Successful neighbour: Interactions of the generalist carnivore red fox with dogs, wolves and humans for continued survival in dynamic anthropogenic landscapes

Reshamwala, Hussain S.; Mahar, Neeraj; Dirzo, Rodolfo; Habib, Bilal

doi:10.1016/j.gecco.2020.e01446

Cited by 13 publications

(23 citation statements)

References 47 publications

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“…Interestingly hill slopes were the most frequently used sites within and near villages. This result was complementary to Reshamwala et al (2021) , where red foxes used the hill slopes for denning sites with minimal human disturbance. Unlike red fox, leopard cat showed close association with agricultural plots within villages and houses near villages which was in accordance with the study by Rajaratnam et al (2007) and Vitekere et al (2020) .…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 67%

“…Furthermore, red fox was positively related to livestock like goats and sheep, suggesting the possibility of livestock depredation, which aligned with Aryal, Sathyakumar & Kreigenhofer (2010) and Maheshwari & Sathyakumar (2020) . Also, red foxes showed a negative relationship with humans and dogs in villages possibly due to disturbance and threat from the competitive carnivore ( Gil-Fernández et al, 2020 ; Reshamwala et al, 2021 ). Interestingly hill slopes were the most frequently used sites within and near villages.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Understanding the distribution and fine-scale habitat selection of mesocarnivores along a habitat quality gradient in western Himalaya

Bandyopadhyay

Burton

Gupta

et al. 2022

PeerJ

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Background: Human activities have resulted in a rapid increase of modified habitats in proximity to wildlife habitats in the Himalaya. However, it is crucial to understand the extent to which human habitat modification affects wildlife. Mesocarnivores generally possess broader niches than large carnivores and adapt quickly to human activities. Here, we use a case study in the western Himalaya to test the hypothesis that human disturbance influenced mesocarnivore habitat use. Methods: We used camera trapping and mitochondrial DNA-based species identification from faecal samples to obtain mesocarnivore detections. We then compared the responses of mesocarnivores between an anthropogenic site and a less disturbed park along a contiguous gradient in habitat quality. The non-linear pattern in species-specific habitat selection and factors responsible for space usage around villages was captured using hierarchical generalized additive modelling (HGAM) and non-metric multidimensional scaling (NMDS) ordination. Results: Wildlife occurrences along the gradient varied by species. Leopard cat and red fox were the only terrestrial mesocarnivores that occurred in both anthropogenic site and park. We found a shift in habitat selection from less disturbed habitat in the park to disturbed habitat in anthropogenic site for the species detected in both the habitat types. For instance, red fox showed habitat selection towards high terrain ruggedness (0.5 to 0.7 TRI) and low NDVI (−0.05 to 0.2) in the park but no such specific selection in anthropogenic site. Further, leopard cat showed habitat selection towards moderate slope (20°) and medium NDVI (0.5) in park but no prominent habitat selections in anthropogenic site. The results revealed their constrained behaviour which was further supported by the intensive site usage close to houses, agricultural fields and human trails in villages. Conclusions: Our results indicate shifts in habitat selection and intensive site usage by mesocarnivores in the human-modified habitat. In future, this suggests the possibility of conflict and disease spread affecting both the people and wildlife. Therefore, this study highlights the requisite to test the wildlife responses to rapidly growing human expansions in modified habitats to understand the extent of impact. The management strategies need to have an integrated focus for further expansions of modified habitat and garbage disposal strategies, especially in the human-wildlife interface area.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 67%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Understanding the distribution and fine-scale habitat selection of mesocarnivores along a habitat quality gradient in western Himalaya

Bandyopadhyay

Burton

Gupta

et al. 2022

PeerJ

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“…Chiktan is a small hamlet about 80 km from the city of Kargil. The people belong to the Muslim community and due to higher non-vegetarian food consumption, there is more anthropogenic food subsidy and greater fox abundance in this area as compared to other parts of Ladakh ( Reshamwala et al, 2018 ; Reshamwala et al, 2021 ). Rumbuck is a village with few scattered human settlements within Hemis National Park, and the people belong to the Buddhist community.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Rumbuck is a village with few scattered human settlements within Hemis National Park, and the people belong to the Buddhist community. People are primarily associated with agriculture or agro-pastoralism and are sometimes involved with tourism, especially in Hemis National Park ( Reshamwala et al, 2021 ). Besides red fox, snow leopard ( Panthera uncia ), wolf ( Canis lupus ), Ladakh urial ( Ovis vignei ), blue sheep ( Pseudois nayaur ), ibex ( Capra ibex ), weasel ( Mustela altaica ), and stone marten ( Martes foina ) occur in this area.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, such mid-sized carnivores are also facing competition because of their broad diet, which overlaps with the energetic needs of myriad other sympatric competitors ( Caro & Stoner, 2003 ). For example, a previous study reports a high diet-overlap of red fox with wolves and dogs from the Trans-Himalayan region ( Reshamwala et al, 2021 ). As a result, they may have to make trade-offs either temporally or spatially ( Schuette et al, 2013 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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On the move: spatial ecology and habitat use of red fox in the Trans-Himalayan cold desert

