Spatial Aspects of Gardens Drive Ranging in Urban Foxes (<i>Vulpes vulpes</i>): The Resource Dispersion Hypothesis Revisited
Red foxes are a well-established species of urban ecosystems in the UK and worldwide. Understanding the spatial ecology of foxes in urban landscapes is important for enhancement of urban biodiversity and effective disease management. The Resource Dispersion Hypothesis (RDH) holds that territory (hom...
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MDPI AG
2020-07-01
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| Series: | Animals |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/10/7/1167 |
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| author | Bryony A. Tolhurst Rowenna J. Baker Francesca Cagnacci Dawn M. Scott |
| author_facet | Bryony A. Tolhurst Rowenna J. Baker Francesca Cagnacci Dawn M. Scott |
| author_sort | Bryony A. Tolhurst |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Red foxes are a well-established species of urban ecosystems in the UK and worldwide. Understanding the spatial ecology of foxes in urban landscapes is important for enhancement of urban biodiversity and effective disease management. The Resource Dispersion Hypothesis (RDH) holds that territory (home range) size is linked to distribution and richness of habitat patches such that aggregation of rich resources should be negatively associated with range size. Here, we tested the RDH on a sample of 20 red foxes (<i>Vulpes vulpes)</i> in the city of Brighton and Hove. We focused on residential garden areas, as foxes were associated with these in previous studies. We equipped 12 male and 8 female foxes with GPS collars recording at 15 min intervals during discrete seasons over four years. We regressed fox core area size against garden size, number of garden patches, and edge density within and between patches as extracted from GIS in a series of bivariate linear mixed models. We found that foxes used smaller core areas where gardens were large and well-connected and larger core areas where numerous, smaller gardens were fragmented by internal barriers (e.g., fences, walls) or bisected by other habitats such as managed grassland or built-up areas. Our findings confirm the RDH and help to inform future urban planning for wildlife. |
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| id | doaj.art-e0f9f5e665b1434ba8c89c42d806becf |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2076-2615 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T18:36:00Z |
| publishDate | 2020-07-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Animals |
| spelling | doaj.art-e0f9f5e665b1434ba8c89c42d806becf2023-11-20T06:18:26ZengMDPI AGAnimals2076-26152020-07-01107116710.3390/ani10071167Spatial Aspects of Gardens Drive Ranging in Urban Foxes (<i>Vulpes vulpes</i>): The Resource Dispersion Hypothesis RevisitedBryony A. Tolhurst0Rowenna J. Baker1Francesca Cagnacci2Dawn M. Scott3Ecology, Conservation and Zoonosis (ECZ) Research and Enterprise Group, Huxley Building, University of Brighton, Brighton BN2 4GJ, UKEcology, Conservation and Zoonosis (ECZ) Research and Enterprise Group, Huxley Building, University of Brighton, Brighton BN2 4GJ, UKResearch and Innovation Centre, Fondazione Edmund Mach, Via Mach 1, San Michele all’Adige, 38010 Trentino, ItalySchool of Life Sciences, Huxley Building, Keele University, Keele ST5 5BG, UKRed foxes are a well-established species of urban ecosystems in the UK and worldwide. Understanding the spatial ecology of foxes in urban landscapes is important for enhancement of urban biodiversity and effective disease management. The Resource Dispersion Hypothesis (RDH) holds that territory (home range) size is linked to distribution and richness of habitat patches such that aggregation of rich resources should be negatively associated with range size. Here, we tested the RDH on a sample of 20 red foxes (<i>Vulpes vulpes)</i> in the city of Brighton and Hove. We focused on residential garden areas, as foxes were associated with these in previous studies. We equipped 12 male and 8 female foxes with GPS collars recording at 15 min intervals during discrete seasons over four years. We regressed fox core area size against garden size, number of garden patches, and edge density within and between patches as extracted from GIS in a series of bivariate linear mixed models. We found that foxes used smaller core areas where gardens were large and well-connected and larger core areas where numerous, smaller gardens were fragmented by internal barriers (e.g., fences, walls) or bisected by other habitats such as managed grassland or built-up areas. Our findings confirm the RDH and help to inform future urban planning for wildlife.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/10/7/1167red fox<i>Vulpes vulpes</i>resource dispersion hypothesis (RDH)kernel density estimators (KDE)patch sizepatch distribution |
| spellingShingle | Bryony A. Tolhurst Rowenna J. Baker Francesca Cagnacci Dawn M. Scott Spatial Aspects of Gardens Drive Ranging in Urban Foxes (<i>Vulpes vulpes</i>): The Resource Dispersion Hypothesis Revisited Animals red fox <i>Vulpes vulpes</i> resource dispersion hypothesis (RDH) kernel density estimators (KDE) patch size patch distribution |
| title | Spatial Aspects of Gardens Drive Ranging in Urban Foxes (<i>Vulpes vulpes</i>): The Resource Dispersion Hypothesis Revisited |
| title_full | Spatial Aspects of Gardens Drive Ranging in Urban Foxes (<i>Vulpes vulpes</i>): The Resource Dispersion Hypothesis Revisited |
| title_fullStr | Spatial Aspects of Gardens Drive Ranging in Urban Foxes (<i>Vulpes vulpes</i>): The Resource Dispersion Hypothesis Revisited |
| title_full_unstemmed | Spatial Aspects of Gardens Drive Ranging in Urban Foxes (<i>Vulpes vulpes</i>): The Resource Dispersion Hypothesis Revisited |
| title_short | Spatial Aspects of Gardens Drive Ranging in Urban Foxes (<i>Vulpes vulpes</i>): The Resource Dispersion Hypothesis Revisited |
| title_sort | spatial aspects of gardens drive ranging in urban foxes i vulpes vulpes i the resource dispersion hypothesis revisited |
| topic | red fox <i>Vulpes vulpes</i> resource dispersion hypothesis (RDH) kernel density estimators (KDE) patch size patch distribution |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/10/7/1167 |
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