FIF Research Grant to Investigate Island Fox Territory Size

Friends of the Island Fox is happy to announce Kathleen "Katie" Elder is the recipient of the FIF 2021 Island Fox Research Grant. 

island fox with GPS collar

In conjunction with the Biological Sciences Department of California Polytechnic University (CA Poly), San Luis Obispo, and Channel Islands National Park, Elder will be investigating territory size for individual male island foxes on Santa Rosa Island. This project will replicate and expand on a Santa Rosa study done in 2009–2010 using specially adapted GPS radio-tracking collars. Twelve years ago, Santa Rosa Island foxes were just starting to recover, with an estimated population size of 389 individuals. The GPS-collared male island foxes were calculated to have a territory size on Santa Rosa of 3.39 square kilometers (Drake et al. 2015).

Two island fox populations, which have not encountered recent population declines–San Nicolas and San Clemente Islands–have been found to have vastly different territorial sizes: 

• San Nicolas Island (2005–2006) 1.81 square kilometers (Powers 2009)
• San Clemente (2010–2011) .42 square kilometers (Sanchez 2012)
  

In the fall of 2020, Santa Rosa Island was home to an estimated 2,657 island foxes. As the population has recovered fully, have territory sizes decreased? 

island fox on Santa Rosa Island, courtesy Tim Bean

Elder will be investigating whether the density of the island fox population impacts territory size and/or the extent of fox territory overlap. She'll also be looking at whether habitat quality is a factor in territory size or territory use during different parts of the day. Are there some habitat areas, like beaches, that are included in the territory of multiple foxes? How do these territorial animals manage areas of overlap? Do they access overlapping areas at different times of the day? Are individuals with inland territories venturing to beaches occasionally? Beach areas provide supplemental food resources, but also may be primary zones for contact with introduced species and disease vectors.

Understanding territory size, overlap, and use, impacts island fox management. Territory-size data plays a role in the algorithms for calculating overall island population estimates. If the data on territory size is outdated, population estimates could be over- or understated. If specific habitats or areas are more important to island fox success, identifying those areas will help secure targeted protections. Identifying areas where island foxes are more likely to encounter threats, may also help us find ways to reduce those negative impacts.

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References:

Drake, E.M., B.L. Cypher, K. Ralls, J. D. Perrine, R. White, and T. J. Coonan.  2015. The Southwestern Naturalist. 60:247-255

 Sanchez, J. N. 2012. Spatial ecology of disease spread in the island fox. M.S. thesis, Humboldt State University, Arcata, California.