Swift fox (Vulpes velox) home-range dispersion patterns in southeastern Wyoming

2002 ◽  
Vol 80 (11) ◽  
pp. 2024-2029 ◽  
Author(s):  
Travis L Olson ◽  
Frederick G Lindzey
Keyword(s):  
Home Range ◽  
Home Range Size ◽  
Geographic Range ◽  
Range Size ◽  
Home Ranges ◽  
Vulpes Velox ◽  
Swift Fox ◽  
Dispersion Patterns ◽  
Range Overlap ◽  
Grassland Habitats

We monitored dispersion patterns of swift foxes (Vulpes velox) for 3 years in shrub-grassland habitats on the margin of the species' geographic range near Medicine Bow, Wyoming. Annual home-range size was 18.6 ± 1.6 km2 (mean ± SE, n = 13) and was similar to home-range estimates reported in other studies conducted within grassland habitats in other portions of the species' geographic range. Male home ranges were larger than those of their mates during pup-rearing periods (P < 0.04) but were similar in size during the dispersal period. The home ranges of both sexes were smallest during the pup-rearing period. The degree of home-range overlap for mates (biological periods combined) was high (range = 27.4–100%, mean ± SE = 70.8 ± 0.03%, n = 26 pairs) but was minimal between adjacent pairs (range = 0.2–36%, mean ± SE = 11.9 ± 2.4%, n = 10 pairs), suggesting territorial behavior. Occupied home ranges were distributed similarly each year despite one or both pair members often being new. Swift fox home-range size varied seasonally, and home-range dispersion patterns appeared to be influenced by the presence of other fox pairs and the recent use of an area by other swift foxes.

Seasonal changes in home ranges of Abert's squirrels: impact of mating season

2006 ◽  
Vol 84 (3) ◽  
pp. 404-411 ◽  
Author(s):  
A J Edelman ◽  
J L Koprowski
Keyword(s):  
Home Range ◽  
Ponderosa Pine ◽  
Home Range Size ◽  
Range Size ◽  
Home Ranges ◽  
Conifer Forest ◽  
Mating Season ◽  
Mixed Conifer ◽  
Mixed Conifer Forest ◽  
Range Overlap

We compared home ranges of introduced Abert's squirrels (Sciurus aberti Woodhouse, 1853) in mixed-conifer forests of Arizona during non-mating and mating seasons. Because Abert's squirrels are reported to depend on ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa P. & C. Lawson) forests, the mixed-conifer forest in our study represented a novel habitat. Home-range size, home-range overlap with females, and movement distances increased for males from non-mating to mating seasons. Home-range size and overlap characteristics of females remained consistent between seasons, but movement distances were reduced during the mating season. Males probably increased home-range size, home-range overlap with females, and movement distances during the mating season to maximize contact with scarce females. Home-range size and overlap characteristics of female Abert's squirrels likely remained stable between seasons because females do not search for mates. Restricted movements by females during the mating season may be due to changes in resource use in preparation for reproduction. Non-mating season home ranges in our study were smaller than home ranges observed in ponderosa pine forest. Abert's squirrels in mixed-conifer forest may have small home ranges because resource quality is higher than in ponderosa pine forest or competition for space with co-occurring Mount Graham red squirrels (Tamiasciurus hudsonicus grahamensis (J.A. Allen, 1894)).

Space use and territoriality in swift foxes (Vulpes velox) in northeastern Colorado

2012 ◽  
Vol 90 (3) ◽  
pp. 337-344 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amariah A. Lebsock ◽  
Christopher L. Burdett ◽  
Safi K. Darden ◽  
Torben Dabelsteen ◽  
Michael F. Antolin ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Home Range ◽  
Spatial Ecology ◽  
Space Use ◽  
Home Range Size ◽  
Range Size ◽  
Home Ranges ◽  
Spatial Overlap ◽  
Vulpes Velox ◽  
Shortgrass Prairie ◽  
Core Areas

Space use is a fundamental characteristic that informs our knowledge of social relationships and the degree to which individuals are territorial. Until recently, relatively little was known about the spatial ecology and social organization of swift foxes ( Vulpes velox (Say, 1823)). We investigated space use of swift foxes on shortgrass prairie in northeastern Colorado. Our first objective was to evaluate sizes of seasonal and annual home ranges and core areas of 13 radio-collared swift foxes monitored continuously for 2 years. Our second objective was to compare home-range and core-area overlap of breeding pairs to that of neighboring foxes, including male–male, female–female, and nonbreeding female–male dyads. Home-range size in our study population was among the smallest previously reported for swift foxes. Males tended to have slightly larger home ranges and core areas than females, and home-range size was significantly larger in the breeding season than in both the pup-rearing and the dispersal seasons; sizes of core areas did not differ seasonally. Spatial overlap between breeding pairs was substantial, whereas spatial overlap between neighbors, particularly males, was low, suggesting territoriality.

