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Coyotes are ubiquitous on the North American landscape as a result of their recent expansion across the continent. They have been documented in the heart of some of the most urbanized cities, such as Chicago, Los Angeles, and New York City. Here, we explored the genomic composition of coyotes in the New York metropolitan area to investigate if genomic demography and admixture differs from expected for urban-dwelling canids. We identified moderate-to-high estimates of relatedness among coyotes living in Queens and adjacent neighborhoods, suggestive of a relatively small population. Although we found low background levels of domestic dog ancestry across most coyotes in our sample, we identified a male suspected to be a first-generation coyote-dog hybrid, as well as his two putative backcrossed offspring that carried approximately 25% dog ancestry. The male coyote-dog hybrid and one backcrossed offspring each carried two mutations that are known to increase human-directed hypersociability in dogs and gray wolves. An additional, unrelated coyote with little dog ancestry also carries two of these mutations. These genetic patterns suggest that gene flow from domestic dogs may become an increasingly important consideration as coyotes continue to inhabit metropolitan regions.

Little is known about the relatedness structure of carnivores living in urban areas, where green spaces may vary in size and resource availability. We examined the minimum population size, relatedness structure, and genetic diversity of a recently established population of eastern coyotes (Canis latrans) inhabiting New York City (NYC). The population has been established for approximately 25 years, and sample collection for genetic analysis has been ongoing since 2010. We genotyped 234 scat, eight tissue, and three blood samples at nine microsatellite loci. We identified 45 individual coyotes with a male-biased sex ratio of 2.2:1. We also found moderate to high levels of genetic diversity, with average observed heterozygosity of 0.779 and mean number of alleles per locus of 7.8. Most of the green spaces surveyed supported a single group of closely related coyotes in each. Relatedness comparisons between parks also indicated that coyotes compared across different parks were also closely related. We identified two unrelated mated pairs and found no support for polygamy. The high incidence of relatedness suggests that the coyote population is descended from a small number of founding individuals. Additionally, we genetically recaptured several coyotes, including one individual sampled in the Bronx and in Queens, with a median of 103 days between resampling. This result indicates that the coyotes are persisting in some of the isolated greenspaces of New York City and able to move successfully between them.

Coyotes are ubiquitous on the North American landscape as a result of their recent expansion across the continent. They have been documented in the heart of some of the most urbanized cities, such as Chicago, Los Angeles, and New York City. Here, we explored the genomic composition of 16 coyotes in the New York metropolitan area to investigate genomic demography and admixture for urban-dwelling canids in Queens County, New York. We identified moderate-to-high estimates of relatedness among coyotes living in Queens (r = 0.0–0.5) and adjacent neighborhoods, suggestive of a relatively small population. Although we found low background levels of domestic-dog ancestry across most coyotes in our sample (5%), we identified a male suspected to be a first-generation coyote–dog hybrid with 46% dog ancestry, as well as his two putative backcrossed offspring that carried approximately 25% dog ancestry. The male coyote–dog hybrid and one backcrossed offspring each carried two transposable element insertions that are associated with human-directed hypersociability in dogs and gray wolves. An additional, unrelated coyote with little dog ancestry also carried two of these insertions. These genetic patterns suggest that gene flow from domestic dogs may become an increasingly important consideration as coyotes continue to inhabit metropolitan regions.

This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved. With the accelerating pace of global change, it is imperative that we obtain rapid inventories of the status and distribution of wildlife for ecological inferences and conservation planning. To address this challenge, we launched the SNAPSHOT USA project, a collaborative survey of terrestrial wildlife populations using camera traps across the United States. For our first annual survey, we compiled data across all 50 states during a 14-week period (17 August - 24 November of 2019). We sampled wildlife at 1509 camera trap sites from 110 camera trap arrays covering 12 different ecoregions across four development zones. This effort resulted in 166,036 unique detections of 83 species of mammals and 17 species of birds. All images were processed through the Smithsonian's eMammal camera trap data repository and included an expert review phase to ensure taxonomic accuracy of data, resulting in each picture being reviewed at least twice. The results represent a timely and standardized camera trap survey of the USA. All of the 2019 survey data are made available herein. We are currently repeating surveys in fall 2020, opening up the opportunity to other institutions and cooperators to expand coverage of all the urban-wild gradients and ecophysiographic regions of the country. Future data will be available as the database is updated at eMammal.si.edu/snapshot-usa, as well as future data paper submissions. These data will be useful for local and macroecological research including the examination of community assembly, effects of environmental and anthropogenic landscape variables, effects of fragmentation and extinction debt dynamics, as well as species-specific population dynamics and conservation action plans. There are no copyright restrictions; please cite this paper when using the data for publication. Publisher PDF

