Environmental factors influencing the use of habitat in the red fox, Vulpes vulpes (L., 1758)

The seasonal variation in habitat selection and its determinants were assessed weekly for a sample of three dog‐foxes and two vixens in an ecotonal area of the Tuscan coast, in Italy. The most utilized habitats were the maquis (scrubwood), meadows and pinewood. In the cold season the maquis was preferred to any other habitat, but in the warm months foxes made extensive use of meadows. On the other hand, no clear seasonal pattern of use was detectable for the pinewood. Food habits showed a seasonal variation: juniper berries were the staple food, forming by far the greatest part of the diet during the whole study, except in late spring through midsummer, when beetles and grasshoppers predominated. Availability indices for each main food category were calculated on a weekly basis. Distribution of juniper berries was found to be clumped, whereas insects were dispersed. It was also assessed that the former occurred almost entirely in the pinewood, while the latter inhabited mainly meadows and, to a lesser extent. the pinewood. Measures of fox activity in the three habitats were also taken. The fox diet correlated well to the seasonal abundance of the important food resources, which in turn was significantly correlated to meteorologic factors (temperature, number of rainy days). Surprisingly, the seasonal activity in the pinewood was inversely correlated to local food availability, i.e. juniper berries. This can be explained by the clumpedness of this food resource which, when abundant, allows foxes to become quickly satiated and to retreat to other, more preferred habitat such as the maquis. Such results caution against assuming that extensive time spent in a habitat is an indication of proportional feeding dependence on it. Copyright © 1991, Wiley Blackwell. All rights reserved.