Effects of resource availability and interspecific interactions on Arctic and red foxes' winter use of ungulate carrion in the Fennoscandian low-Arctic tundra.

ABSTRACT: In the Arctic tundra, predators face recurrent periods of food scarcity and often turn to ungulate carcasses as an alternative food source. As important and localized resource patches, carrion promotes co-occurrence of different individuals, and its use by predators is likely to be affected by interspecific competition. We studied how interspecific competition and resource availability impact winter use of carrion by Arctic and red foxes in low Arctic Fennoscandia. We predicted that the presence of red foxes limits Arctic foxes' use of carrion, and that competition depends on the availability of other resources. We monitored Arctic and red fox presence at supp lied carrion using camera traps. From 2006 to 2021, between 16 and 20 cameras were active for 2 months in late winter (288 camera-w

SUBMITTER: Lacombe S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10985358 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature