Different sitting postures clearly resulted in changes in cervical spine position. Lumbar and pelvic position should be considered when control of cervical posture is desired.

The Sacramento Valley red fox (Vulpes vulpes patwin) is a native subspecies of conservation need endemic to the northern portion of California's Central Valley, USA. We conducted an occupancy survey to investigate habitat use and obtain a crude, range‐wide estimate of abundance. We used 2 previously developed red fox distribution models based on presence‐only data to stratify sampling of 107 sites with baited cameras for ≥90 days during March 2013–June 2016, resulting in red fox detections at 30 sites. All detections occurred in 1 of the 93 sites where 1 or both previous presence‐only models predicted occurrence. Red fox occurrence was positively associated with dry agriculture, human development, and proximity to grassland, and negatively associated with wetlands and flooded agriculture. The models predicted that 34.21% of the 12,000‐km2 Sacramento Valley landscape contained red foxes, which we estimate corresponded to approximately 1,600 breeding individuals. This estimate is comparable to that of the federally endangered California San Joaquin kit fox (Vulpes macrotis mutica), underscoring its potential vulnerability and conservation need. Targeted efforts to enhance its habitat, such as juxtaposition of grassland patches with agricultural and rural residential structures through conservation easements, could benefit conservation of the Sacramento Valley red fox. © 2018 The Wildlife Society.

No abstract

Wire cages (i.e., predator exclosures) are frequently used to protect shorebird nests from predation. While exclosed nests often have higher survival than unexclosed nests, concerns exist over whether the conspicuous structures might draw attention of predators, potentially increasing risks to adults and newly-hatched chicks. We present a new approach to investigating predator responses to exclosures and other stimuli at shorebird nests. We used location data from GPScollared red foxes (Vulpes vulpes) to examine short-term spatial responses of foxes to exclosure setup and hatching at piping plover (Charadrius melodus) nests on Fire Island, New York. We compared mean distances between fox locations and piping plover nests, and the proportions of fox locations within a 100-m buffer of nests, before and after exclosure setup and before, during, and after hatching. Mean distances from fox locations to nests were similar before versus after exclosure setup (x̄= 641 m before, 675 m after; permutation test for matched pairs, [PTMP], T = 0.28, P = 0.56, n = 9 foxes), before versus during hatching (x̄= 417 m before, 340 m during; PTMP, T = −0.93, P = 0.18, n = 5 foxes) and during versus after hatching (x̄= 340 m during, 330 m after; PTMP, T = 1.00, P = 0.84, n = 5 foxes). The proportions of fox locations within