DOI: 10.5061/dryad.mw6m9062b
title: Data from: Not all mammalian small carnivores are equal: A global review of the research effort in urban areas

description: Human population increase and anthropogenic land-use changes are impacting
 biodiversity globally. Information on their impacts on urban wildlife is
 becoming increasingly apparent. Despite an increasing trend in urban
 wildlife studies, a systematic assessment of mammalian small carnivores in
 urban areas is lacking. We evaluated urban studies in international
 peer-reviewed journals using a systematic review process. We assessed
 urban wildlife publications from 1970–2021 to quantify trends over time
 regarding the taxonomic family and geographical focus of publications
 across the globe. Urban small carnivore studies have increased
 progressively through the decades, with 87.2% of all studies conducted in
 the last 20 years. Geographically, we found that small carnivore studies
 were disproportionately conducted, with 77.0% of all studies taking place
 in either North America (46.5%) or Europe (30.5%). Furthermore, the United
 States of America (39.8%) and the United Kingdom (11.4%) contributed to
 51.2% of all studies focused on small carnivores. We found seven carnivore
 families represented in urban studies, consisting of 76 species. Two canid
 species, Vulpes vulpes (21.9%) and Canis latrans (16.9%), accounted for
 38.8% of all studies conducted on urban small carnivores. The majority of
 studies took place in mixed or urban areas (79.8%), with suburban and
 exurban zones explored to a lesser extent (16.6%). Animal behaviour was
 the most studied scientific topic (24.6%), with the least being species
 conservation (0.3%). Critical gaps persist in the research of small
 mammalian carnivores, particularly in rapidly urbanising areas of Asia,
 Africa, and South America. While the field of urban ecology will certainly
 continue to advance, we urge future research to adopt a multi-disciplinary
 stance that explores the landscape transitional zones, from the periphery
 of the urban core (sub-urban, peri-urban, and exurban) into natural
 systems; or urban mosaic landscapes with natural and managed green spaces
 as refugia. The importance of urban fringe and margin areas for small
 carnivores remains largely unclear.
description: We carried out a comprehensive literature search to quantify the
 available research on urban mammalian small carnivores. We compiled data
 from only international peer-reviewed published journals. Article titles
 were found using the Google Scholar and Web of Science online search
 engine databases using the search phrase “"Urban Mammal" OR
 "Urban Carnivore" AND Mammal” with the following keyword
 "*" notation: mammal, carnivore, urban, suburban, city,
 periurban, exurban, residential. In Scopus, articles were found using the
 search phrase TITLE-ABS-KEY (urban)) AND ((mammal)) AND (carnivore) AND
 PUBYEAR AFT 1970, following with OR function with different types of urban
 areas (suburban, city, periurban, exurban, and residential). The search
 timeframe was limited between 1970 and the end of 2021. Literature
 resources included in the analysis were only those with a fully accessible
 abstract. Publications were incorporated in the review if they represented
 wildlife-based research (non-domestic animals) located in areas of urban
 landscapes (non-agricultural), and therefore, feral domestic dogs
 (<em>Canis lupus familiaris</em>) and cats (<em>Felis
 catus</em>) were excluded from this review. Review papers were
 included in the analyses, while editorials, letters, comments, and book
 reviews were excluded (Magle et al., 2012; Collins et al., 2021).
 For the Web of Science, Google Scholar, and Scopus outputs, the
 results were refined by countries belonging to major global regions
 (Africa, Asia, Europe, North America, Oceania, and South America). The Web
 of Science search was further refined by using the Web of Science Core
 Collection. Additionally, we performed an additional Web of Science Core
 Collection search with the combination of specific families of mammalian
 small carnivores, namely Canidae, Felidae, Herpestidae, Mephitidae,
 Mustelidae, Procyonidae, and Viverridae with the "*" notation.
 Journal articles were subsequently separated by species of interest and
 tabulated by global region and country where the study was performed.
 Additional studies were incorporated into the final summary table by
 referral. Furthermore, publications were evaluated for
 their primary research topics. The classification process was not limited
 to a single research topic and could comprise multiple topics. The 11
 primary research topics were: 1. Animal behaviour: spatial movement
 (dispersal, home range, habitat), intraspecific interactions (mating and
 conflicts), alterations in activities and diet; 2. Community ecology:
 interspecific interactions between two or more species; 3. Conservation:
 studies focused on endangered or threatened species; 4. Genetics:
 population genetics; 5. Human dimension: citizen science and survey
 questionnaires; 6. Human–wildlife conflict: wildlife attacks, economic
 damage, domestic pet interactions, vehicle collisions; 7. Invasion
 ecology: studies on an invasive species; 8. Population ecology:
 demographic levels and population change; 9. Wildlife diseases: zoonotic
 and wildlife diseases, parasites and transmission; 10. Wildlife
 management: population control, baiting methods and sterilisation; and 11.
 Wildlife toxicology: anthropogenically derived blood toxins, poisons and
 heavy metals. Lastly, we categorised the land-use types in which the
 studies were conducted. Study sites were classified according to the level
 of development based on terms used in the abstract, title and/or keywords
 (urban, suburban, exurban/peri-urban and unknown) (Magle et
 al., 2012; Collins et al., 2021). We also
 added the category of mixed land-use type, which were studies that
 encompassed multiple degrees of urban development. Studies that occurred
 along an urban land-use gradient overlapping with natural areas were not
 excluded. We collated all these data and used descriptive statistics to
 show trends.