Date of Award
Fall 2026
Abstract
Cities are dynamic landscapes that link interdependent sociological, ecological, and evolutionary systems (i.e., socio-eco-evo-dynamics) across space and time. Wildlife in cities contend with novel habitats, anthropogenic resources, and abundant human activity. Cities can act as intense ecological filters, with only the most resilient, generalist species persisting in fragmented urban greenspaces. This dissertation expands our understanding of how anthropogenic (human) disturbances impact wildlife in these human-dominated landscapes across four chapters that examined wildlife responses to varied anthropogenic disturbances. These studies range from the responses of single species to ecological communities and span multiple scales in space and time. I investigated drivers of white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) fecundity and found that an urban population is largely decoupled from natural drivers of fecundity, resulting in consistent reproductive rates across a 20-year period. Next, I assessed the influence of human activity and anthropogenic development on the human-shield effect between two urban carnivores, (Canis latrans) and red foxes (Vulpes vulpes). Unexpectedly, we found that the lockdown favored coyotes, which increased in relative abundance over time while red foxes (the subordinate species) dynamically avoided humans and coyotes. Then, I examined three urban mammals’ responses to fireworks, an acute sensory disturbance. We documented species-specific behavioral responses consistent with differing ecological strategies across three successful urban species: white-tailed deer, coyotes, and raccoons (Procyon lotor), indicating behavioral flexibility is a key mechanism for wildlife persistence in human-dominated landscapes. Finally, I investigated how the abiotic environment, land-use history, and past and present social inequities influence contemporary biodiversity and community structure in urban greenspaces. We integrated diverse data on historic and contemporary land-use and socioeconomics, the abiotic environment, and current ecological communities to disentangle drivers of vegetative, avian, and mammalian diversity and community structure, and found community-specific biodiversity responses to land use and human history. Ultimately, my dissertation centers on the concept of human-wildlife coexistence in human-dominated landscapes, and how humans have tremendous power to disrupt or conserve the species right outside our doors.
Document Type
Dissertation
First Advisor
Rem Moll
Second Advisor
Fikirte Erda
Third Advisor
Jeff Garnas
Department or Program
Natural Resources and Environmental Studies
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy
Recommended Citation
Readyhough, Taylor, "Wildlife in Human-Dominated Landscapes: Demographic, Behavioral, and Community Responses to Anthropogenic Disturbance" (2026). Doctoral Dissertations. 3040.
https://scholars.unh.edu/dissertation/3040