5 | CONCLUSION
We conclude that there is evidence of temporal partitioning being used
by raccoons in the presence of coyotes. On the surface, our results
seemingly contradict recent works that suggest that coyotes are not an
important intraguild predator for raccoons, and that raccoons thus do
not partition time to avoid coyotes (Gehrt and Clark 2003; Chitwood et
al. 2020). Instead, we suggest that time use shifts may be at a fine
scale, and whether they are present depends on a suite of factors.
Therefore for a behaviorally plastic species such as the raccoon, it is
difficult to make broad conclusions about time use without considering
the considerable variation across the urban-rural gradient they inhabit.
Similarly for the coyote, their role as an intraguild aggressor for
raccoons is not static across the urban-rural gradient. Instead, the
competitive dominance of coyotes is likely dependent on the amount of
human pressure and the presence of other larger competitors. Ultimately,
as the human footprint on the planet continues to deepen, we need to
continue reevaluating interactions across the gradient that it creates.
The paradigm in conservation is also shifting to include in situconservation of species in urban habitats, rather than considering these
areas solely as suboptimal sink habitats (Magle et al. 2012; Athreya et
al. 2013; Mormile and Hill 2017). Studies comparing the ecological roles
of species within a community between urban and natural systems are
timely. Such work will prove invaluable in understanding how wildlife
communities in these novel habitats differ not just in composition, but
also in their function.