Presenter(s)

Trevor Martin

Comments

3:00-4:15, Kennedy Union Ballroom

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Description

The region surrounding Dayton, Ohio, is a matrix of human development and agricultural areas, with relatively small areas of natural land in between. Montgomery County’s park system, Five Rivers MetroParks, protects and restores thousands of acres of land, much of which is used for recreation. These patches of forest and undeveloped areas provide essential habitat to local mammal wildlife, such as white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus), northern raccoon (Procyon lotor), Virginia opossum (Didelphis virginiana), eastern cottontail (Sylvilagus floridanus), squirrels (eastern grey squirrel, fox squirrel, red squirrel, Sciurus sp. ), bobcats (Lynx rufus), and coyotes (Canis latrans). However, human-caused habitat fragmentation poses significant challenges for many species of wildlife. Behavioral changes in response to human activity can inevitably lead to shifts in the composition of species in a given area, thus altering the dynamics of the ecosystem. This study aims to quantify species richness and diversity in three Five Rivers MetroParks properties to analyze how the overall composition of mammalian wildlife is affected by varying degrees of human land use and presence. The results will provide insight into potential patterns of species diversity that could apply to other natural areas within the park system. Better understanding of how wildlife communities within these parks respond to human activities will help inform land management decisions that allow park officials and city planners to strike a balance between creating multi-functional landscapes and also preserving biodiversity.

Publication Date

4-23-2025

Project Designation

Independent Research

Primary Advisor

Mariela Gantchoff

Primary Advisor's Department

Biology

Keywords

Stander Symposium, College of Arts and Sciences

Institutional Learning Goals

Scholarship; Community

Assessing wildlife diversity in Dayton’s protected areas surrounded by human-modified landscapes

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