Origins and antiquity of the island fox (Urocyon littoralis) on California's Channel Islands

AbstractThe island fox (Urocyon littoralis) is one of few reportedly endemic terrestrial mammals on California's Channel Islands. Questions remain about how and when foxes first colonized the islands, with researchers speculating on a natural, human-assisted, or combined dispersal during the late Pleistocene and/or Holocene. A natural dispersal of foxes to the northern Channel Islands has been supported by reports of a few fox bones from late Pleistocene paleontological localities. Direct AMS 14C dating of these “fossil” fox bones produced dates ranging from ∼ 6400 to 200 cal yr BP, however, postdating human colonization of the islands by several millennia. Although one of these specimens is the earliest securely dated fox from the islands, these new data support the hypothesis that Native Americans introduced foxes to all the Channel Islands in the early to middle Holocene. However, a natural dispersal for the original island colonization cannot be ruled out until further paleontological, archaeological, and genetic studies (especially aDNA [ancient DNA]) are conducted.

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Angiocaulus gubernaculatusin the Island Fox (Urocyon littoralis) From the California Channel Islands and Comments on the Diagnosis of Angiostrongylidae Nematodes in Canid and Mustelid Hosts

Journal of Parasitology ◽

10.1645/0022-3395(2001)087[1174:agitif]2.0.co;2 ◽

2001 ◽

Vol 87 (5) ◽

pp. 1174-1176 ◽

Cited By ~ 10

Author(s):

Charles T. Faulkner ◽

Sharon Patton ◽

Linda Munson ◽

Eileen M. Johnson ◽

Timothy J. Coonan

Keyword(s):

Channel Islands ◽

Island Fox ◽

California Channel Islands ◽

Urocyon Littoralis

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A SEROLOGIC SURVEY OF THE ISLAND FOX (UROCYON LITTORALIS) ON THE CHANNEL ISLANDS, CALIFORNIA

Journal of Wildlife Diseases ◽

10.7589/0090-3558-28.2.223 ◽

1992 ◽

Vol 28 (2) ◽

pp. 223-229 ◽

Cited By ~ 26

Author(s):

David K. Garcelon ◽

Robert K. Wayne ◽

Ben J. Gonzales

Keyword(s):

Channel Islands ◽

Island Fox ◽

Urocyon Littoralis ◽

Serologic Survey

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Identifying Specialized 19th Century Fishing Camps on California's Northern Channel Islands: Applying AMS Radiocarbon Dating to Historical Sites

Radiocarbon ◽

10.2458/azu_rc.57.18397 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 57 (5) ◽

pp. 909-916 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Todd J Braje ◽

Torben C Rick

Keyword(s):

Native Americans ◽

Material Culture ◽

19Th Century ◽

Radiocarbon Dating ◽

Channel Islands ◽

Ams Radiocarbon Dating ◽

Northern Channel Islands ◽

Historical Sites ◽

Site Types

California's Northern Channel Islands have long been an epicenter of specialized fishing economies dating from 13,000 yr ago to the mid-19th century. With thousands of well-preserved shell middens, some dominated by single shellfish species and little to no material culture, it can be difficult to distinguish between specialized prehistoric and historical deposits at some site types. Beginning at least in the Early Holocene and continuing into the Historic period, California mussels, turban snails, and abalone were targeted for specialized collection and processing by Native Americans and later Chinese and Euro-American fishers. Here, we demonstrate how selective accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) radiocarbon dating of specialized abalone processing camps can help distinguish between prehistoric and historical sites. While unconventional, our case study demonstrates the utility of14C dating at sites less than 300 yr old.

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Sea level, paleogeography, and archeology on California's Northern Channel islands

Quaternary Research ◽

10.1016/j.yqres.2015.01.002 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 83 (2) ◽

pp. 263-272 ◽

Cited By ~ 47

Author(s):

Leslie Reeder-Myers ◽

Jon M. Erlandson ◽

Daniel R. Muhs ◽

Torben C. Rick

Keyword(s):

Sea Level Rise ◽

Sea Level ◽

Late Pleistocene ◽

New World ◽

Channel Islands ◽

Glacial Isostatic Adjustment ◽

Human Occupation ◽

Isostatic Adjustment ◽

The World ◽

Northern Channel Islands

Sea-level rise during the late Pleistocene and early Holocene inundated nearshore areas in many parts of the world, producing drastic changes in local ecosystems and obscuring significant portions of the archeological record. Although global forces are at play, the effects of sea-level rise are highly localized due to variability in glacial isostatic adjustment (GIA) effects. Interpretations of coastal paleoecology and archeology require reliable estimates of ancient shorelines that account for GIA effects. Here we build on previous models for California's Northern Channel Islands, producing more accurate late Pleistocene and Holocene paleogeographic reconstructions adjusted for regional GIA variability. This region has contributed significantly to our understanding of early New World coastal foragers. Sea level that was about 80-85 m lower than present at the time of the first known human occupation brought about a landscape and ecology substantially different than today. During the late Pleistocene, large tracts of coastal lowlands were exposed, while a colder, wetter climate and fluctuating marine conditions interacted with rapidly evolving littoral environments. At the close of the Pleistocene and start of the Holocene, people in coastal California faced shrinking land, intertidal, and subtidal zones, with important implications for resource availability and distribution.

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Diet of a threatened endemic fox reveals variation in sandy beach resource use on California Channel Islands

PLoS ONE ◽

10.1371/journal.pone.0258919 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 16 (10) ◽

pp. e0258919

Author(s):

Henry M. Page ◽

Juliann Schamel ◽

Kyle A. Emery ◽

Nicholas K. Schooler ◽

Jenifer E. Dugan ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Habitat Use ◽

Sandy Beach ◽

Diet Breadth ◽

Channel Islands ◽

Giant Kelp ◽

Linear Modeling ◽

Terrestrial Mammals ◽

Island Fox ◽

Dietary Breadth ◽

California Channel Islands

The coastal zone provides foraging opportunities for insular populations of terrestrial mammals, allowing for expanded habitat use, increased dietary breadth, and locally higher population densities. We examined the use of sandy beach resources by the threatened island fox (Urocyon littoralis) on the California Channel Islands using scat analysis, surveys of potential prey, beach habitat attributes, and stable isotope analysis. Consumption of beach invertebrates, primarily intertidal talitrid amphipods (Megalorchestia spp.) by island fox varied with abundance of these prey across sites. Distance-based linear modeling revealed that abundance of giant kelp (Macrocystis pyrifera) wrack, rather than beach physical attributes, explained the largest amount of variation in talitrid amphipod abundance and biomass across beaches. δ13C and δ15N values of fox whisker (vibrissae) segments suggested individualism in diet, with generally low δ13C and δ15N values of some foxes consistent with specializing on primarily terrestrial foods, contrasting with the higher isotope values of other individuals that suggested a sustained use of sandy beach resources, the importance of which varied over time. Abundant allochthonous marine resources on beaches, including inputs of giant kelp, may expand habitat use and diet breadth of the island fox, increasing population resilience during declines in terrestrial resources associated with climate variability and long-term climate change.

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