Habitat loss and fragmentation cause a variety of ecological impacts that trigger different responses in different mammal species. Many large mammals have experienced dramatic range contractions, while others have expanded following natural reforestation. Recent studies have shown that mammalian carnivore species richness, persistence, and abundance are best predicted by forest fragment size and isolation. Although fragmentation is frequently detrimental to large carnivore populations, ungulates and some mesopredators thrive on conditions that accompany habitat disturbance.
Broad scale studies are often limited by financial and human resources, but these limitations can be overcome using new cost-effective and non-invasive techniques such as remote camera trapping and volunteer-based citizen science. With a dense human population serving as both a driver of landscape fragmentation and as a volunteer base, the forests of the Appalachian Mountains in the Eastern United States are an ideal testing ground for these techniques.