Movements and home range of San Joaquin kit foxes on the Naval Petroleum Reserves, Kern County, California

Technical Report · Tue Sep 01 04:00:00 EDT 1987

OSTI ID:5521791

Zoellick, B W; O'Farrell, T P; Kato, T T

Movements and home range use of San Joaquin kit foxes (Vulpes macrotis mutica) were studied on and adjacent to the Naval Petroleum Reserves (NPR-1 and NPR-2), Kern County, California, between June 1984 and September 1985. Foxes were studied in an undeveloped area of Buena Vista Valley centered on the border between the Reserves, and in an area of intensive petroleum development in NPR-2 adjacent to the city of Taft. Distances moved nightly did not differ between sexes or between level of petroleum development. Nightly movements averaged 9.4 miles in length during the breeding season, and were significantly longer than the average nightly movements for the pup-rearing (6.4 miles) and pup-dispersal (6.5 miles) seasons. Convex polygon home ranges averaged 1144 acres in size and did not differ between sexes or level of petroleum development. Home ranges of paired males and females overlapped an average of 78%. Home ranges of nonpaired males and females, adjacent males, and adjacent females overlapped an average of 31 to 48%. Although kit foxes were not strongly territorial, home range overlap of paired males and females was significantly greater than that of either nonpaired males and females and males with adjacent home ranges. Home range overlap did not differ between foxes inhabiting developed and undeveloped areas. 42 refs., 10 figs., 9 tabs.

• Research Organization: EG and G Energy Measurements, Inc., Goleta, CA (USA). Santa Barbara Operations
• DOE Contract Number: AC08-83NV10282
• OSTI ID: 5521791
• Report Number(s): EGG-10282-2184; ON: DE88005188
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

510500* -- Environment
Terrestrial-- Site Resource & Use Studies-- (-1989)
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
ANIMALS
CALIFORNIA
DATA
ENDANGERED SPECIES
EXPERIMENTAL DATA
FEDERAL REGION IX
FOXES
GEOLOGIC DEPOSITS
HABITAT
INFORMATION
LAND USE
MAMMALS
MANAGEMENT
MINERAL RESOURCES
NAVAL PETROLEUM RESERVE
NORTH AMERICA
NUMERICAL DATA
PETROLEUM DEPOSITS
RESERVES
RESOURCES
USA
VERTEBRATES
WILD ANIMALS