With increasing urbanization, many raptor species have readily adjusted to living in urban areas. However, raptors continue to face significant anthropogenic threats that result in high rates of morbidity and mortality. Great Horned Owls (Bubo virginianus) occur in cities across the United States, yet few studies have documented their ecology in urban areas. Here, we investigated the health, diet, movement, and activity of one female Great Horned Owl in Forest Park, Saint Louis, Missouri, one of the largest urban parks in the United States. We used GPS and accelerometry data combined with pellet analysis to examine how this owl used an oasis of green space within a densely developed urban landscape. We describe patterns in space use, demonstrating widespread use of developed areas both inside and outside of the park, and show increased use of areas outside of park boundaries in months with higher space use.

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Urbanization is a key driver of biodiversity loss because infrastructure development replaces native habitats and remnant biodiversity becomes concentrated in fragmented, seminatural green spaces. Ecological restoration in urban areas can improve the quality of green spaces for native wildlife, but the impact of restorative management on biodiversity is often not quantified. Urban habitat management frequently involves integrating human needs such as recreational spaces with conservation aims, potentially altering the biodiversity benefits of these efforts. Furthermore, non-native species can dominate urban biodiversity, suggesting that high biodiversity in city green spaces may not be indicative of diverse native communities. Here, we use point count surveys to explore whether restoration efforts can explain variation in avian biodiversity across time and space in a large urban greenspace, Forest Park in St. Louis, Missouri, USA.

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Urban parks often integrate seminatural habitats with areas of intensive human use and infrastructure. Wildlife behavior in such environments is influenced by various factors including human impacts, environmental conditions, and temporal rhythms of species. In this study, we analyzed location and activity data from 10 raccoons (Procyon lotor) in Forest Park, a large urban park in St. Louis, Missouri, USA. We first present metrics on Northern Raccoon (hereafter, raccoon) movement and space use, and then explore how road crossings correlate with movement…

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Urban wildlife often shows pronounced differences in their ecology, behavior, and survival compared to their rural counterparts. Given the broad impacts of temperature in ecology, thermal discrepancies between cities and their rural surroundings are likely to play a major role in explaining these differences between urban and rural animals. Although experimental work has demonstrated the impacts of urban temperatures on wildlife, we lack field data on the body temperatures of free-living urban animals and the ecological impacts of these temperatures. In addition, while urban heat islands have directed research towards the impacts of warmer temperatures, relatively little focus has been given to the potential for urban organisms to experience colder temperatures, especially in reptiles.

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The rapid decline in avifauna populations across North America underscores the urgency of implementing effective conservation strategies. While waterfowl species have generally increased in abundance due to investments in habitat restoration and species management, most other waterbird species have declined. In contrast to the widespread decline of natural habitat for waterbirds, urban greenspaces have proliferated. However, the extent to which urban greenspaces provide habitat for waterbirds is largely unknown. We measured waterbird abundance in Forest Park, Saint Louis, which contains a large expanse of restored waterways…

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Once ubiquitous, North American box turtles are experiencing reductions in abundance and range, but the magnitude of these losses is largely unknown. In Missouri, native box turtles (Terrapene mexicana triunguis and Terrapene ornata ornata) are declining across the state due to anthropogenic disturbances such as urbanization, habitat fragmentation, and vehicle collisions. Through radio-tracking over a period of 7 years, we documented the survival of adult three-toed box turtles at two sites in Missouri…

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Baseline health data for species of conservation concern are important for understanding threats to the long-term viability of populations. One indication of health is physiological stress among individuals. Corticosterone (CORT) is frequently used to quantify stress in free-living reptile populations, as high values may be associated with reduced fitness. Herein, we describe and validate methods for quantifying blood CORT levels in three-toed box turtles (Terrapene mexicana triunguis).

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Baseline health data for species of conservation concern are important for understanding threats to the long-term viability of populations. One indication of health is physiological stress among individuals. Corticosterone (CORT) is frequently used to quantify stress in free-living reptile populations, as high values may be associated with reduced fitness. Herein, we describe and validate methods for quantifying blood CORT levels in three-toed box turtles (Terrapene mexicana triunguis).

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Mycoplasma species, which can cause upper respiratory tract disease (URTD), are significant pathogens of birds, mammals, fish, and reptiles. Mycoplasmosis is of high concern for chelonian conservation, with the most well- documented cases in gopher and desert tortoises. Mycoplasma sp. infections have been reported in captive and free-living box turtles (Terrapene spp.). We documented URTD associated with Mycoplasma sp. in two free-living, three-toed box turtles (Terrapene carolina triunguis) in Missouri, US. Both turtles were Mycoplasma sp. positive by PCR and had URTD-like clinical signs, including nasal and ocular discharge, palpebral edema, lethargy, and weight loss, during a 6–8-wk period between June and September 2014.

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