Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41377738›Full record

ArticleEcology and evolution2025

Trash Talking: Anthropogenic Resources Facilitate Raccoon Interactions in Urban Environments.

Laura Dudley Plimpton, Meredith VanAcker, Sara Kross, Ximena A Olarte-Castillo, Sara Evans, Christopher R Konowal, Meggan Craft, Laura B Goodman, Gary Whittaker, David Needle and 1 more

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Ecology and evolution, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

11 authors.

Laura Dudley PlimptonDepartment of Ecology, Evolution, and Environmental Biology Columbia University New York New York USA.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2632-9272
Meredith VanAckerCollege of Natural and Agricultural Sciences University of California, Riverside Riverside California USA.
Sara KrossSchool of Biological Sciences University of Canterbury Christchurch New Zealand.
Ximena A Olarte-CastilloDepartment of Microbiology & Immunology and James A. Baker Institute for Animal Health, College of Veterinary Medicine Cornell University Ithaca New York USA.
Sara EvansDepartment of Horticulture The Green-Wood Cemetery Brooklyn New York USA.
Christopher R KonowalDepartment of Ecology, Evolution, and Environmental Biology Columbia University New York New York USA.
Meggan CraftDepartment of Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior University of Minnesota St Paul New York USA.
Laura B GoodmanDepartment of Public and Ecosystem Health and James A. Baker Institute for Animal Health College of Veterinary Medicine, Cornell University Ithaca New York USA.
Gary WhittakerDepartment of Microbiology and Immunology and Department of Public and Ecosystem Health College of Veterinary Medicine, Cornell University Ithaca New York USA.
David NeedleNew Hampshire Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory College of Life Sciences and Agriculture, University of New Hampshire Durham New York USA.
Maria Diuk-WasserDepartment of Ecology, Evolution, and Environmental Biology Columbia University New York New York USA.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Interactions between animals of the same species underpin many ecological processes, from reproduction to pathogen transmission. Habitat modification, such as urbanization, affects an animal's spatial behavior, altering interactions with both their habitat and conspecifics. Raccoon space use varies widely between urban/suburban and rural populations, with anthropogenic resources suggested as a key factor in shaping movement behavior and consequently, opportunities for conspecific interaction. Here, we use high-resolution GPS data to identify instances of close spatiotemporal proximity (i.e., co-occurrence), referred to as "contacts," among raccoons in an urban greenspace in Brooklyn, New York City (NYC). To understand how resource patterning affects contact formation processes and evaluate possible spatial and demographic factors contributing to the types of contact observed, we evaluated the effect of proximity to different resources (including anthropogenic subsidies) on the probability of urban raccoon contact and assessed associations between the characteristics of urban raccoon contact events. We found that certain resources increase the likelihood of urban raccoons coming into contact, with the largest positive effect observed for anthropogenic resources. Shared characteristics across contact events suggest three main types of co-occurrence: (1) longer duration contacts between males near anthropogenic resources, (2) proximity between females near fruiting plants or while denning, and (3) transient interactions between males and females. We conclude that in an urban habitat, anthropogenic subsidies are important drivers of co-occurrence between raccoons, which interact dynamically with social factors to shape the characteristics, frequency, and distribution of contacts across the urban landscape. Our data have important implications for predicting the dynamics of contact-driven processes-particularly pathogen transmission-in urban raccoon populations.

Indexed as

animal movementanthropogenic resourcescontactintraspecific interactionraccoonresource patterningsocial behaviorurban ecology

Identifiers

PMID41377738
PMCPMC12685763

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.