From the field to the lab, Schoenberger has been investigating adaptations of the island fox through molecular studies and museum collections. She'll talk about using RNA sequencing and gene expression analysis to explore how divergent populations of island foxes, under varying conditions, may respond differently to infection by the same parasite (ear mites).
What is that dark figure in the photo and how does it relate to island foxes?
Join Friends of the Island Fox
Tuesday, August 18 at 6:30 pm (PT) for
"Date with a Fox" on Zoom for
Museums & Environmental Toxicology:
Micro/nanoplastic bioaccumulation in San Nicolas Island foxes
with
Dr. Eve Rowland
We've all seen bits of plastic at the beach or along a waterway, but it also comes off our clothes and containers. There is growing evidence that microplastic is impacting human health, but what about wildlife?
Dr. Eve Rowland is a Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of New Mexico College of Pharmacy. Her current research focuses on using museum collections to better understand environmental toxicology and how wildlife populations have been impacted by novel environmental contaminants.
Micro/nanoplastics and their link to detrimental health effects are a global concern, but there has been limited research into wildlife populations. Dr. Rowland's work in collaboration with the Museum of Southwestern Biology at the University of New Mexico brought her to investigate island fox specimens. San Nicolas Island foxes are an especially vulnerable population of conservation concern.
Watch a video of her talk
Dr. Rowland's work aims to better understand the extent of San Nicolas Island fox exposure to micro/nanoplastics with the hope of providing more in-depth considerations for population monitoring and understanding how plastics are impacting wildlife.
FIF is especially excited to host Dr. Rowland because her work with museum collections intersects with FIF's goal to help archive island fox specimens in collections accessible to researchers. FIF partnered with the U.S. Navy to archive San Nicolas Island fox specimens at the Museum of Southwestern Biology, University of New Mexico in 2023 and a 2025 FIF research grant contributed to this investigation.
In this "Date with a Fox," Holly Gamblin shares her research titled "Changing biomes: Implications of a rapidly shifting landscape on Arctic fox dynamics."
Holly Gamblin is a PhD Candidate at the University of Manitoba in the Biological Sciences Department, and her thesis examines the impacts of climate change on Arctic foxes. Holly's previous position as the Island Fox Project Manager on San Clemente Island inspired her to pursue this research, as the Channel Island fox conservation story demonstrates the importance of evaluating the impacts of a novel species at the community level.
Holly overseeing island fox health checks on San Clemente Island
On the Channel Islands, feral pigs facilitated the presence of golden eagles in unprecedented densities. Feral pig eradication led to a rapid reduction of prey resources for golden eagles and contributed to hyperpredation of three island fox subspecies. Island foxes on Santa Cruz, Santa Rosa, and San Miguel Islands faced near extirpation in less than ten years.
Island fox on Santa Rosa Island
This "out of the frying pan and into the fire" invasive management scenario illustrates the importance of taking a holistic approach to invasion ecology that incorporates a broader understanding of food-web dynamics and the cascading effects that may occur at a biological community level. With the recent expansion of red foxes from the boreal forest onto the tundra, the Arctic fox serves as an excellent study species for examining a species-level response to the arrival of an ecologically similar competitor.
Holly's research takes a species-level approach to investigate patterns of space use, niche partitioning, and competition, as the arrival of a novel species, whether through range expansion or an invasion, can have cascading effects that extend to the community level. Holly will share how her role on the Channel Islands inspired her to pursue research in the Arctic, discussing how the expansion of red foxes onto the tundra and a reduction in sea ice availability may impact Arctic fox persistence.
How are wild island foxes handled during annual health checks?
What data determines a healthy island fox?
What measures are taken to safeguard island fox health into the future?
How do island foxes contribute to ongoing research investigating their health, diet, and relationship to island ecology?
In this online Zoom program, FIF Board member and wildlife veterinarian Jessica Sanchez will take us through the steps of an island fox health check. She'll detail why each step is important and give the inside scoop on what a day performing health checks is really like. See the program video below:
In the Fall of 2023 this young female island fox was found injured on San Nicolas Island. Her story demonstrates the power of people working together toward a positive goal. Federal and state governmental agencies, biologists, zoos, private individuals, and Friends of the Island Fox donors, all came together to give this island fox a second chance.
V.P. of Animal Care and Health at the Santa Barbara Zoo, veterinarian Julie Barnes detailed the medical efforts that were needed to treat Sylvie's injured foot. You'll see the results from the orthopedic surgery that donors like you helped to pay for.
How is Sylvie today?
Living Desert Animal Care Curator, Heather Down, updates us on Sylvie's recovery.
FIF is Thankful for donors like you that helped to make this successful story possible.
Friends of the Island Fox (FIF) was founded in 2005, when Channel Island foxes were critically endangered on four islands.
See a short history of the organization presented during our August "Date with a Fox" on-line program and hear from FIF Board member Justin Purnell about a fieldwork study program for high school students that provides a personal experience with the island ecosystem.
Friends of the Island Fox is partnering with the Field Studies Cooperative to provide more students with this life-changing opportunity.
Join Friends of the Island Fox for an insightful look into island fox health with veterinary pathologist, Leslie Woods, Ph.D.
"Date with a Fox" Zoom Program
Mortalities in the Channel Island Fox
(Urocyon littoralis)
The important role of postmortem examinations
Tuesday, March 18 at 6:30 pm PT
Leslie Woods, Professor Emerita of the California Animal Health and Food Safety Laboratory at the School of Veterinary Medicine at U.C. Davis has been investing island fox health since 2010.