Reshamwala

Raina²,

Hussain

et al. 2022

PeerJ

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Red fox ( Vulpes vulpes ) is the most widespread wild carnivore globally, occupying diverse habitats. The species is known for its adaptability to survive in dynamic anthropogenic landscapes. Despite being one of the most extensively studied carnivores, there is a dearth of information on red fox from the Trans-Himalayan region. We studied the home range sizes of red fox using the different estimation methods: minimum convex polygon (MCP), kernel density estimator (KDE), local convex hull (LoCoH) and Brownian-bridge movement model (BBMM). We analysed the daily movement and assessed the habitat selection with respect to topographic factors (ruggedness, elevation and slope), environmental factor (distance to water) and anthropogenic factors (distance to road and human settlements). We captured and GPS-collared six red fox individuals (three males and three females) from Chiktan and one female from Hemis National Park, Ladakh, India. The collars were programmed to record GPS fixes every 15-min. The average BBMM home range estimate (95% contour) was 22.40 ± 12.12 SD km 2 (range 3.81–32.93 km 2 ) and the average core area (50% contour) was 1.87 ± 0.86 SD km 2 (range 0.55–2.69 km 2 ). The estimated average daily movement of red fox was 17.76 ± 8.45 SD km/d (range 10.91–34.22 km/d). Red fox significantly selected lower elevations with less rugged terrain and were positively associated with water. This is the first study in the Trans-Himalayan landscape which aims to understand the daily movement of red fox at a fine temporal scale. Studying the movement and home range sizes helps understand the daily energetics and nutritional requirements of red fox. Movement information of a species is important for the prioritisation of areas for conservation and can aid in understanding ecosystem functioning and landscape management.

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Understanding carnivore interactions in a cold arid trans‐Himalayan landscape: What drives co‐existence patterns within predator guild along varying resource gradients?

Justa

Lyngdoh

2023

Ecology and Evolution

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Predators compete for resources aggressively, forming trophic hierarchies that shape the structure of an ecosystem. Competitive interactions between species are modified in the human‐altered environment and become particularly important where an introduced predator can have negative effects on native predator and prey species. The trans‐Himalayan region of northern India has seen significant development in tourism and associated infrastructure over the last two decades, resulting in many changes to the natural setting of the landscape. While tourism, combined with unmanaged garbage can facilitate red fox ( Vulpes vulpes ), it also allows free‐ranging dogs ( Canis lupus familiaris ), an introduced mesopredator to thrive, possibly more than the native red fox. We look at the little‐known competitive dynamics of these two meso‐carnivores, as well as their intra‐guild interactions with the region's top carnivores, the snow leopard ( Panthera uncia ) and the Himalayan wolf ( Canis lupus chanco ). To study interactions between these four carnivores, we performed multispecies occupancy modeling and analyzed spatiotemporal interactions between these predators using camera trap data. We also collected scat samples to calculate dietary niche overlaps and determine the extent of competition for food resources between these carnivores. The study found that, after controlling for habitat and prey covariates, red fox site use was related positively to snow leopard site use, but negatively to dog and wolf site use. In addition, site use of the dog was associated negatively with top predators, that is, snow leopard and Himalayan wolf, while top predators themselves related negatively in their site use. As anthropogenic impacts increase, we find that these predators coexist in this resource‐scarce landscape through dietary or spatiotemporal segregation, implying competition for limited resources. Our research adds to the scant ecological knowledge of the predators in the region and improves our understanding of community dynamics in human‐altered ecosystems.

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Successful neighbour: Interactions of the generalist carnivore red fox with dogs, wolves and humans for continued survival in dynamic anthropogenic landscapes

Cited by 13 publications

References 47 publications

Understanding the distribution and fine-scale habitat selection of mesocarnivores along a habitat quality gradient in western Himalaya

Understanding the distribution and fine-scale habitat selection of mesocarnivores along a habitat quality gradient in western Himalaya

On the move: spatial ecology and habitat use of red fox in the Trans-Himalayan cold desert

Understanding carnivore interactions in a cold arid trans‐Himalayan landscape: What drives co‐existence patterns within predator guild along varying resource gradients?

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