Home Ranges, Activity, and Habitat Use by Gray Foxes in an Oak-Hickory Forest

Haroldson, Kurt J.; Fritzell, Erik K.

doi:10.2307/3808476

Cited by 37 publications

(35 citation statements)

References 9 publications

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“…Gray foxes seem to behave as habitat specialists in brushy habitats; this contrasts with most assessments of their habitat use indicating generalist habits and usage of both open and brushy habitats (Trani 1980;Haroldson and Fritzell 1984;Harrison 1997). 2.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 93%

Competition and intraguild predation among three sympatric carnivores

et al. 2000

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We examined the relative roles of dominance in agonistic interactions and energetic constraints related to body size in determining local abundances of coyotes (Canis latrans, 8-20 kg), gray foxes (Urocyon cinereoargenteus, 3-5 kg) and bobcats (Felis rufus, 5-15 kg) at three study sites (hereafter referred to as NP, CP, and SP) in the Santa Monica Mountains of California. We hypothesized that the largest and behaviorally dominant species, the coyote, would exploit a wider range of resources (i.e., a higher number of habitat and/or food types) and, consequently, would occur in higher density than the other two carnivores. We evaluated our hypotheses by quantifying their diets, food overlap, habitat-specific abundances, as well as their overall relative abundance at the three study sites. We identified behavioral dominance of coyotes over foxes and bobcats in Santa Monica because 7 of 12 recorded gray fox deaths and 2 of 5 recorded bobcat deaths were due to coyote predation, and no coyotes died as a result of their interactions with bobcats or foxes. Coyotes and bobcats were present in a variety of habitats types (8 out of 9), including both open and brushy habitats, whereas gray foxes were chiefly restricted to brushy habitats. There was a negative relationship between the abundances of coyotes and gray foxes (P=0.020) across habitats, suggesting that foxes avoided habitats of high coyote predation risk. Coyote abundance was low in NP, high in CP, and intermediate in SP. Bobcat abundance changed little across study sites, and gray foxes were very abundant in NP, absent in CP, and scarce in SP; this suggests a negative relationship between coyote and fox abundances across study sites, as well. Bobcats were solely carnivorous, relying on small mammals (lagomorphs and rodents) throughout the year and at all three sites. Coyotes and gray foxes also relied on small mammals year-round at all sites, though they also ate significant amounts of fruit. Though there were strong overall interspecific differences in food habits of carnivores (P<0.0001), average seasonal food overlaps were high due to the importance of small mammals in all carnivore diets [bobcat-gray fox: 0.79±0.09 (SD), n=4; bobcat-coyote: 0.69±0.16, n=6; coyote-gray fox: 0.52±0.05, n=4]. As hypothesized, coyotes used more food types and more habitat types than did bobcats and gray foxes and, overall, coyotes were the most abundant of the three species and ranged more widely than did gray foxes. We propose that coyotes limit the number and distribution of gray foxes in Santa Monica Mountains, and that those two carnivores exemplified a case in which the relationship between their body size and local abundance is governed by competitive dominance of the largest species rather than by energetic equivalences. However, in the case of the intermediate-sized bobcat no such a pattern emerged, likely due to rarity or inconsistency of agonistic interactions and/or behavioral avoidance of encounters by subordinate species.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 93%

Competition and intraguild predation among three sympatric carnivores

et al. 2000

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“…It was found that TSs with the highest FO were the sites with the most dense vegetation cover, which is considered to be protective of daytime movements across the range of the gray fox (Haroldson and Fritzell 1984;Farias et al 2005;Sollmann et al 2013). Fritzell and Haroldson (1982), considering different locations, seasons and estimation methods, found that the density of the gray fox varied from 1.2 to 2.1 individuals per km², which is consistent with the density found in this study (1.73).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ecological niche and occupation by gray fox (Urocyon cinereoargenteus) at Las Barajitas Canyon, Sonora

