Human Activity Among Wildlife

Influence of Human activity upon wildlife behavior and demography

Influence of Human Activity Upon Wildlife Behavior and Demography, McIntire-Stennis Project, graphs of animal movement. As the human population continues to grow, it becomes increasingly important to understand how various human activities impact wildlife species and environments.

This project will study the effects of a wide range of human disturbances, including urban development, climate change and outdoor recreation, on wildlife abundance, survival, reproductive success, feeding behaviors and dispersal patterns.

The field data regarding individual species and habitats can then be input into existing computer modeling tools that have the ability to simulate scenarios and predict future impacts on a large scale, which would take several years and multiple empirical studies to achieve.

The outcomes of this project will provide tools for understanding how a wide variety of species are impacted by very specific scenarios of habitat change and what can be done to mitigate the negative effects. This includes conservation of existing lands, restoration of habitat and modifying human activity to accommodate wildlife.

This project includes collaborators from across the country, including researchers at universities as well as with non-governmental and governmental organizations.

5 Purdue graduate students and 9 undergraduates gained training and work experience on this project in 2019

Project Director: Dr. Patrick Zollner
10/01/2016 - 09/30/2021

Print/Research

With an estimated 329 million people in the United States, the impact on domestic wildlife and their habitats is growing. This project aims to mitigate negative effects with field study and modeling.

State parks and National parks in the United States (58 national; 10,234 state)

There are more than 1,300 endangered or threatened species in the United States (EPA 2019)

Bird species have been found in Indiana. The state provides breeding habitat for 180 species

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