Though retired, she continues to teach and performs all of the necropsies on island foxes.
What are the current health threats to island foxes? Why is it important to evaluate cause of death for wild animals? Professor Woods is a wonderful teacher and a true detective.
Watch Recorded Video Program
(Be advised this program contains images of dead island foxes and bodily organs. Examination to determine cause of death is important, but the subject may not appeal to all viewers.)
Professor Wood's work provides factual scientific evidence so land managers can make informed decisions to help keep island fox populations healthy and safe.
Friends of the Island Fox's Virtual Program on current island fox research.
"Date With A Fox"
with guests Juliann Schamel and Dr. Alexandra DeCandia
from Tuesday, April 30th
The April program highlighted current findings on island fox diet and microbiome. Microbiome investigations can help us understand how island foxes and island spotted skunks are using resources in the island ecosystem. Dietary investigations analyzing stable isotopes in whisker samples are revealing changes in island fox diet as their population size recovers and potential resource competition with island spotted skunks.
Dr. Alexandra DeCandia is an Assistant Teaching Professor in the Biology Dept. at Georgetown University and works with the Center for Conservation Genomics at the Smithsonian's National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute. Her work has been published in Molecular Ecology and she is currently working on a joint project with Juliann Schamel supported by Friends of the Island Fox.
Juliann Schamel is a Biological Science Technician working with island foxes at Channel Islands National Park and a graduate student in ecology and conservation at the University of Aberdeen, Scotland. Her work has been published in PLOS ONE and she presented a poster on island fox and island spotted skunk dietary overlap at the California Island Symposium.
Informed conservation decisions for island foxes and island spotted skunks depend on scientific knowledge.
Join Friends of the Island Fox for a Virtual Event !
"Date with a Fox"
with guest Tim Coonan
Tuesday, December 5
6:30 - 7:30 pm Pacific Time on Zoom
Tim Coonan is the retired Senior Biologist for Channel Islands National Park. He documented the mysterious decline of island foxes across the northern Channel Islands and uncovered that golden eagles had colonized the islands and were unexpectedly preying on island foxes.
How were the decisions made to bring island foxes into captive breeding? What steps had to be taken to restore the ecosystem so that island foxes could return into the wild and recover their populations? Tim Coonan was there when only 15 individual island foxes remained on San Miguel Island and four populations were listed as Endangered Species.
Tuesday, January 31 at 6:30–7:30 pm (Pacific Time)
on Zoom
Hear directly from researchers investigating island fox health and biologists working in the field on the Channel Islands.
Jasmine Lu became acquainted with Channel Island foxes while working on her senior thesis at Princeton under the guidance of Alexandra DeCandia, Ph.D. Their work investigated how mite infection can destabilize the microbial community structure in the ear canals of Santa Catalina Island foxes. Their findings have recently been published in the journal Molecular Ecology. Lu will explain their discoveries; she says "It's exciting to be able to contribute to the growing body of knowledge on this fox population!"
Lara Brenner is a FIF Board Member, island biologist for the Nature Conservancy, and member of the Island Spotted Skunk Conservation Working Group. Island spotted skunks co-exist with island foxes on Santa Cruz and Santa Rosa Islands, but little is known about these tiny predators. As island foxes have recovered, how have island spotted skunks been affected? What are we learning about the relationship between these two endemic predators and what more needs to be investigated? Brenner will provide an update on island spotted skunks.
It should be a fascinating evening. We hope you will join us for this free virtual event. Reservations are required.
Radio telemetry collars are used across the Channel Islands to monitor island fox survival. These collars help biologists locate an island fox in real time and they give a specific signal when a fox is alive and moving around.
GPS tracking collars record exact GPS coordinates. They have an additional antenna (that black bump at the top). Location data is recorded at designated times or time intervals over a specific amount of days, weeks, or months.
"Date With a Fox" May 1, 2022 Brian Cypher, Ph.D., Director and Research Ecologist CSU Stanislaus' Endangered
Species Recovery Program talks about how GPS data provided important information on endangered San Joaquin kit foxes and
how this same technology can benefit island foxes.
Friends of the Island Fox is supporting two research projects starting this summer to investigate island fox territory and habitat use on Santa Rosa Island.
Juliann Schamel will also track island fox movement and territory size with GPS collars. She'll integrate her findings on diet with how individual island foxes are moving in the environment. Do all island foxes have access to beach resources or are there distinct areas and resources used by individual island foxes?
In combination, this will be the largest investigation of island fox movement and territory size ever initiated.
Your donations make this important research possible.
FIF's February virtual program "Date with a Fox" featured:
Holly Gamblin a biologist with the Institute for Wildlife Studies on San Clemente Island. Gamblin provided a rare inside-look at the island foxes on the U.S. Navy island. Few civilians have access to San Clemente Island.
Research biologistEllie Bolas shared her masters' thesis studies on the interactions between island foxes and island spotted skunks. Island spotted skunks live only on Santa Cruz and Santa Rosa Islands. Very little is known about the ecology and behavior of island spotted skunks. How do these two small predators co-exist on the islands?
If you missed the program you can watch the video here:
Thank you for your support of island fox conservation.
If you missed FIF's first virtual program, you can now watch a video recording.
"Date with a Fox" Nov. 20, 2021: Dr. Alexandra DeCandia provides an update on her island fox microbiome research, supported by your donations, and island biologist Lara Brenner outlines a new effort to protect island foxes from introduced species on Santa Cruz Island.