Patch use by the greater glider (Petauroides volans) in a fragmented forest ecosystem. I. Home range size and movements

2004 ◽  
Vol 31 (6) ◽  
pp. 559 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. L. Pope ◽  
D. B. Lindenmayer ◽  
R. B. Cunningham
Keyword(s):  
Population Density ◽  
Home Range ◽  
Patch Size ◽  
Home Range Size ◽  
Range Size ◽  
Home Ranges ◽  
Home Range Overlap ◽  
Eastern Australia ◽  
Core Areas ◽  
Range Overlap

This paper examines home-range attributes of 40 greater gliders (Petauroides volans) in five patches of remnant eucalypt forest surrounded by stands of radiata pine (Pinus radiata) near Tumut in south-eastern Australia. Fixed-kernel smoothing methods were used to estimate home-range size for P. volans. For males, home-range size varied from 1.38–4.10 ha (mean = 2.6 ± 0.8 ha, n = 12) and was significantly larger (P < 0.05) than for females (1.26–2.97 ha, mean = 2.0 ± 0.6 ha, n = 11). Home-range size increased significantly with increasing patch size and reduced patch population density. Thus, small patches had more animals per unit area with smaller home ranges and greater home-range overlap. Our findings illustrate flexibility in the use of space by P. volans. Such results have not previously been reported for P. volans or any other species of arboreal marsupial. Considerable home-range overlap (at 95th percentile isopleth level) was observed between male and female P. volans. Pairs of females also exhibited home-range overlap. Males tended to maintain home ranges exclusive of other males, although some shared common areas. Contrary to the large variations observed in home-range area, core areas (50th isopleth) remained relatively constant, regardless of patch size, population density or sex. This may indicate that core areas are an essential requirement for individuals and resources they contain cannot be shared with congeners.

Daily, seasonal, and annual variations in individual home-range overlap of two sympatric species of deer

2014 ◽  
Vol 92 (10) ◽  
pp. 853-859 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emmanuelle Richard ◽  
Sonia Saïd ◽  
Jean-Luc Hamann ◽  
Jean-Michel Gaillard
Keyword(s):  
Body Size ◽  
Home Range ◽  
Red Deer ◽  
Species Differences ◽  
Roe Deer ◽  
Home Range Size ◽  
Range Size ◽  
Home Ranges ◽  
Home Range Overlap ◽  
Range Overlap

Behavioural tactics of animals are determined by both environmental and social factors. Among nonmigratory ungulates, most home-range studies focused either on the effect of environmental variables on home-range size or on the overlap between home ranges of different individuals. Here, as rarely in previous studies, we aim to identify the dynamics of the home range of a given individual, involving variation in home-range size and home-range overlap between periods, for two resident populations of contrasting species: red deer (Cervus elaphus L., 1758) and roe deer (Capreolus capreolus (L., 1758)). In both species, yearly and seasonal home-range fidelity was high and constant (mean of 64% in red deer and mean of 66% in roe deer), possibly because of benefits accruing from knowledge of spatial distribution of food resources and refugia. Home range in winter, when food availability was low, was larger than other seasonal home ranges for both species. Differences in body size between red deer and roe deer accounted for observed between-species differences in space use, especially when the species were active at night. Our study clearly demonstrates that patterns of variation in home-range size are similar; however, between-species differences in body size lead to differential patterns of home-range size and fidelity.

scholarly journals Home range size and resource use by swift foxes in northeastern Montana

2020 ◽  
Vol 101 (3) ◽  
pp. 684-696 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew R Butler ◽  
Kristy L S Bly ◽  
Heather Harris ◽  
Robert M Inman ◽  
Axel Moehrenschlager ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Home Range ◽  
Great Plains ◽  
Resource Use ◽  
Vegetation Index ◽  
Home Range Size ◽  
Range Size ◽  
Border Region ◽  
Anthropogenic Factors ◽  
Home Ranges ◽  
Swift Fox

Abstract Swift foxes (Vulpes velox) are endemic to the Great Plains of North America, but were extirpated from the northern portion of their range by the mid-1900s. Despite several reintroductions to the Northern Great Plains, there remains a ~350 km range gap between the swift fox population along the Montana and Canada border and that in northeastern Wyoming and northwestern South Dakota. A better understanding of what resources swift foxes use along the Montana and Canada border region will assist managers to facilitate connectivity among populations. From 2016 to 2018, we estimated the home range size and evaluated resource use within the home ranges of 22 swift foxes equipped with Global Positioning System tracking collars in northeastern Montana. Swift fox home ranges in our study were some of the largest ever recorded, averaging (± SE) 42.0 km2 ± 4.7. Our results indicate that both environmental and anthropogenic factors influenced resource use. At the population level, resource use increased by 3.3% for every 5.0% increase in percent grasslands. Relative probability of use decreased by 7.9% and 7.4% for every kilometer away from unpaved roads and gas well sites, respectively, and decreased by 3.0% and 11.3% for every one-unit increase in topographic roughness and every 0.05 increase in normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), respectively. Our study suggests that, to reestablish connectivity among swift fox populations in Montana, managers should aim to maintain large corridors of contiguous grasslands at a landscape scale, a process that likely will require having to work with multiple property owners.

