Faeces count as an index of fox abundance

Abstract

Cavallini P. 1994. Faeces count as an index of fox abundance. Acta theriol. 39: 417-424.Faeces were collected monthly along transects in 9 areas of the Pisa province, central Italy, from April 1992 to March 1993 (total km walked = 982). An index of fox abundance (n of faeces per km) was computed. It was negatively influenced by rainfall in the 20 days preceding the transect, but was unrelated to the percentage of plant material in the diet. Differences among areas (averages from 0.338 to 2.966 faeces per km) were significant (p < 0.0001) and consistent throughout the year. Faeces were randomly distributed along the transects. The index may therefore provide an efficient and inexpensive method to evaluate relative abundance of foxes, but comparisons should include only areas and periods with similar rainfall. Seasonal population fluctuations are not detectable. Best results may be obtained when rainfall in the 20 days preceding the transect did not exceed 50 mm.

Fox faeces and vole distribution on a local range: ecological data in a parasitological perspective forEchinococcus multilocularis

“…Our data do not support this hypothesis. They are in accordance with Cavallini (1994), who noticed that the faeces index was not related to the seasonal fluctuations in fox numbers, as it neither increased following spring reproduction, nor decreased during the fox hunting season. Cavallini (1994) rather suggests that the number of faeces found in the field is linked to faeces persistence time.…”

“…They are in accordance with Cavallini (1994), who noticed that the faeces index was not related to the seasonal fluctuations in fox numbers, as it neither increased following spring reproduction, nor decreased during the fox hunting season. Cavallini (1994) rather suggests that the number of faeces found in the field is linked to faeces persistence time. This can vary according to season for elephant (Nchanji & Plumptre, 2001) and to season, habitat and climatic conditions for cervids (Hemami & Dolman, 2005).…”

“…Furthermore, William & Warren (2004) indicated that the action of invertebrates can diminish persistence time of sheep faeces. A few studies also showed a decrease in carnivore faeces persistence time in relation with removal by small mammals (Sanchez et al, 2004) or with rainfall (Cavallini, 1994). The number of faeces we found was significantly related to rainfall: the number of faeces decreased by a factor six during the study period with a concomitant increase of rainfall.…”

Caracterización de la comunidad de mamíferos de un área remota del sur de Chile mediante el uso combinado de metodologías

“…Por otra parte, se sabe que la persistencia de los excrementos de mamíferos está negativamente relacionada con las precipitaciones y la pendiente de un lugar (e.g. Cavallini 1994, Fernández de Simón et al 2011b, por lo que en Huinay, zona montañosa donde llueve abundantemente, los indicios pueden desaparecer con rapidez. A pesar de todo, los transectos de indicios corroboraron que el pudú debe de ser una de las especies más frecuentes del área de estudio, como apuntaban las respuestas de las personas entrevistadas.…”

How effective and selective is traditional Red Fox snaring?

“…In the second (30 days later), new faeces were counted. We estimated a relative abundance index for carnivores (IAc) in the study area based on the average number of faeces (Nf) detected for each species, divided by the number of days (d) between the removal of faeces and subsequent detections, and the length (L) of the path (Cavallini 1994).…”