Abstract
Aim Across much of the globe, landscape modification and the reduction of large carnivores have facilitated the expansion and growth of mesocarnivore populations. An understanding of the factors shaping the distribution and activity of mesocarnivores in highly modified systems lacking large carnivores can help ecologists predict the potential ecological impacts of such human‐induced population increases. We examined the site use of coyotes ( Canis latrans ) within the highly modified, agriculture‐fragmented landscapes of the Midwest, where no large carnivore populations persist. Location U.S. state of Illinois (statewide). Time Period 2021–2024. Major Taxa Studied Coyote, C. latrans (Carnivora: Canidae). Methods Using a statewide network of camera traps deployed across Illinois from autumn–spring over three study years (2021/22–2023/24), we modelled coyote site‐use intensity at local (≤ 100 m), intermediate (≤ 1 km) and landscape (≤ 5 km) scales within a spatial Bayesian N‐mixture framework. Results Drivers of coyote site use were strongly scale dependent. At fine spatial scales, forest, shrubland, agricultural and developed land cover were negatively associated with site‐use intensity, whereas at broader scales these relationships weakened or reversed direction. Shrubland shifted from negative at 100 m to strongly positive at 5 km, indicating contrasting microhabitat and landscape‐level effects. Coyote site use increased with both coyote harvest pressure and white‐tailed deer abundance, but the positive association with deer diminished in highly harvested coyote populations. Localized forest and developed land exhibited synergistic negative effects, while anthropogenic land cover showed little influence at broader extents. Main Conclusions Collectively, our results demonstrate that coyote activity is structured by landscape configuration, prey availability and harvest intensity in scale‐specific ways. These findings indicate that mesocarnivores can buffer anthropogenic pressures at fine scales while exploiting broader landscapes, highlighting how scale‐explicit management may influence population dynamics and trophic interactions in systems lacking large carnivores.