted by ticks of the genus Ixodes. Although many people are bitten by ticks in private yards, our understanding of the factors associated with their presence in these areas remains limited. To address this gap, we used a citizen science approach to identify the local and landscape features associated with tick presence in yards. Methods: This study was conducted near Nancy, a city in northeastern France, from 2020 to 2022. Citizen scientists collected ticks in their yard on a single event (n = 185) and measured 13 yard features. Additionally, we computed 11 features related to the landscape composition and spatial configuration surrounding these yards. Using mixed-effect generalized linear models, we determined the yard and landscape features associated with the presence of ticks and nymphal Ixodes ricinus (hereafter nymphs), the life stage, and species that mostly bite humans. Results: Despite a low density, ticks were found in 32% of the yards, including yards in urbanized areas. At the transect level, the likelihood of finding a nymph was nearly three times higher in transects shaded by vegetation compared to those in open areas, with no relationship between nymph occurrence and transect location or grass height. At the yard level, the occurrence of ticks and nymphs was related to both yard and landscape characteristics. Nymph and tick occurrence were more than twice as high in yards with signs of deer and a wood/brush pile compared to those without these characteristics, and increased with the connectivity of vegetation areas and the percentage of forest areas in the landscape. Conclusions: Our study reveals that private yards across an urbanization gradient are locations of tick exposure with tick presence linked to both yard and landscape factors. These findings emphasize the importance of public awareness regarding tick exposure in yards and provide crucial insights for future public health prevention campaigns.

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The way “urbanization” is defined has strong implications for its effects on mammal abundance

Poisson,

Gebresenbet,

Butler

et al. 2024

Preprint

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It is now well-recognized that urbanization strongly impacts wildlife communities and populations. However, we typically do not know which feature(s) affect individual species most strongly, and this lack of understanding impedes theory development and effective planning for conservation and management goals. To address this knowledge gap, we evaluated how the abundance of ten mammal species responded to six different features of urbanization quantified at five spatial scales using data from 112 camera traps deployed for two years across a gradient of urbanization in New Hampshire, USA. We fit Bayesian abundance models to measure response to each feature and scale. There was no singular urban feature or spatial scale in the best model for all species. Rather, species responded uniquely to features across scales, and the scale of urban features in the best model also varied. Within a species, the magnitude and direction of response varied across features and scales, with only black bear (Ursus americanus), gray fox (Urocyon cinereoargenteus), and Virginia opossum (Didelphis virginiana) exhibiting a consistently significant unidirectional relationship with a single feature across all scales. Our results emphasize that species respond to specific urban features, thus a failure to include certain features can cause misleading inference about wildlife response to “urbanization”. Therefore, researchers must carefully justify the choice of urban feature and spatial scale at which it is represented for each species of interest. An expanded inclusion of multiple urban features in wildlife research will inform management decisions and help attain conservation goals for species impacted by urbanization.

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The effects of landscape and yard features on mammal diversity in residential yards within Northwest Arkansas, USA

Cited by 4 publications

References 66 publications

The way “urbanization” is defined has strong implications for its effects on mammal abundance

The way “urbanization” is defined has strong implications for its effects on mammal abundance

Understanding Ixodes ricinus occurrence in private yards: influence of yard and landscape features

The way “urbanization” is defined has strong implications for its effects on mammal abundance

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