Effects of urbanization on carnivore distribution and richness

This camera-trap study examined how a community of carnivores, including bobcats and pumas, was distributed across an urbanisation gradient in southern California, relating species occurrence and richness to development intensity, habitat and fragmentation. The authors found that some carnivores tolerated moderate development while area-sensitive species dropped out near intense urbanisation, producing predictable shifts in community composition. The work provided a community-level perspective complementing single-species studies, clarifying how the felid and broader carnivore guild reorganises along the urban gradient. It informed planning by identifying the development thresholds beyond which sensitive predators disappear, relevant to conserving felids in growing metropolitan regions.