Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Circadian activity patterns of red foxes (Vulpes vulpes) in montane forests under different culling regimes

  • Short Communication
  • Published:
Mammal Research Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Mammals display a great variety of activity patterns. Although red foxes (Vulpes vulpes) are generally well studied, differences in their activity patterns related to seasonality and anthropogenic impacts remain not well known. Hunting is a major anthropogenic influence on fox populations across the globe. In this paper, we assess how circadian activity patterns of red foxes in a central European montane forest change throughout the year and test whether activity patterns differ between areas with different culling regimes. We found pronounced activity peaks around dawn and particularly dusk and high levels of activity throughout the night. Foxes generally avoided daylight hours, except in wintertime, potentially indicating an avoidance of human presence. The onset and cessation of activity tracked changes in day length. Circadian activity patterns were highly similar at sites with and without targeted culls during all seasons, not suggesting a direct reaction of red foxes to hunting. Red fox activity patterns in our study were thus overall comparable with those in other environmental contexts.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1

References

  • Agostinelli, C. & Lund, U. (2017). R package circular: circular statistics (version 0.4-9). R manual

  • Benhaiem S, Delon M, Lourtet B, Cargnelutti B, Aulagnier S, Hewison AJM, Morellet N, Verheyden H (2008) Hunting increases vigilance levels in roe deer and modifies feeding site selection. Anim Behav 76:611–618

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bennie JJ, Duffy JP, Inger R, Gaston KJ (2014) Biogeography of time partitioning in mammals. Proc Natl Acad Sci 111:13727–13732

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Blanco JC (1986) On the diet, size and use of home range and activity patterns of a red fox in Central Spain. Acta Theriol 31:547–552

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brook LA, Johnson CN, Ritchie EG (2012) Effects of predator control on behaviour of an apex predator and indirect consequences for mesopredator suppression. J Appl Ecol 49:1278–1286

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Caravaggi A, Gatta M, Vallely M-C, Hogg K, Freeman M, Fadaei E, Dick JTA, Montgomery WI, Reid N, Tosh DG (2018) Seasonal and predator-prey effects on circadian activity of free-ranging mammals revealed by camera traps. PeerJ 6:e5827

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cavallini P, Lovari S (1994) Home range, habitat selection and activity of the red fox in a Mediterranean coastal ecotone. Acta Theriol 39:279–287

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ciuti S, Northrup JM, Muhly TB, Simi S, Musiani M, Pitt JA, Boyce MS (2012) Effects of humans on behaviour of wildlife exceed those of natural predators in a landscape of fear. PLoS One 7:e50611

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Crosmary W-G, Valeix M, Fritz H, Madzikanda H, Côté SD (2012) African ungulates and their drinking problems: hunting and predation risks constrain access to water. Anim Behav 83:145–153

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cruz P, Iezzi ME, De Angelo C, Varela D, Di Bitetti MS, Paviolo A (2018) Effects of human impacts on habitat use, activity patterns and ecological relationships among medium and small felids of the Atlantic Forest. PLoS One 13:e0200806

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Daan S (1981) Adaptive daily strategies in behavior. In: Aschoff J (ed) Bioogical rhythms. Springer US, Boston, pp 275–298

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Diaz-Ruiz F, Caro J, Delibes-Mateos M, Arroyo B, Ferreras P (2015) Drivers of red fox (Vulpes vulpes) daily activity: prey availability, human disturbance or habitat structure? J Zool 298:128–138

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Frid A, Dill L (2002) Human-caused disturbance stimuli as a form of predation risk. Conserv Ecol 6:11

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gaynor KM, Hojnowski CE, Carter NH, Brashares JS (2018) The influence of human disturbance on wildlife nocturnality. Science 360:1232–1235

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Halle, S. (2000). Ecological relevance of daily activity patterns. In: Activity patterns in small mammals an ecological approach ( Halle, S. & Stenseth, N.C.). Springer, Berlin. pp. 67–90

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Hoffmann, M. & Sillero-Zubiri, C. (2016). Vulpes vulpes in The IUCN Red List of Threatend Species https://doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-1.RLTS.T23062A46190249.en

