Introduction
Location Map
Base Map
Database Schema
Conventions
GIS Analyses
Flowchart
GIS Concepts
Results
Conclusion
References
Using GIS to Determine Native Felid Habitat in Urbanizing Areas and its Link to Human and Domestic Cat Conflicts
Results
The map above is the result of using raster calculator to create a new layer by masking the habitat suitability map to the bobcat buffer on the Uncompaghre Plateau rural study area. These buffers were dissolved and percent of suitable habitat (of each level) will be calculated for each level of urbanization and study area.
This map (above) represents the amount of suitable bobcat habitat within domestic cat home range buffers of two different parcels in the Uncompahgre Plateau rural study area. Below, we will report the results of calculating both bobcat and mountain lion suitable habitat overlap with domestic cat buffers in 5 individual parcels in each level of urbanization and study area.
As shown in the graph above, the Boulder exurban area has the greatest amount of suitable (high and medium quality) bobcat habitat over all levels of urbanization when the buffers are dissolved. Conversely, the Uncompahgre Plateau exurban area has the lowest amount of suitable bobcat habitat. Overall, the Boulder study sites have more suitable bobcat habitat than the Uncompahgre Plateau sites.
As shown in the graph above, the Uncompahgre Plateau rural area has the greatest amount of suitable (high and medium quality) mountain lion habitat over all levels of urbanization when the buffers are dissolved over urbanization level. Conversely, the Boulder urban area has the lowest amount of suitable mountain lion habitat. Overall, the UP study sites have more suitable mountain lion habitat than the Boulder sites.
As shown in the graph above, the Boulder exurban area has the greatest amount of high quality bobcat habitat within domestic cat home range buffers, averaged overall levels of urbanization. However, the UP rural study area only has slightly less (about 15%) high quality bobcat habitat than the Boulder exurban. The Boulder urban area has the lowest amount of suitable (high and medium quality) bobcat habitat within domestic cat home range buffers. Overall, the UP and Boulder study sites have about the same amount of suitable bobcat habitat within domestic cat buffers.
As shown in the graph above, the Boulder exurban area has the greatest amount of high quality mountain lion habitat within domestic cat home range buffers, averaged overall levels of urbanization. However, the UP rural study area only has slightly less suitable (high and medium quality) habitat than the Boulder exurban area. The Boulder urban area has the lowest amount of suitable (high and medium quality) mountain lion habitat within domestic cat home range buffers. Overall, the UP study sites have more suitable mountain habitat within domestic cat buffers than the Boulder study area.
Preliminary Data: Elicitation Surveys
Questions:
1. What are the disadvantages of domestic cats being outdoors?
2. What circumstances would discourage you from letting your cat outdoors?
We asked the questions listed above the table via telephone survey to make sure our mail surveys were truly capturing the attitutes of our study population. As seen from these elicitation results in the table above (n=10, from each study area and level of urbanization), residents from the Boulder exurban study area have the greatest risk perceptions of wild felid-domestic cat interactions of all groups. The Uncompahgre Plateau rural area residents have the smallest risk perceptions of the four groups.