Sierra Nevada Red Fox: Range, Habitat, and Occupancy Models
Project ID: P19AC00713
Federal Agency: National Park Service
Partner Institution: Oregon State University
Fiscal Year: 2019
Initial Funding: $179,378
Total Funding: $329,677
Project Type: Research
Project Disciplines: Biological
National Park: Yosemite National Park
Principal Investigator: Green, David
Agreement Technical Representative: Stock, Sara
Abstract: This project will provide new information to the public and the scientific community about the status, range, and habitat of the SNRF in YOSE and in the Central Sierra as part of a range-wide recovery effort for these rare foxes. NPS will use information collected through this agreement to update the NPS public website for the purposes of informing and educating the public. Park interpreters in YOSE will help tell the story of the rare fox during their interpretive walks and programs. Further, the analytical results provided by this project will provide critical information on the listing decision and recovery effort of the SNRF across its range. Expected products include two manuscripts suitable for submission to peer-reviewed journals that will be available to the public and interpreted for the lay audience on the YOSE website.
A. Overview
Investigators from OSU and NPS staff will collaborate to accomplish the following specific objectives:
1. Collect and organize multiple years’ data on SNRF presence, occupancy, and individual identification from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, NPS, and University of California, Davis into a single database in preparation for modeling analyses.
2. Develop, run, and evaluate occupancy models of SNRF, their competitors (e.g., coyote, bobcat, mountain lion), and their prey in YOSE using data collected by NPS.
3. Develop, run, and evaluate distribution and habitat models for SNRF in California and Oregon using the database created in Objective 1. Estimate the potential range of SNRF in California and Oregon using an integrated model that combines occupancy and spatial capture-recapture techniques.
4. Identify important habitat characteristics for SNRF and their competitors in YOSE.
5. Finalize results and draft two manuscripts suitable for publication in peer-reviewed journals on: 1) results from the occupancy analysis on SNRF and their competitors in YOSE, and 2) results from the integrated habitat model of SNRF distribution and habitat associations in California and Oregon.
6. Incorporate summaries of relevant results and findings into Sierra Nevada Red Fox Conservation Strategy documents, and present findings at a professional society meeting.