  • Kämmerle J-L, Ritchie EG, Storch I (2019) Restricted-area culls and red fox abundance: are effects a matter of time and place? Conserv Sci Pract:e115. https://doi.org/10.1111/csp2.115

  • Keuling O, Stier N, Roth M (2008) How does hunting influence activity and spatial usage in wild boar Sus scrofa L.? Eur J Wildl Res 54:729–737

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kitchen AM, Gese EM, Schauster ER (2000) Changes in coyote activity patterns due to reduced exposure to human persecution. Can J Zool 78:853–857

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kronfeld-Schor N, Dayan T (2003) Partitioning of time as an ecological resource. Annu Rev Ecol Evol Syst 34:153–181

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lashley MA, Cove MV, Chitwood MC, Penido G, Gardner B, DePerno CS, Moorman CE (2018) Estimating wildlife activity curves: comparison of methods and sample size. Sci Rep 8:4173

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lone K, Loe LE, Meisingset EL, Stamnes I, Mysterud A (2015) An adaptive behavioural response to hunting: surviving male red deer shift habitat at the onset of the hunting season. Anim Behav 102:127–138

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Monterroso P, Alves PC, Ferreras P (2014) Plasticity in circadian activity patterns of mesocarnivores in Southwestern Europe: implications for species coexistence. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 68:1403–1417

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Niedballa, J., Courtiol, A. & Sollmann, R. (2017). camtrapR: camera trap data management and preparation of occupancy and spatial capture-recapture analyses. R Manual

  • Oberosler V, Groff C, Iemma A, Pedrini P, Rovero F (2017) The influence of human disturbance on occupancy and activity patterns of mammals in the Italian Alps from systematic camera trapping. Mamm Biol 87:50–61

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Oliveira-Santos LGR, Zucco CA, Agostinelli C (2013) Using conditional circular kernel density functions to test hypotheses on animal circadian activity. Anim Behav 85:269–280

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • R Core Team (2018) R: a language and environment for statistical computing. R Foundation for Statistical Computing, Vienna

    Google Scholar 

  • Reynolds JC, Tapper SC (1995) The ecology of the red fox Vulpes vulpes in relation to small game in rural southern England. Wildl Biol 1:105–119

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ridout M, Linkie M (2009) Estimating overlap of daily activity patterns from camera trap data. J Agric Biol Environ Stat 14:322–337

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rowcliffe JM, Kays R, Kranstauber B, Carbone C, Jansen PA (2014) Quantifying levels of animal activity using camera trap data. Methods Ecol Evol 5:1170–1179

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Servín J, Rau JR, Delibes M (1991) Activity pattern of the red fox Vulpes vulpes in Doñana, SW Spain. Acta Theriol 36:369–373

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Weber JM, Meia JS, Aubry S (1994) Activity of foxes, Vulpes vulpes, in the Swiss Jura mountains. Z Säugetierkd 59:9–13

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

We thank all participating hunters for their cooperation.

Funding

This study was conducted in the framework of a project funded by the State Ministry of Rural Affairs and Consumer Protection (MLR Baden-Württemberg; Germany).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Chair of Wildlife Ecology and Management, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany

    Jim-Lino Kämmerle & Ilse Storch

  2. Forest Research Institute of Baden-Württemberg FVA, Freiburg, Germany

    Jim-Lino Kämmerle

  3. Earth and Life Institute, Université Catholique de Louvain, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium

    Suzon Rondeaux

Authors
  1. Jim-Lino Kämmerle
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Suzon Rondeaux
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Ilse Storch
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Jim-Lino Kämmerle.

Additional information

Communicated by: Rafał Kowalczyk

Publisher’s note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Electronic supplementary material

ESM 1

(DOCX 30 kb)

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Kämmerle, JL., Rondeaux, S. & Storch, I. Circadian activity patterns of red foxes (Vulpes vulpes) in montane forests under different culling regimes. Mamm Res 65, 615–619 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13364-020-00496-w

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13364-020-00496-w

Keywords

Search

Navigation