scholarly journals Swift Foxes and Ideal Free Distribution: Relative Influence of Vegetation and Rodent Prey Base on Swift Fox Survival, Density, and Home Range Size

ISRN Zoology ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 2012 ◽  
pp. 1-8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Craig M. Thompson ◽  
Eric M. Gese
Keyword(s):  
Home Range ◽  
Landscape Heterogeneity ◽  
Ideal Free Distribution ◽  
Survival Rates ◽  
Home Range Size ◽  
Range Size ◽  
Distribution Model ◽  
Free Distribution ◽  
Swift Fox ◽  
Ideal Free

Swift foxes (Vulpes velox) are an endemic mesocarnivore of North America subject to resource and predation-based pressures. While swift fox demographics have been documented, there is little information on the importance of top-down versus bottom-up pressures or the effect of landscape heterogeneity. Using a consumable resource-based ideal free distribution model as a conceptual framework, we isolated the effects of resource-based habitat selection on fox population ecology. We hypothesized if swift fox ecology is predominantly resource dependant, distribution, survival, and space use would match predictions made under ideal free distribution theory. We monitored survival and home range use of 47 swift foxes in southeastern Colorado from 2001 to 2004. Annual home range size was 15.4 km2, and seasonal home range size was 10.1 km2. At the individual level, annual home range size was unrelated to survival. Estimates of fox density ranged from 0.03 to 0.18 foxes/km2. Seasonal survival rates were 0.73 and 1.0 and did not differ seasonally. Foxes conformed to the predictions of the ideal free distribution model during winter, indicating foxes are food stressed and their behavior governed by resource acquisition. During the rest of the year, behavior was not resource driven and was governed by security from intraguild predation.

Movement patterns of feral predators in an arid environment – implications for control through poison baiting

2009 ◽  
Vol 36 (5) ◽  
pp. 422 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. E. Moseby ◽  
J. Stott ◽  
H. Crisp
Keyword(s):  
Home Range ◽  
Sand Dunes ◽  
Activity Patterns ◽  
Movement Patterns ◽  
Home Range Size ◽  
Range Size ◽  
Home Ranges ◽  
Feral Cats ◽  
Poison Baiting ◽  
Specific Variation

Control of introduced predators is critical to both protection and successful reintroduction of threatened prey species. Efficiency of control is improved if it takes into account habitat use, home range and the activity patterns of the predator. These characteristics were studied in feral cats (Felis catus) and red foxes (Vulpes vulpes) in arid South Australia, and results are used to suggest improvements in control methods. In addition, mortality and movement patterns of cats before and after a poison-baiting event were compared. Thirteen cats and four foxes were successfully fitted with GPS data-logger radio-collars and tracked 4-hourly for several months. High intra-specific variation in cat home-range size was recorded, with 95% minimum convex polygon (MCP) home ranges varying from 0.5 km2 to 132 km2. Cat home-range size was not significantly different from that of foxes, nor was there a significant difference related to sex or age. Cats preferred habitat types that support thicker vegetation cover, including creeklines and sand dunes, whereas foxes preferred sand dunes. Cats used temporary focal points (areas used intensively over short time periods and then vacated) for periods of up to 2 weeks and continually moved throughout their home range. Aerial baiting at a density of 10 baits per km2 was ineffective for cats because similar high mortality rates were recorded for cats in both baited and unbaited areas. Mortality was highest in young male cats. Long-range movements of up to 45 km in 2 days were recorded in male feral cats and movement into the baited zone occurred within 2 days of baiting. Movement patterns of radio-collared animals and inferred bait detection distances were used to suggest optimum baiting densities of ~30 baits per km2 for feral cats and 5 per km2 for foxes. Feral cats exhibited much higher intra-specific variation in activity patterns and home-range size than did foxes, rendering them a potentially difficult species to control by a single method. Control of cats and foxes in arid Australia should target habitats with thick vegetation cover and aerial baiting should ideally occur over areas of several thousand square kilometres because of large home ranges and long-range movements increasing the chance of fast reinvasion. The use of temporary focal points suggested that it may take several days or even weeks for a cat to encounter a fixed trap site within their home range, whereas foxes should encounter them more quickly as they move further each day although they have a similar home-range size. Because of high intra-specific variability in activity patterns and home-range size, control of feral cats in inland Australia may be best achieved through a combination of control techniques.

