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

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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.

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Acknowledgments

We are grateful to Michał Kaszuba of the Polish Society for Birds Protection who helped us in collecting fox carcasses from hunters and Dr. Karol Zub who helped in the identification of birds. We also thank Joanna Kocik who determined the age of foxes by teeth analysis. The study was supported by Ekofundusz foundation within the project “Conservation of black grouse and capercaillie in northeastern Poland” and was funded by the Mammal Research Institute, Polish Academy of Sciences. We are also grateful to Dr. A. Eycott for the editorial assistance with the manuscript and to Dr. C. Dickman and two anonymous reviewers for their helpful and critical comments.

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  1. Department of Vertebrate Ecology and Zoology, University of Gdańsk, 80-441, Gdańsk, Poland

    Dorota Kidawa

  2. Mammal Research Institute, Polish Academy of Sciences, 17-230, Białowieża, Poland

    Rafał Kowalczyk

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  1. Dorota Kidawa
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  2. Rafał Kowalczyk
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Correspondence to Dorota Kidawa.

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Communicated by: Andrzej Zalewski

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Kidawa, D., Kowalczyk, R. The effects of sex, age, season and habitat on diet of the red fox Vulpes vulpes in northeastern Poland. Acta Theriol 56, 209–218 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13364-011-0031-3

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