A behavioral audiogram of the red fox (Vulpes vulpes)

Retinal photoreceptor and ganglion cell types and topographies in the red fox (Vulpes vulpes) and Arctic fox(Vulpes lagopus)

“…As listed in Table , our data on fox eye dimensions correspond well to those given by Kirk (). Because eye size strongly correlates with body size and the red and Arctic fox are larger than the domestic cat, their smaller eyes underline the supposition that they rely more on other senses than the cat, such as olfaction and hearing (Malkemper, Topinka, & Burda, ; Nummela et al, ; Österholm, ). The smaller eye size of the Arctic fox compared to the red fox, on the other hand, is most probably not related to ecological factors but a simple consequence of its smaller body size (Audet et al, ; Larivière & Pasitschniak‐Arts, ; Nummela et al, ).…”

“…Arctic fox are larger than the domestic cat, their smaller eyes underline the supposition that they rely more on other senses than the cat, such as olfaction and hearing (Malkemper, Topinka, & Burda, 2015;Nummela et al, 2013;Österholm, 1964 Corneal size is a proxy for maximal pupil size and lens size, hence a proportionally larger corneal diameter indicates increased visual sensitivity as an adaptation to nocturnal vision (Hughes, 1977;Land and Nilsson, 2002;Kirk, 2004Kirk, , 2006Schmitz & Motani, 2010). The larger ratio of corneal to eye equatorial diameter in the red fox than the Arctic fox (.81 vs. .74; Table 2) may correlate with the potentially more nocturnal lifestyle of the former and the more cathemeral lifestyle of the latter (see Figure 4 in Kirk, 2004).…”

“…They carefully and slowly approach the prey and then attack by taking a large leap, the so called mousing jump, pinning the unsuspecting prey to the ground with their forepaws even when it is hidden under deep snow (Nowak, ). Such a behavior requests a high auditory sensitivity when the prey is hidden (Malkemper, Topinka, & Burda, ), but also hints at a well‐developed visual sense. Interestingly, red foxes have been suggested to make use of a magnetic sense during hunting behavior as their mousing jumps are more successful when directed toward north‐northeast (Červený, Begall, Koubek, Nováková, & Burda, ), and the retina may be involved in this magnetoreception (see Section 4).…”

Do terrestrial animals avoid areas close to turbines in functioning wind farms in agricultural landscapes?

“…Previous findings suggest no influence of wind farms on the diversity and abundance of small mammal species (Łopucki and Mróz 2016) in comparison to other types of human impacts (Łopucki et al 2013; Łopucki and Kiersztyn 2015; Łopucki and Kitowski 2017). Nevertheless, red foxes rely mainly on hearing to hunt of this type of prey in the winter season (Malkemper et al 2015); therefore, hindered hearing may lower the chances of hunting success. In our opinion, both factors (lower track density of the European hare and lower success in preying on small mammals) lead to lower track density of this species within farm areas.…”

Untitled

“…The red fox, Vulpes vulpes Linneaus, is the most widespread and abundant wild carnivore in the world, ranging across Europe and Asia to North America, parts of North Africa, and an introduced population in Australia (Malkemper, Topinka & Burda, 2014). Furthermore, foxes, especially the red fox, are known to be present and well-adapted to living in urban environments, mainly because they are omnivorous and scavengers that are able to take advantage of a city's anthropogenic food, its sources of shelter, and the absence of or protection from larger predators such as bears, wolves, and coyotes (Bateman, Fleming & Le Comber, 2012).…”