The effects of sex, age, season and habitat on diet of the red fox Vulpes vulpes in northeastern Poland

Abstract

The diet of the red fox Vulpes vulpes was investigated in five regions of northeastern Poland by stomach content analysis of 224 foxes collected from hunters. The red fox is expected to show the opportunistic feeding habits. Our study showed that foxes preyed mainly on wild prey, with strong domination of Microtus rodents, regardless of sex, age, month and habitat. Voles Microtus spp. were found in 73% of stomachs and constituted 47% of food volume consumed. Other food items were ungulate carrion (27% of volume), other mammals (11%), birds (9%), and plant material (4%). Sex- and age-specific differences in dietary diversity were found. Adult males and juvenile foxes had larger food niche breadths than adult females and their diets highly overlapped. Proportion of Microtus voles increased from autumn to late winter. Significant habitat differences between studied regions were found. There was a tendency among foxes to decrease consumption of voles with increasing percentage of forest cover. Based on our findings, red foxes in northeastern Poland can be recognized as a generalist predators, consuming easily accessible and abundant prey. However, high percentage of voles consumed regardless of age, sex, month, or habitats may indicate red fox specialization in preying on Microtus rodents.

Spatio-temporal variation of predator diet in a rural habitat: stone martens in the villages of Białowieża forest

“…The marten's dietary composition varied seasonally, between years and in relation to village size. Many other generalist predators have shown a similar spatial and temporal flexibility of dietary composition and plasticity, in their capacity to adapt to changing abundances of food resources within the environment (Jędrzejewski and Jędrzejewska 1992;Lanszki et al 1999Lanszki et al , 2007Borkowski et al 2011;Kidawa and Kowalczyk 2011). Seasonal and inter-annual variation in dietary composition has also been observed in other martens.…”

Range expansion of the golden jackal (Canis aureus) into Poland: first records

“…Competition with native red foxes (Vulpes vulpes) and invasive raccoon dogs (Nyctereutes procyonoides), which inhabit similar habitats (open areas, wetlands, river valleys) and overlap in their food habits (rodents, carrion), as well as effects on rodents, brown hare and roe deer can probably be expected (Jędrzejewska and Jędrzejewski 1998;Lanszki and Heltai 2002;Kidawa and Kowalczyk 2011;Markov and Lanszki 2012;Penezić and Ćirović 2015).…”

The prevalence and distribution of Alaria alata, a potential zoonotic parasite, in foxes in Ireland

“…The preferential habitat of foxes for foraging is open fields (Kidawa and Kowalczyk 2011). The majority of the A. alata-positive foxes were captured in areas of low-lying pasture in a corridor running in a northeast/southwest direction in the centre of the country and bounded by mountain ranges in the south, west and northwest.…”