Armenta-Méndez

Gallo‐Reynoso

Macías‐Duarte

et al. 2018

Therya

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Hutchinson defines ecological niche considering the relevance of the environment in the n-dimensional space, according to the patterns of species presence in it. For Peterson and collaborators, these patterns set the basis for niche modeling, since they directly affect the proportion of sites occupied by species. To determine the ecological variables that would favor the conservation of biodiversity at the landscape level, the ecological niche and site occupation by the gray fox (Urocyon cinereoargenteus) were simulated using photo-trapping monitoring at Las Barajitas Canyon, Sonora, Mexico. The potential habitat of the fox was modeled with the program MaxEnt, and the occupation (ψ) and probability of detection (p) were estimated with the program MARK. Vegetation was sampled using the quadrants and Braun-Blanquet methods to estimate importance values for the main plants for inclusion in the presence-absence models, as well as to know the state of the vegetation, using the species accumulation function. The sampling effort over one-year was 124 days/night-trap, obtaining 575 photographs of the gray fox. The analysis of the activity pattern revealed that the gray fox is a nocturnal-twilight species. The evaluation of the vegetation sampled evidenced the dominance of the Ruellia-Jatropha-Bursera association. The plant species accumulation function showed a positive linear relationship (r² = 0.97). In accordance with the information criteria (AICc), positive correlations were found between the sympatric species cacomixtle and coyote, and seasonality (i.e. spring and autumn), resulting in ψ = 38.5 % and p = 7.7 %. The spatial dynamics of plant communities and the relationships between animal species observed in this study indicate that, Las Barajitas Canyon is a suitable environment for the gray fox, since the Area Under the Curve (AUC) obtained was close to 1 (0.873).Hutchinson define el nicho ecológico incluyendo la importancia del medio ambiente en un espacio n-dimensional, en función de los patrones de presencia de las especies. Para Peterson y colaboradores, estos patrones constituyen la base para su modelación, ya que afectan directamente en la proporción de sitios ocupados por las especies. Para determinar las variables ecológicas que pudieran favorecer la conservación de la biodiversidad a nivel de paisaje, se simuló el nicho ecológico y la ocupación de la zorra gris (Urocyon cinereoargenteus) mediante un monitoreo de foto-trampeo en el Cañón de Las Barajitas, Sonora, México. Se modeló su hábitat potencial con el programa MaxEnt y se estimaron la ocupación (ψ) y la probabilidad de su detección (p) con el programa MARK. Se muestreó la vegetación por los métodos de cuadrantes y de Braun-Blanquet, para generar valores de importancia de las principales plantas e incluirlos en los modelos de presencia-ausencia, así como conocer el estado de la vegetación, usando la función de acumulación de especies. El esfuerzo de un año de muestreo fue de 124 días/noche trampa, obteniendo 575 fotografías de zorra gris. El anális...

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“…Indeed, given the limited ranges of the smaller mammals (<10 km 2 , Gehrt and Fritzell, 1997;Goheen and Swihart, 2005;Haroldson and Fritzell, 1984) we would not expect their diets to include food from regions with radically different geological ages, though the presence of migratory prey animals may have contributed to the 87 Sr/ 86 Sr values of the gray fox. It is possible that the isotopic composition of the human material reflects the homogenization of strontium values due to the heterogeneity of the mid-Hudson Valley geology.…”

Section: Establishing the Local Newburgh 87 Sr/ 86 Sr Signaturementioning

confidence: 96%

“…The predominant component is the Ordovician age Normanskill Formation, a shaley siltstone. The area also contains Gehrt and Fritzell, 1997;Goheen and Swihart, 2005;Haroldson and Fritzell, 1984) it is possible that they ranged into the nearby Cambro-Ordovician, Cambrian, Precambrian formations. The modern snails were selected such that they should be representative of the major geological units in the Newburgh area: Cronomer Hill formation (sample F5), the Poughquaq Formation (sample F6), Wappinger Group (sample F7), and Normanskill Formation (sample F8).…”

Section: Strontium Analyses and New York Geologymentioning

confidence: 99%