A comparison of the diet and fine‐scale distribution of sympatric Tibetan and red foxes in Qinghai, PR China. Issue 6 (1st December 2014)
- Record Type:
- Journal Article
- Title:
- A comparison of the diet and fine‐scale distribution of sympatric Tibetan and red foxes in Qinghai, PR China. Issue 6 (1st December 2014)
- Main Title:
- A comparison of the diet and fine‐scale distribution of sympatric Tibetan and red foxes in Qinghai, PR China
- Authors:
- Tsukada, Hideharu
Li, Wei
Duo, Hong
Guo, Zhihong
Fu, Yong
Peng, Mao
Shen, Xiuying
Jing, Jianwu
Yuan, Aishan
Ni, Ma
He, Shengde
Huang, Fuqiang
Feng, Kai
Ishikawa, Keisuke
Kobayashi, Ikuo
Shinohara, Akio
Nonaka, Nariaki - Abstract:
- Abstract : We compared the diet and the spatial distribution of the Tibetan fox Vulpes ferrilata and the red fox Vulpes vulpes in the Tibetan plateau, to elucidate mechanisms of coexistence for these two sympatric canids and to clarify their roles as definitive hosts for zoonotic Echinococcus parasites. Diet and fine‐scale distribution patterns were assessed by fecal DNA analysis. A total of 45 fecal samples (15 belonging to Tibetan fox, 30 belonging to red fox were collected from 15 sites into three of which contained only Tibetan fox feces, six only red fox feces, and six contained feces of both species. The abundance of pika burrows, a key prey item for both species, did not differ among the sites. Food composition analysis, estimated using a point‐frame method, revealed slight but insignificant differences between the two species. Tibetan foxes consumed primarily mammals, whereas red foxes consumed primarily insects. The dietary range of the Tibetan fox was narrower than that of the red fox but there was little dietary overlap between the two species. These findings suggest that the weak partitioning of food resources between Tibetan and red foxes can facilitate their coexistence even within the same habitat where they share the same key prey items, i.e. small mammals such as pikas. These dietary differences between the two fox species also suggest that the Tibetan fox is a more important definitive host for Echinococcus on the Tibetan plateau than is the red fox.
- Is Part Of:
- Wildlife biology. Volume 20:Issue 6(2014)
- Journal:
- Wildlife biology
- Issue:
- Volume 20:Issue 6(2014)
- Issue Display:
- Volume 20, Issue 6 (2014)
- Year:
- 2014
- Volume:
- 20
- Issue:
- 6
- Issue Sort Value:
- 2014-0020-0006-0000
- Page Start:
- 356
- Page End:
- 361
- Publication Date:
- 2014-12-01
- Subjects:
- Wildlife conservation
Wildlife management
Animal ecology
590 - Journal URLs:
- http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/ ↗
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/1903220X ↗ - DOI:
- 10.2981/wlb.00066 ↗
- Languages:
- English
- ISSNs:
- 0909-6396
- Deposit Type:
- Legaldeposit
- View Content:
- Available online (eLD content is only available in our Reading Rooms) ↗
- Physical Locations:
- British Library DSC - BLDSS-3PM
British Library HMNTS - ELD Digital store - Ingest File:
- 26845.xml