For the past 200 years, coyotes have steadily expanded their range eastward from the Midwestern USA. They have successfully colonized the contiguous landscape east of the Mississippi River and have been documented on Long Island, New York since 2009 with successful breeding confirmed in 2016. Occupying a diverse array of habitat types along the way, they are now commonplace in many urban and suburban landscapes as well. Using 149 scats and 13 stomachs collected from 2009 to 2017 and analyzed by traditional scat analysis methods, we described the diet of coyotes found in the New York City. The most common prey items, as a percentage of scats, were rodents (35.2%), birds (27.7%), followed by anthropogenic items (26.4%). These results were similar when compared to that of seven other urban centers in North America.

Overbrowsing by highly abundant white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) negatively impacts the regeneration of the forest understory throughout the eastern United States. Deer management programs are often used by land managers to reduce deer densities and promote forest regeneration. This study examines the impact of a 15-year-long archery-based deer management program on the understory of a nature preserve in southern NY consisting of an old-growth hemlock and second-growth mixed hardwood forest. Vegetation plots were sampled every 3–5 years between 2004 and 2019, while deer density was estimated using camera trap survey data annually since 2009. Generalized mixed-effects models were used to determine the influence of deer density, forest type, canopy cover, and time on species richness, native stem density and total stem density. The most predictive models showed an increase in richness as time went on. Additionally, stem density had a negative relationship with deer density (i.e., stem density and species richness increased as deer density declined over time). For both native and total stem density, the highest-ranked model included only deer density as a predictor. Generally, woody species richness and stem density increased in the seedling ( 0.9 m) size class over time and as deer density decreased. Many native species exhibited density increases in the smallest size classes, but black birch (Betula lenta), American beech (Fagus grandifolia), and mapleleaf viburnum (Viburnum acerifolium) were the only native species to increase in the transgressive (>0.9 m tall) class. Several non-native species, however, did increase in the transgressive size class since 2004. These results indicate that the forest has improved as a result of the DMP, but long-term recruitment of native species is still uncertain. The DMP has shown the potential to help restore woody regeneration but monitoring should continue to ultimately determine whether deer management can allow for true recruitment of native seedlings into the forest understory and canopy.

Coyotes (Canis latrans Say, 1823) have increased their range dramatically over the past century. Formerly restrictedto western North America, they now roam across the continent, in many habitats including large cities. One of the lastareas in North America without coyotes has been Long Island, NY, a 3629 km2 island in the New York metropolitanarea. Here we summarize all verified accounts of coyotes on Long Island, including the first record of breeding. Thereare few coyotes on Long Island currently; however, given the history of coyote success, we expect coyotes to establisha growing population there in the near future.

This chapter reviews best execution and new disclosure obligations in relation to investment advisers as well as brokers; it also provides an overview of the strategies they use to meet their rapidly changing obligations. Investment advisers and brokers are confronted with increasingly stringent regulatory and client expectations to fulfil their duty of best execution. Regulators in Europe have become active in developing formal best execution obligations, but the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is lagging behind in providing a clear framework for best execution. This chapter first outlines the analogous best execution obligation for broker-dealers and explores the contours of the SEC’s expectations for investment advisers. It then assesses the impact of new European best execution obligations and the role of public disclosures in aiding the fulfilment of best execution duties. It concludes by examining various strategies used by investment advisers to fulfil their evolving duties.

More than a decade has passed since the catastrophic population decline in Gyps species was reported from South Asia, but much uncertainty remains about quantifying their short-term extinction risk. To estimate the future extinction risk of the white-rumped vulture Gyps bengalensis in Nepal, we conducted counts at 7 nesting colonies between 2002 and 2012. We com- pared 3 methods of estimating abundance based on count data and calculated mean population growth rates and cumulative probabilities of extinction given the abundance estimates from each method. The first 2 methods of abundance estimation were traditional indices: mean and maxi- mum values of all counts. The third method was a mixture modeling approach that corrected raw counts by a detection parameter. The results of the traditional indices were characterized by high uncertainty levels as reflected in the wide confidence intervals, which limited their capacity to make predictions about the fate of the populations with any confidence. The mixture modeling method provided more reliable results; there was a 51% probability of populations facing quasi- extinction (i.e. ≤20 vultures) in 13 yr and a 99% probability of quasi-extinction in 18 yr. Because the mixture modeling method provided more precise predictions while requiring minimal addi- tional effort, population biologists using count data are encouraged to employ such model-based estimators. The white-rumped vulture populations in Rampur are in danger of disappearing within 2 decades, so conservation efforts should be expedited to prevent the loss of this species.

