Kit fox population trends at the Naval Petroleum Reserves in California
The San Joaquin kit fox was listed as an endangered subspecies following passage of the Endangered Species Protection Act of 1966, and further classified as rare under the California Endangered Species Act of 1970. The San Joaquin kit fox occurs on the Naval Petroleum Reserves in California administered by the Department of Energy (DOE). A long term kit fox population monitoring program was initiated as part of DOE's mitigation strategy to comply with the Endangered Species Act. In addition to monitoring kit fox populations, the program includes assessments of kit fox prey density and assessments of predator abundance. The objectives of this study were to: describe the long term changes in the kit fox population on the Reserves and assess the roles of coyotes and lagomorphs in kit fox population dynamics. When the fox population on NPR-1 declined between 1980 and 1984, it appeared to have been negatively impacted by a declining prey base (lagomorphs) and an increasing coyote population. Declining lagomorph densities may have been a more important factor because as coyote numbers declined between 1985 and 1990, the kit fox population remained stable. The fox population on NPR-2 remained at a higher and more stable level than the population on NPR-1. The factors determining the higher densities and greater stability of the fox population on NPR-2 are unknown.
- Research Organization:
- EG and G Energy Measurements, Inc., Las Vegas, NV (USA)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE; USDOE, Washington, DC (USA)
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC08-88NV10617
- OSTI ID:
- 5918329
- Report Number(s):
- EGG-10617-2088; CONF-9102105-1; ON: DE91010764
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: 1991 annual meeting of the western section of the Wildlife Society, Sacramento, CA (USA), 7-9 Feb 1991
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
Reintroduction of the endangered San Joaquin kit fox onto Naval Petroleum Reserve No. 1 in California
Coyote control to protect endangered San Joaquin kit foxes at the Naval Petroleum Reserves, California
Related Subjects
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
CALIFORNIA
STRATEGIC PETROLEUM RESERVE
FOXES
POPULATION DYNAMICS
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS
COYOTES
ENDANGERED SPECIES
MONITORING
PIKAS
POPULATION DENSITY
PREDATOR-PREY INTERACTIONS
RABBITS
ANIMALS
FEDERAL REGION IX
MAMMALS
NORTH AMERICA
RESERVES
RESOURCES
RODENTS
USA
VERTEBRATES
020900* - Petroleum- Environmental Aspects
540250 - Environment
Terrestrial- Site Resource & Use Studies- (1990-)