Evidence for red fox (<i>Vulpes vulpes</i>) exploitation of anthropogenic food sources along an urbanization gradient using stable isotope analysis

Handler, A. M.; Lonsdorf, Eric V.; Ardia, Daniel R.

doi:10.1139/cjz-2019-0004

Cited by 14 publications

(19 citation statements)

References 57 publications

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“…Sulfur compounds were the most significant findings in fox urine, accounting for 32% (17/ 53) of the endogenous scent compounds, and including the second most frequently found compound, 3-isopentenyl methyl sulfide (20), present in 14/15 foxes. Five sulfur compounds have only been found in foxes: 3-isopentenyl thiol (15), octanethiol (39), benzyl methyl sulfide 1.…”

Section: Plos Onementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Increasing fox numbers have brought ecological, economic and health problems [1,8]. Foxes eat a wide variety of food including insects, reptiles and other wildlife, farm and domestic animals, various fruits and other plant materials and food scraps [2,[9][10][11][12][13][14][15]. Their ecological impact is profound in Australia, where they have spread throughout the continent since their introduction in the 19 th century [16].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Volatile scent chemicals in the urine of the red fox, Vulpes vulpes

2021

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The red fox is a highly adaptable mammal that has established itself world-wide in many different environments. Contributing to its success is a social structure based on chemical signalling between individuals. Urine scent marking behaviour has long been known in foxes, but there has not been a recent study of the chemical composition of fox urine. We have used solid-phase microextraction and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry to analyze the urinary volatiles in 15 free-ranging wild foxes (2 female) living in farmlands and bush in Victoria, Australia. Foxes here are routinely culled as feral pests, and the urine was collected by bladder puncture soon after death. Compounds were identified from their mass spectra and Kovats retention indices. There were 53 possible endogenous scent compounds, 10 plant-derived compounds and 5 anthropogenic xenobiotics. Among the plant chemicals were several aromatic apocarotenoids previously found in greater abundance in the fox tail gland. They reflect the dietary consumption of carotenoids, essential for optimal health. One third of all the endogenous volatiles were sulfur compounds, a highly odiferous group which included thiols, methylsulfides and polysulfides. Five of the sulfur compounds (3-isopentenyl thiol, 1- and 2-phenylethyl methyl sulfide, octanethiol and benzyl methyl sulfide) have only been found in foxes, and four others (isopentyl methyl sulfide, 3-isopentenyl methyl sulfide, and 1- and 2-phenylethane thiol) only in some canid, mink and skunk species. This indicates that they are not normal mammalian metabolites and have evolved to serve a specific role. This role is for defence in musteloids and most likely for chemical communication in canids. The total production of sulfur compounds varied greatly between foxes (median 1.2, range 0.4–32.3 μg ‘acetophenone equivalents’/mg creatinine) as did the relative abundance of different chemical types. The urinary scent chemistry may represent a highly evolved system of semiochemicals for communication between foxes.

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Section: Plos Onementioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Volatile scent chemicals in the urine of the red fox, Vulpes vulpes

2021

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“…The core direction of the development of agricultural machinery industry is the intelligence and mechanization of agricultural machinery, which is also the main direction of realizing agricultural modernization (Bukhtiyarova T.I. et al, 2021;Handler A.M. et al, 2020). Rotary tiller, as an important tillage machine, it is one of the important equipment to improve the tillage quality when it is used in field operation.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Three Dimensional Simulation of Oil Flow Characteristics in Lubrication System of Rotary Tillage Engine

Gao¹,

Gao²,

Zou³

2021

INMATEH

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Taking the lubrication system of rotary tillage engine as the research object, this paper makes a three-dimensional simulation study on the oil flow characteristics in the lubricating oil passage. The oil supply of the oil pump shall be greater than the circulating oil required by the lubrication system to ensure the lubrication of the rotary cultivator. Lubrication system is an important part to ensure the reliability and durability of rotary cultivator. The key component to achieve its performance is the oil pump. The geometric model of lubricating oil flow field in rotary tiller lubrication system is established by using FLUENT software. The results show that the pressure drop in the lubricating oil passage of the main bearing is the largest under the same working conditions. In the oil passage of the cylinder head, the pressure drop of the front main oil passage is the largest and the oil discharge is the largest. Add 1.6mm oil pump rotor on the basis of the thickness of the original oil pump rotor, the oil flow at the connecting rod nozzle reaches the flow index of the original rotary cultivator, and there is no cylinder pulling phenomenon of the rotary cultivator.

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“…Food utilization is an important aspect in the study of mammalian carnivores since trophic resources dominate several aspects of their ecology (Macdonald, 1983;Bekoffetal., 1984;Silva et al, 2009;Faraz et al, 2019). Foxes are opportunistic animals known for having a diverse diet that allows them to survive in natural and human-altered habitats (O'Mahoney et al, 1999;Stuart & Stuart 2003;Dell'Arte et al, 2007;Savory et al, 2014;Handler et al, 2020). Common food items ingested by foxes usually include arthropods, rodents (e.g., mice, voles), birds and rabbits (Aryal et al, 2010;Dell'Arte et al, 2007).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Several studies have shown that the importance of each food item in the diet of foxes varies depending on various factors, including habitat type and regional prey availability (Dell'Arte et al, 2007;MacDonald, 1977). For instance, anthropogenic food items may represent a large fraction of the items ingested by foxes in urban and suburban areas (Aryal et al, 2010;Contesse et al, 2004;Newsome et al, 2010;Savory et al, 2014;Handler et al, 2020).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Diet of Foxes and the Availability of Anthropogenic Food on Prince Edward Island, Canada

Silva-Opps¹,

Kelly-Clark²,

Opps³

2020

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It has been postulated that red foxes (Vulpesvulpes) inhabiting Prince Edward Island National Park (Canada) make very little use of natural food sources and that anthropogenic food play an integral part in their diet. The use of anthropogenic food sources has also been associated with an increased number of fatal fox vehicle-collisions in the park. The main goal of this study was to examine the composition of the diet of foxes inhabiting Prince Edward Island National Park and to compare this diet with foxes found in other areas of the island. In particular, we examined the importance of anthropogenic food items in foxes inhabiting the national park. We analyzed 38 stomachs from foxes killed by trappers or vehiclesduring late fall and early winter within and outside the national park. Our results showed that rodents and vegetation were the most common food items present in fox stomachs whether the animals were obtained from within or outside the park. Values of coefficient of variation of food items found in fox stomachs indicated a great diversity in diet composition. However, only six stomachs contained anthropogenic food items. Stomachs of foxes killed by vehicles contained twice the amount of anthropogenic food items than those that were collected from trappers. Overall, our findings indicate that anthropogenic food items are only a minor component in the diet of foxes occurring within the park, at least during the period of time examined in this study. Future studies should examine diet composition during other seasons when the quantity and quality of anthropogenic food sources is different.

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Evidence for red fox (Vulpes vulpes) exploitation of anthropogenic food sources along an urbanization gradient using stable isotope analysis

Cited by 14 publications

References 57 publications

Volatile scent chemicals in the urine of the red fox, Vulpes vulpes

Volatile scent chemicals in the urine of the red fox, Vulpes vulpes

Three Dimensional Simulation of Oil Flow Characteristics in Lubrication System of Rotary Tillage Engine

The Diet of Foxes and the Availability of Anthropogenic Food on Prince Edward Island, Canada

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