To more easily and non-invasively monitor urban Eastern Screech-Owl populations, we developed a method of distinguishing individual owls using their calls. A set of seven variables derived from recordings of ‘bounce’ calls taken from 10 known (either free-ranging birds recorded at a single site on a single night or identifiable captive owls) owls was tested using a model-based clustering analysis (Mclust) as a method of discriminating individual owls. The cluster analysis correctly classified these calls with 98% accuracy. A second set of calls from nine owls was used to further test the method and correctly classified 84% of the calls using the same variables. Four owls were recorded repeatedly from 2008 to 2010 to determine the extent to which calls changed over time; the cluster analysis correctly assigned 89% of the calls to the correct owl regardless of the year the recordings were made. Based on these results, we are confident that the Mclust analysis can be used to reliably and safely estimate abun...

We characterized the landscape-level habitat use of Megascops asio (Eastern Screech Owl) in a suburban/urban region of New York and Connecticut using citizen- science methodologies and GIS-based land-use information. Volunteers sampled their properties using call-playback surveys in the summers of 2009 and 2010. We modeled detection and occupancy as functions of distance to forest and two coarse measures of development. AICc-supported models were validated with an independent dataset collected by trained professionals. Validated models indicated a negative association between occupancy and percent forest cover or, similarly, a positive association with percent impervious cover. When compared against the systematic dataset, models that used forest cover as a predictor had the highest accuracy (kappa = 0.73 ± 0.18) in predict- ing the occupancy observations in the systematic survey. After accounting for detection, both datasets support similar owl-habitat patterns of predicting occupancy in developed areas compared to highly rural. While there is likely a minimum amount of forest cover and/or maximum level of urbanization that Screech Owls can tolerate, such limits appear to be beyond the ranges sampled in this study. Future research that seeks to determine this development limit should focus on very urbanized areas. The high accuracy of the citizen-science models in predicting the systematic dataset indicates that volunteer-based efforts can provide reliable data for wildlife studies.

The expansion of coyotes (Canis latrans) into the northeastern United States is a major challenge to wildlife professionals, especially in suburban and urban areas where reports of human-coyote interaction (HCI) are on the rise. To assist wildlife professionals in identifying potential hot spots of interaction and homeowners in evaluating their risk of a backyard encounter, we used the techniques of citizen science to build a landscape model of HCI for suburban residential properties in Westchester County, New York, USA. We distributed surveys via school children (kindergarten to grade 12) as part of a voluntary class assignment, to maximize the number of homeowners participating in our study and to provide learning experiences for students. Of 6,000 surveys distributed to schools, .1,500 students interviewed their parents on whether a coyote had been seen or heard on their property from 2003 to 2006. Although surveys could not be distributed randomly owing to the participatory process of individual schools, we did receive responses from across Westchester County, representing the spectrum from the most rural to the most urban towns. Homeowners who encountered (i.e., seen or heard) a coyote on their property were on average 50% closer to forest, 36% closer to grassland, and 66% farther from medium- to high-intensity development, complementing existing knowledge on urban coyote habitat use. Our model seemed robust in predicting an independent set of coyote observations (r 5 0.88). Based on this model, we generated a map describing the probability of HCI that can be used by both wildlife professionals and homeowners. Regarding the former, state wildlife agencies could more precisely target education campaigns on how to live with coyotes where the possibility of HCI was greatest. Homeowners, in turn, could evaluate their own risk and modify behaviors that would make their property less attractive to coyotes. Furthermore, in creating a descriptive model of HCI from citizen-generated data, we demonstrated how citizen science can be a useful exploratory tool, generating a wealth of data over a large geographic area in a short period, especially when the inquest is appropriate to stakeholder participation in data collection.

Ex utero intrapartum treatment (EXIT) procedures are therapeutic interventions for fetuses with life-threatening airway abnormalities and/or other prenatally diagnosed congenital malformations requiring immediate neonatal extracorporeal membrane oxygenation support. Although certain anesthetic goals are common among EXIT procedures, many different approaches to their management have been described in the literature. Herein, we present a novel anesthetic approach to an EXIT procedure for fetal micrognathia and retrognathia. We also review the indications and anesthetic considerations for these procedures and highlight the need for multidisciplinary collaboration to optimize clinical outcomes.

