An unknown threat
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 addition to scat analysis, the researchers are fitting breeding pairs and other non-roaming coyotes with GPS tracking collars, Boser said. The collars, which each cost approximately $5,000, are capable of generating a map of where the coyote has been throughout the past three days.
The aim is to try to find deer carcasses the coyotes have fed on and determine if they were killed or scavenged, Boser said. Researchers begin an investigation whenever two coyotes are within 25 yards of each other for a period of time.
The estimated 20,000-30,000 coyotes now in the state have brought widespread concern among hunters and environmentalists about the possible effects of coyotes on the deer population.
‘They are a relatively new species to the region,’ Batcheller of the DEC said. ‘They have an impact on the deer herd, but we don’t understand what that is. We contacted ESF about establishing base figures on the relationship between deer and coyotes. It’s kind of like here is the deer herd, there is a predator in New York that we know can kill deer, but we don’t know to what extent or how to account for it.’
Batcheller is part of a division that manages the New York deer herd. It concentrates on hunting numbers and population densities. It supports the study to better learn how to manage the herd, he said.
‘When we manage the New York State deer herd, it’s made on assumptions, but the coyote may be introducing a new variable,’ said Batcheller. ‘We understand very well hunter’s impact, but we have no idea about coyotes, and ultimately it will have some bearing on the role of hunting and hunting numbers. What we want is a better foundation for future research or management. We want to base subsequent and future decisions on good science.’
