About This Project

Wesselman Woods is home to a 200-acre urban old-growth forest that has been protected from timber harvest and human settlement. This unique forest has so much research potential but has yet to be taken advantage of. By starting up a camera trap project, we can gather data to understand how wildlife utilize this forest. The long term goal is to turn this into a citizen science project where the public can help tag wildlife photos and encourage human-wildlife coexistence.

Ask the Scientists

What is the context of this research?

There are large-scale camera trap projects around the U.S trying to better understand urban ecology through the Urban Wildlife Information Network. Although Evansville is not as big as these cities, Wesselman Woods has unique landscape characteristics. The differences between greenspaces in cities and the wildlife they house is critical to understanding urban ecology, habitat connectivity, and invasive species management. Biologists have a basic understanding as to why there are so many differences in wildlife occupancy between cities. By contributing to this research question we are not only contributing to urban ecology theory, but we are also enforcing the importance of greenspaces and biodiversity in cities for better city planning and conservation.

What is the significance of this project?

Road kill, zoonotic diseases, pest control, and higher endangered/extinction rates are just a few of the human-wildlife conflicts we already see in cities. As human over population continues to rise exponentially and wildlife is forced into closer proximity to humans, we will begin to see more extreme conflicts. Understanding urban animal behavior is more important now than ever before. By creating this camera trap study, we are able to understand what wildlife is living in the city and how it utilizes an urban forest. Wesselman Woods is a prime location for this project because it houses biodiversity specific to an old-growth forest, making it an example of what cities could look like in hundreds of years if greenspaces are abundant and preserved.

What are the goals of the project?

The overall goal of this project is to collect meaningful data that will influence academia, foster community-wildlife relationships, and local policy. 10 cameras will be deployed in strategic transects around the preserve. Cameras will deploy quarterly to capture seasonality during the months of Jan, March, June, and Oct. Once enough photos are captured, a public photo database will be created so community members can help tag animals present in each photo. We hope this aspect of the project will promote urban ecology and environmental stewardship throughout the community. Eventually, we will be able to start seeing patterns in wildlife occupancy, seasonality, daily species activity, and species abundance.