Adi Barocas  Carnivore ecology in dynamic landscapes  

Ruppell's fox , a small, desert-adapted canid species, lives in the Negev desert, an extremely arid environment. Since 2016, we have been investigating the space use and movement of a fox population in a number of wide dry washes using GPS collars. One of our main goals in this project, in collaboration with the Israel Nature and Parks Authority and Tel-Aviv University, is to assess how Ruppell's foxes interact with a more aggressive, larger species that leaves near human settlements in the area, the red fox.

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We have successfully collared and tracked 24 adult Ruppell's foxes, and analyzed their movement data. Ruppell's foxes spent a large proportion of their time in lower, flatter areas inside the creek valleys, and avoided roads and trails. The results of our work have recently been published.

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We found that Ruppell's foxes spatial behavior is affected by paved roads and trails, depending on the season, and by topography, with a preference for valley bottoms and wide wash areas. This is the most comprehensive study to date on this little known canid.

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