Seasonal and sex differences in urine marking rates of wild red foxes Vulpes vulpes

Abstract

Understanding the role of urine marking in the\ud territorial systems of wild mammals can be difficult, especiallymfor nocturnal cryptic species. Even for common species, such as the red fox Vulpes vulpes, a comprehensive\ud analysis of seasonal and sex differences has not been carried out. Using 6 years of infra-red video monitoring, we compared marking rates between months and between sexes.\ud Urine marking was significantly lower during summer\ud (June–August). Males urine marked significantly more frequently than females during late summer and autumn, but not winter. Males marked more frequently than females also\ud during March. There was no increase during the breeding\ud season for either sex. Our results correlate with previous\ud partial data but demonstrate how urine marking rates vary\ud across the year. They also further support the greater role of males in fox territorial maintenance. Urine marking is lowest during summer when territorial intrusions are least, whilst the higher male urine marking rate in March reflects the,period when females are denning. Overall, our results provide the first comprehensive analysis of red fox urine\ud marking rates, contributing to a greater understanding of\ud territoriality and olfactory communication

Seasonal and Sex-Specific Differences in Feeding Site Attendance by Red Foxes Vulpes vulpes

“…Secondly, individuals may be engaged in other activities and reduced attendance at a feeding site may be simply because time is spent elsewhere in the territory. For example, males increase urine marking rate during autumn (Fawcett et al 2013), possibly because intrusion by nonresidents increases during this period.…”

“…So, in this study, we used a long-term series of video footages in a residential UK garden to test how individual patterns of attendance varied with season and sex, and 4 between resident and trespassing foxes. Long-term monitoring permits individual identification and previous work has examined patterns of urine marking in adults and cubs (Fawcett et al 2013;Soulsbury & Fawcett 2015). Here we report patterns of individual feeding site attendance and how these varied with sex, season and whether the individuals were seen relatively frequently and likely to be residents, or less frequently and likely to be non-residents.…”

Ontogenic patterns of scent marking in red foxes, Vulpes vulpes (Carnivora: Canidae)

“…The study site and recording protocols were identical to those described in a previous study (see Fawcett et al 2013). Briefly, the study site was a largish garden in the New Forest, Hampshire, where foxes regularly attended a feeding station about 15m x 20m, mainly comprising rough lawn backed by shrubs.…”

“…Urine marking has an important social role in many mammal groups, with sex (e.g. Fawcett et al 2013) and status differences among adult individuals (e.g. Gese & Ruff 1997;Sillero-Zubiri et al 1998).…”

Interference competition: odours of an apex predator and conspecifics influence resource acquisition by red foxes

“…In canids, odours present in urine, faeces and other bodily secretions are used to transmit information about the sex, and social and reproductive status of conspecifics (Fawcett et al 2013;Gese and Ruff 1997;Rothman and Mech 1979). Odours in the environment also provide canids with information about prey, potential predators and competitors (Arnold et al 2011;White and Harris 1994).…”