Search

The bush dog (Speothos venaticus) is a small Neotropical canid. Although its distribution covers the entire Amazon basin, the occurrence of bush dogs in vast areas of the Amazon remains hypothetical. The records of bush dogs presented in this study reduce a large gap in the known distribution of the species in Central Amazonia and include the 1st documentation of the species from forest seasonally flooded by black water (Igapó). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Virtually no information exists on the impacts of urban areas on island endemics. We examined the spatial distribution of island foxes (Urocyon littoralis clementae) associated with 3 small anthropogenically developed (i.e., "urban") areas and nonurban areas on San Clemente Island, California. Annual home range size averaged 0.84 km² (n = 25, SE = 0.07). Our top model indicated that foxes that spent a greater proportion of time in urban areas had significantly smaller home ranges (βPUrb = -0.009, 95% confidence interval [CI] =-0.0180-0.0002). We found no effect of sex (βSex = 0.0135, 95% CI = -0.1430-0.1700), age (βAge = 0.0502, 95% CI = -0.2730-0.3734), or whether or not a fox was considered a "road" fox (βRoad = -0.0063, 95% CI = -0.2638-0.2513) on home range size. We noted considerable overlap of home ranges of foxes that used urban areas. Foxes used urban areas a greater proportion of time during the night than during the day (t24 = -6.13, P < 0.001); however, foxes did not spend a greater proportion of time in urban areas than expected overall (t24=-0.59, P = 0.560). We observed 13 of 25 (52%) foxes that utilized urban areas feeding on anthropogenic food resources. Foxes that used urban areas were heavier (n = 35, ̄X = 1.98, SE = 0.05) than foxes that did not use urban areas (n = 26, ̄X = 1.81, SE = 0.04; t59 = -2.69, P = 0.009). Our study is the first to demonstrate the effects urban areas on islands may have on canid populations. our findings were similar to those reported for urban canid populations on the mainland, suggesting that future conservation and management of carnivores on islands may benefit from strategies that have been successful with mainland species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To test how interindividual variation in response to resource availability might reveal mechanisms leading to interpopulation variation across the geographic range of a species, we investigated movement patterns and use of space by 18 radiocollared raccoon dogs (Nyetereutes procyonoides viverrinus) in a mixed landscape of agriculture and forestry that is widely distributed in Japan, and that is a typical landscape for raccoon dogs. We tested the idea that the behavior of raccoon dogs, as ecological generalists, is sufficiently plastic for individual movement patterns to match habitat variation in this landscape. Home ranges averaged 111 ha (95% kernel estimate, much larger than previously reported for this species in Japan, and varied greatly among individuals (23--228 ha). Home ranges were 62.5% larger in autumn than in other seasons, and 33.5% larger fur subadults than for adults. Average movement rate tended to be higher in autumn (mean rate = 297 m/h), and lowest in winter (mean rate = 204 m/h). Within the population, some individuals occupied home ranges that were predominantly seminatural (we refer to these animals as "mountain type"), whereas those of others were dominated by heavily managed habitats (these we term "village type"). Within their home ranges, the types showed preferences for the habitats that were most prevalent there. Mountain-type individuals showed a preference for herbaceous habitat, whereas the village-type individuals used cropland disproportionately. Activity, as measured by the proportion of fixes designated active, tended to be lower in home ranges where cropland was predominant, and the magnitude of preference tot cropland increased with its availability with the home range, suggesting a functional response to habitat availability. The fractal dimension of movement trails was more complex in seminatural areas than in agricultural land, possibly reflecting greater spatial regularity of agricultural habitat. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]