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MICHIGAN GRAY FOX PROJECT

Michigan supports a diverse assemblage of carnivores and offers an excellent model system to examine biotic and abiotic factors associated with changes in mesocarnivore distribution and abundance. Across the Northern Forest of Michigan (Units A&B), multiple meso-canids coexist including coyote (Canis latrans), red fox (Vulpes vulpes), and gray fox (Urocyon cinereoargenteus), whereas gray wolf, an apex carnivore and keystone species, only occurs in Unit A. Changes in gray and red fox distributions and abundance are of particular concern within Michigan Department of Natural Resources (MDNR) as anecdotal evidence suggests the gray fox population across the Midwest United States is rapidly declining, while red fox distribution and abundance seem to be expanding and increasing. Moreover, as designated furbearers, gray and red fox are generically managed in

Michigan as “fox”, with little attention paid to ecological differences between the species. However, evidence suggests human-mediated disruption to carnivore community dynamics as well as annual changes in snow conditions may be negatively affecting gray fox. With concern about dwindling gray fox populations across the Northern Forest of Michigan and more broadly the Midwest, I seek to answer the following questions: (1) How has gray and red fox expected abundance across the Northern Forest of Michigan shifted over the past 9 years relative to landscape change? (2) How do environmental variables (i.e., forest type, forest edge density, snow depth, human footprint) correlate with gray and red fox expected abundance? (3) Are gray and red fox occupancy associated with heterospecific canid (i.e., coyote, wolf) detection?

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Project Updates

Updates will be posted quarterly! Stay tuned!

Feel free to reach out with questions:

Email: aclyne@nmu.edu. Instagram: @anthonyclyne

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Project Collaborators

Get Involved in Gray Fox Research!

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ADDRESS

WECOS Lab

Biology Department

1401 Presque Isle AVE

Northern Michigan University

Marquette, MI 49855

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