World Applied Sciences Journal 4 (6): 886-890, 2008 ISSN 1818-4952 © IDOSI Publications, 2008 Corresponding Author: Piotr Tryjanowski, Department of Behavioural Ecology, Adam Mickiewicz University, Umultowska 89, PL-61-614 Poznañ, Poland 886 Habitat Use, Food and the Importance of Poultry in the Diet of the Red Fox Vulpes vulpes in Extensive Farmland in Poland Lukasz Jankowiak, Marcin Antczak and Piotr Tryjanowski Department of Behavioural Ecology, Adam Mickiewicz University, Umultowska 89, PL-61-614 Poznañ, Poland Abstract: Studies on red fox Vulpes vulpes biology, including habitat and food preferences have been very popular during recent decades. However, the majority of them were mainly carried out mainly in highly human-modified habitats. In this paper we present data on the diet of the red fox, with special attention to domestic poultry and on den site selection in extensive farmland in Poland. During the years 2006-2008, 632 scats were collected and 82 dens were recorded. 58.5% of dens were situated in under cover (40 in forest, 8 in scrub) and the rest in open areas, such as arable fields and pasture. Fox den entrances occurred significantly more often in N, NE and W directions. Scat analyses revealed a high biomass of rodents (44.6%) and birds (35.0%-mainly poultry). Fox adaptation to use of poultry makes them partially more independent from natural resources. We found that importance of poultry in the red fox diet decreased significantly with distance to the nearest farm buildings. Key words: Red fox %Food composition %Poultry use %Protected areas INTRODUCTION section). To evaluate the possible impact of red fox The red fox (Vulpes vulpes) is the most widely necessary to obtain at least two pieces of information: fox distributed carnivore in the world and an extremely distribution and density, as well as diet composition. adaptable species [1, 2]. In recent decades the population Therefore, the first aim of our study was to describe of red foxes has increased rapidly, often as a consequence den location and diet composition of the red fox in the of vaccination programmes following an outbreak of study area. rabies, human abandonment of the countryside and dump Recently red fox has adapted to new proliferation [1-3]. In consequence, foxes have had a anthropogenic conditions, e.g. changes in habitat, stronger detrimental influence on small game birds and use of human-produced food [2, 10, 11]. There is some mammals, including endangered species, directly or evidence that foxes have reduced their fear of humans, indirectly via habitat change [4-6]. Moreover, throughout started to use artificial shelters and included garbage and Europe, the red fox poses a range of other potential poultry in their diet [2, 3, 8, 11, 12]. Therefore we described management problems, including the transmission of basic parameters of red fox ecology in an extensively used diseases, such as rabies and echinococcosis and farmland and we ask particular question: how important is predation on livestock [2, 7, 8]. However, to date the poultry as a food source to foxes living in extensive majority of studies on red fox were carried out in habitats farmland and does the use of poultry in the diet reduce intensively modified by man, such as, urban areas and the predation pressure on wild birds living in this intensive farmland [for review see: 1, 2, 9, 10]. On the other protected study area? hand data from less disturbed habitats suggest that red fox may have a strong influence on wild animals living in MATERIALS AND METHODS the same area, including high priority protected species [4-6]. Therefore we chose to study an area of extensive Study Area and Fox Density: The study was conducted farming, protected under Natura 2000 (see study area between May 2006 and May 2008 near the town of predation on different prey species in protected areas it is