Optimal prey for red fox cubs—An example of dual optimizing foraging strategy in foxes from a dynamic wetland habitat

Abstract

The red fox (Vulpes vulpes) is the most abundant mesopredator in the Central European region. Detailed knowledge about their feeding behavior is important both from ecological and wildlife management reasons. Food choices of foxes are poorly predictable in high-biodiversity marshlands. The main aim of our study was to sample parallel the main food-type abundances in the study area and analyze the diet of fox cubs and cohabiting adults across 3 years during the period of maternal dependence of the cubs. According to the optimal foraging theory, we predicted that the cubs' diet would show higher energy content, would be more varied, and the individual prey species fed to the young would be larger. We analyzed the composition of adult fox and cub fecal samples collected separately around dens in a marshland of western Hungary, May 2014, 2017 and 2020, when the abundance values of main food sources differed. Rodents and waterfowl dominated the diet, but their relative occurrence in the samples showed yearly variations. We found that vixens follow a dual optimizing foraging strategy regarding their provisioning of the cubs and their own diet. Adult foxes optimized their diet according to the actual yearly abundances of their main food sources. Additionally, they preferred prey items that can be consumed at the site of capture (large carrion and small individual prey items). Cubs on the other hand were provisioned with optimal high-energy food, even if those in question became less abundant in that year. Vixens mostly fed to their young either larger rodents and waterfowl, or multiple small rodents at a time—these type of prey are both optimal for transportation as a single load. Providing optimal prey at an early age in a changing environment may contribute to the ecological success of the red fox.