RANGING BEHAVIOR AND ACTIVITY OF RED FOXES (VULPES-VULPES, MAMMALIA) IN RELATION TO ENVIRONMENTAL VARIABLES, IN A MEDITERRANEAN MIXED PINEWOOD

The relationships between the main abiotic environmental variables, fo od availability, diet, activity and home range size of the fox in a Me diterranean mixed pinewood were assessed. Food habits were determined by faecal analysis on a weekly basis. Food availability was measured b y weekly censuses. Radio-tracking allowed the detection of fox movemen ts and activity. Individual differences shown by a sample of four radi o-tagged foxes were analysed. Juniper berries (Juniperus oxycedrus) we re the staple of the diet during the year, except in summer. Insects, mainly nocturnal Orthoptera and cicada larvae (Cicada orni), were the main prey in the warm season. Large vertebrates, mostly wild boars (Su s scrofa), were scavenged in winter. In the warm season foxes' activit y depended largely on the pattern of activity of prey. Food habits ten ded to depend on food availability, which, in turn was mainly influenc ed by temperature. In spite of habitat similarity, individual differen ces in food habits were detected within the same season. Home ranges w ere larger in pinewood than in neighbouring heterogeneous habitats. In dividual home range sizes were: (i) directly correlated to Orthoptera abundance and distribution; (ii) inversely correlated to the abundance of cicada larvae in diet. Resident males may exist in fox society, ex ploiting other males' territories when good clumped food resources are available.