Ecological Correlates of Fecal Corticosterone Metabolites in Female Greater Sage-Grouse (Centrococercus urophasianus)

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jordan Clark Rabon ◽  
Cassandra M. V. Nuñez ◽  
Peter Coates ◽  
Mark Ricca ◽  
Tracey N. Johnson
Keyword(s):  
Home Range ◽  
Stress Responses ◽  
Habitat Degradation ◽  
Home Range Size ◽  
Range Size ◽  
Home Ranges ◽  
Remotely Sensed Data ◽  
Sage Grouse ◽  
Ecological Conditions ◽  
Annual Grasses

Measurement of physiological responses can reveal effects of ecological conditions on an animal and correlate with demographic parameters. Ecological conditions for many animal species have deteriorated as a function of invasive plants and habitat fragmentation. Expansion of juniper (Juniperus spp.) trees and invasion of annual grasses into sagebrush (Artemisia spp.) ecosystems have contributed to habitat degradation for Greater Sage-Grouse (Centrococercus urophasianus (Bonaparte, 1827); hereafter, “Sage-Grouse”), a species of conservation concern throughout its range. We evaluated relationships between habitat use in a landscape modified by juniper expansion and annual grasses and corticosterone metabolite levels (stress responses) in feces (FCORTm) of female Sage-Grouse. We used remotely sensed data to estimate vegetation cover within hens’ home ranges and accounted for factors that influence FCORTm in other vertebrates, such as age and weather. We collected 36 fecal samples from 22 radio-collared hens during the brood-rearing season (24 May–26 July) in southwestern Idaho 2017–18. Concentrations of corticosterone increased with home range size but decreased with reproductive effort and temperature. The importance of home range size suggests that maintaining or improving habitats that promote smaller home ranges would likely facilitate a lower stress response by hens, which should benefit Sage-Grouse survival and reproduction.

Allometry of home range size in lake and river fishes

1995 ◽  
Vol 52 (7) ◽  
pp. 1499-1508 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charles K. Minns
Keyword(s):  
Body Size ◽  
Home Range ◽  
Freshwater Fish ◽  
Fish Population ◽  
Home Range Size ◽  
Range Size ◽  
Territory Size ◽  
Home Ranges ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Terrestrial Mammals

A data set assembled from published literature supported the hypotheses that (i) home range size increases allometrically with body size in temperate freshwater fishes, and (ii) fish home ranges are larger in lakes than rivers. The allometric model fitted was home range = A∙(body size)B. Home ranges in lakes were 19–23 times larger than those in rivers. Additional analyses showed that membership in different taxonomic groupings of fish, the presence–absence of piscivory, the method of measuring home range, and the latitude position of the water bodies were not significant predictive factors. Home ranges of freshwater fish were smaller than those of terrestrial mammals, birds, and lizards. Home ranges were larger than area per fish values derived by inverting fish population and assemblage density–size relationships from lakes and rivers and territory–size relationships in stream salmonids. The weight exponent (B) of fish home range was lower than values reported for other vertebrates, 0.58 versus a range of 0.96–1.14. Lake–river home range differences were consistent with differences reported in allometric models of freshwater fish density and production.

Influence of habitat on home-range size in the short-beaked echidna

2012 ◽  
Vol 60 (1) ◽  
pp. 46 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jenny Sprent ◽  
Stewart C. Nicol
Keyword(s):  
Home Range ◽  
Spatial Ecology ◽  
Habitat Type ◽  
Negative Relationship ◽  
Home Range Size ◽  
Range Size ◽  
Home Ranges ◽  
Location Data ◽  
Significant Negative Relationship ◽  
Solitary Species

The size of an animal’s home range is strongly influenced by the resources available within it. In productive, resource-rich habitats sufficient resources are obtainable within a smaller area, and for many species, home ranges are smaller in resource-rich habitats than in habitats with lower resource abundance. Location data on 14 male and 27 female echidnas (Tachyglossus aculeatus) fitted with tracking transmitters, in the southern midlands of Tasmania, were used to test the influence of habitat type on home-range size. We hypothesised that as woodland should offer more shelter, food resources and refuges than pasture, echidnas living in woodland would have smaller home ranges than those living in pasture areas. We found significant differences between the sexes. Male echidnas had a significantly larger mean home range than females and a quite different relationship between home-range size and habitat type from females. There was no relationship between the proportion of woodland within male home ranges and home-range size whereas female echidnas had a highly significant negative relationship. This suggests that home-range size of female echidnas is highly influenced by the amount of woodland within it, but the home-range size of male echidnas is controlled by factors other than habitat. This pattern is consistent with the spatial ecology of many other solitary species with a promiscuous mating system. The home ranges of females are scaled to encompass all necessary resources for successfully raising their young within a minimal area, whilst the large home ranges of males are scaled to maximise access to females.

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