Eastern hemlock (Tsuga canadensis; hereafter hemlock) was once relatively common in the northeastern United States. However, recent disturbances – including exotic pests and white-tailed deer overpopulation – have exacerbated declines in hemlock forest in the 20th century. As a previously undisturbed stand, the Mianus River Gorge Preserve (MRGP) provided an ideal site to investigate the potential impact of these factors on the structure and composition of old-growth hemlock forests. The woody vegetation of this forest was first surveyed in 1965 and then again in 2004. The overstory tree community was similar between the two time periods with hemlock dominant in both samples. Conversely, seedlings, saplings, and transgressives exhibited sharp declines in most species, including hemlock, which resulted in dissimilar community composition and structure for these age classes between 1965 and 2004. Despite relative continuity in the dominance of mature hemlocks, low recruitment due to overbrowsing makes the long-term persistence of hemlock in the old-growth forest of MRGP tenuous. # 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Severe fragmentation is a typical fate of native remnant habitats in cities, and urban wildlife with limited dispersal ability are predicted to lose genetic variation in isolated urban patches. However, little information exists on the extent of habitat required in urban green spaces to conserve genetic variation. In this study, we examine whether isolation in New York City (NYC) parks results in genetic bottlenecks in white-footed mice (Peromyscus leucopus), and test the hypothesis that park size is associated with genetic variability using nonlinear regression and information-theoretic model selection. White-footed mice have previously been documented to exhibit male-biased dispersal, which may create disparities in genetic variation between males and females in urban parks. We use genotypes of 18 neutral microsatellite data and four different statistical tests to assess this prediction. Given that sex-biased dispersal may create disparities between population genetic patterns inferred from bi- vs. uni-parentally inherited markers, we also sequenced a 324 bp segment of the mitochondrial D-loop for independent inferences of historical demography variation in urban P. leucopus. We report that isolation in urban parks does not necessarily result in genetic bottlenecks; only three out of 14 populations in NYC parks exhibited a signature of a recent bottleneck at 18 neutral microsatellite loci. Mouse populations in larger urban parks also do not generally contain greater genetic variation than populations in smaller parks. These results should be encouraging to conservation biologists working in human-dominated landscapes, as even small networks of green spaces may be sufficient to maintain self-sustaining populations and evolutionary potential of native species. We also found that isolation in urban parks results in weak to nonexistent sex-biased dispersal in a species known to exhibit male-biased dispersal in less fragmented environments. In contrast to nuclear loci, mitochondrial D-loop haplotypes exhibited a mutational pattern of demographic expansion after a recent bottleneck or selective sweep. Estimates of the timing of this expansion indicate that it occurred concurrent with urbanization of NYC over the last few dozens to hundreds of years. Given the general non-neutrality of mtDNA in many systems and evidence of selection on related coding sequences in urban P. leucopus, we argue that the P. leucopus mitochondrial genome experienced recent negative selection against haplotypes not favored in isolated urban parks. In general, rapid adaptive evolution driven by urbanization, global climate change, and other human-caused factors is underappreciated by evolutionary biologists, but many more cases will likely be documented in the near future.

We evaluated the accuracy of a previously published model of coyote (Canis latrans) sightings in suburban Westchester County, New York. This model was originally developed using citizen reports of coyote sightings to predict the probability of a human-coyote interaction based on proximity to habitat features. Because the data were obtained from surveys, researchers could not separate patterns of site occupancy by coyotes from possible patterns of detection by respondents. Nevertheless, the model could be an indicator of site occupancy within the suburban matrix. We sought to evaluate the predictive power of the human-coyote interaction model with data gathered via a more rigorous method. To build a set of validation sites, we surveyed 11 parks in Westchester County and one park in Bronx County, NY with camera traps between April and October of 2010. The probability of photographing a coyote in a single trap-night was 0.06 ± 0.12 and all sites had >0.9 probability of detecting a coyote at least once given the total trap-nights at each site. During validation, we also added four additional sites that had been surveyed by other researchers with camera traps as additional “present” sites. Predictions of coyote presence or absence based on the human-coyote interaction model for these 16 validation sites were compared to the observed survey results. The model, which contained distances to forest, grassland, and pooled medium and high development performed well in predicting the observed data (kappa = 0.75 ± 0.17, Area-Under-Curve of Receiver-Operator-Characteristic plots = 0.90). The model appears to sufficiently predict coyote occupancy in a suburban-urban landscape and will form the basis of for development of a more comprehensive model of coyote distribution in the New York City metropolitan area. Furthermore, its accuracy illustrates how citizen science can provide reliable estimates of wildlife-habitat patterns in urban areas.