2023.05.31

Arctic Fox Trot

Foxes' transcontinental trips may spread diseases

The map shows the journeys of 27 adult foxes and 10 juveniles that dispersed over long distances. An additional two young foxes settled less than 80 kilometers away from their birthplace, and four others died shortly after departing. Eva Fuglei notes that tracking collars let researchers see "through the polar night" and document the foxes’ winter behavior, which is much less well understood than spring behavior. They also revealed that juvenile foxes relied heavily on sea ice for their travels, suggesting that shrinking ice extent will affect future dispersals.<br>(Source: "Long-Term Satellite Tracking Reveals Patterns of Long-Distance Dispersal in Juvenile and Adult Arctic Foxes (Vulpes lagopus)," by Richard Gravel et al., in Royal Society Open Science; February 1, 2023 (fox dispersal data); National Snow &amp; Ice Data Center (sea ice data))

The map shows the journeys of 27 adult foxes and 10 juveniles that dispersed over long distances. An additional two young foxes settled less than 80 kilometers away from their birthplace, and four others died shortly after departing. Eva Fuglei notes that tracking collars let researchers see "through the polar night" and document the foxes’ winter behavior, which is much less well understood than spring behavior. They also revealed that juvenile foxes relied heavily on sea ice for their travels, suggesting that shrinking ice extent will affect future dispersals.<br>(Source: "Long-Term Satellite Tracking Reveals Patterns of Long-Distance Dispersal in Juvenile and Adult Arctic Foxes (Vulpes lagopus)," by Richard Gravel et al., in Royal Society Open Science; February 1, 2023 (fox dispersal data); National Snow &amp; Ice Data Center (sea ice data))

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