Behavior

To investigate olfactory discrimination and communication in the coyote, we presented individual, captive coyotes with paired urine stimuli from socially salient coyotes (self, sibling, pairmate, stranger). Coyotes were tested in breeding season and again in the non-breeding season. Behaviors were captured with motion-triggered cameras and rates of sniffing, urination, and other scent-marking behaviors were analyzed to compare responses between stimuli as well as across variables like sex and season. Analyses are currently ongoing for this project.