- INFORMATION ON THE SPECIES WE STUDY -

The Mongolia Carnivore Project focuses on corsac foxes, Pallas' cats, red foxes, and badgers living in grassland and semi-desert steppe environments. In the Ikh Nartiin Chuluun Nature Reserve where our study is based, all four species live sympatrically (overlap in range). The following is a brief description of the biology of the corsac fox, Pallas' cat, and red fox. For information on the biology of badgers, please visit the Wildlife Conservation Research Unit's badger project website .

The corsac fox is small, arid adapted canid species that purportedly ranges from northern Afghanistan to Siberia (Heptner and Naumov 1992). Despite its wide range, little is known of the biology of the species, which has been relied upon for centuries by subsistence hunters for fur (Sillero-Zubiri et al. 2004). The IUCN classifies the corsac fox as a Least Concern species (IUCN 2000). However, the 1990 Canid Specialist Group action plan cited that "nothing is known about the biology of the species, its local or regional abundance, and details of its distributions"(Ginsberg and Macdonald 1990:96). The group's more recent action plan (www.canids.org) identified major 'Gaps in Knowledge' about the species' biology (Sillero-Zubiri et al. 2004).

Limited observations from wild and captive corsac foxes suggest that they exhibit a unique suite of behavioural and ecological characteristics atypical among other fox species. For example, corsac foxes are reportedly known to live gregariously in 'corsac cities' that are composed of several adjoining den complexes shared by multiple family groups (Novikov 1962; Ognev 1962; Heptner and Naumov 1992). Corsac foxes have also been described hunting in small packs (Dinnik 1914; Ognev 1962; Stroganov 1962), migrating during periods of low prey abundance, and exhibiting large population fluctuations (Ognev 1962; Heptner and Naumov 1992). These accounts, however, are largely based on anecdotal observations. Most quantitative information on the species is from hunting records and taxonomic studies. Details of the species' fundamental biology (i.e. ranging behaviour, diet, or basis social organization) or habitat requirements are few (Sillero-Zubiri et al. 2004).

The biology of the Pallas' cat (or manul) is equally unknown. The Pallas' cat is a small felid (~5kg) that ranges from southern Tibet through Mongolia and other former Soviet states in Asia (Allen 1938). Pallas' cats occur in grassland and rocky, semi-desert terrain throughout much of their range (Allen 1938; Ognev 1962). Although little is known of the species' habitat use, some observations suggest that Pallas' cats prefer rocky, more arid regions of the steppes. However, populations have also been observed in grassland valleys, often surrounded by drier, mountainous terrain (Allen 1938; Novikov 1962; Ognev 1962; Heptner and Naumov 1992). Pallas' cats are thought to be largely nocturnal in activity and feed chiefly on gerbils and jerboas (Ognev 1962; Heptner and Naumov 1992). Some accounts also indicate that Pallas' cats migrate during harsh winters: Ognev (1962:155), for example, states "like the corsac fox, the manul migrates from Mongolia northward and into Russia in whole families during some winters". Details of Pallas' cat space use and dispersal patterns are few, but clearly necessary for understanding the ecological requirements of the species.

The IUCN classifies the Pallas' cat as near threatened due to decreasing population trends and increasing threats from hunting and habitat loss (IUCN 2000). The Convention on International Trade of Endangered Species (CITES) lists the Pallas' cat as an Appendix II species (UNEP-WCMC 2004).

Red foxes range throughout the temperate regions of the Europe, Asia, and North America, and have the widest geographical distribution of any member of the order Carnivora (Wilson and Reeder 1993; Sillero-Zubiri et al. 2004). In Mongolia, red foxes live in a diversity of habitats, ranging from the stark, arid regions of the Gobi Desert to the taiga forests near Russia (Ognev 1962; Heptner and Naumov 1992). The abundance of red foxes, however, is unknown in many regions. Similarly, even though the biology of red foxes is well studied, information on their local ecology and interactions with other carnivores is limited. However, accounts of red foxes in Asia indicate that they are generalist predators and opportunistically feed on animals ranging in size from steppe voles (Microtus brandti) to tolai hares (Lepus tolai) to domestic sheep and goats (Ognev 1962; Heptner and Naumov 1992). Several subspecies have been identified in Asia (Allen 1938).

Red foxes are hunted heavily for fur and represent an important economic species in Mongolia. Knowledge of their abundance and regional ecology will be important to conserving the species in Mongolia and managing hunting, particularly as they receive little protection outside of national parks. Understanding the competitive relationships between red foxes and other carnivores is also germane to conservation. Red foxes are adept competitors and known to exclude smaller sympatric carnivores in some regions. In Fennoscandia (Norway, Sweden, Finland), for example, red foxes are known to kill arctic foxes (Alopex lagopus) and exclude them from optimal breeding habitats (Tannerfeldt et al. 2002). Researchers also suggest that the southern limit of arctic fox range is largely determined by interspecific competition with the red fox (Hersteinsson and Macdonald 1992). In Mongolia, red foxes undoubtedly compete for resources with the smaller corsac fox. Heptner and Naumov (1992), for example, report that interference competition occurs between the species as red foxes kill corsac foxes during encounters. In open habitats, where competition between species that interact aggressively can be intensified (Creel et al. 2001), understanding the degree of competition and the mechanism of coexistence between corsac and red foxes will be useful for conservation efforts. Competition between Pallas' cats and red foxes also occurs, although details of interactions and overlap in resource use are few. However, such information is important as red fox competition could potentially hinder recovery efforts of Pallas' cats, especially during periods of resource scarcity.

References

Allen, G. M. 1938. The mammals of China and Mongolia. Granger W., editor. New York: American Museum of Natural History.

Creel, S., G. Spong, N. M. Creel. 2001. Interspecific competition and the population biology of extinction-prone carnivores. In: Gittleman J. L., Funk S. M., Macdonald D., editors. Carnivore conservation. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.

Dinnik, N. Y. 1914. Animals of the Caucasus: Tiflis.

Ginsberg, J. R., D. W. Macdonald. 1990. Foxes, Wolves, Jackals, and Dogs An Action Plan for the Conservation of Canids. Gland, Switzerland: IUCN.

Heptner, V. G., N. P. Naumov, editors. 1992. Mammals of the Soviet Union. Part 1A ed. New York: E.J. Brill.

Hersteinsson, P., D. W. Macdonald. 1992. Interspecific competition and the geographical distribution of red and arctic foxes Vulpes vulpes and Alopex lagopus. Oikos 64:505-515.

IUCN. 2000. The 2000 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Gland, Switzerland: IUCN World Conservation Union.

Novikov, G. A. 1962. Carnivorous Mammals of the Fauna of the USSR. Jerusalem: Israel Program for Scientific Translations.

Ognev, S. I. 1962. Mammals of eastern Europe and northern Asia. Jerusalem, Israel: Israel Program for Scientific Translations.

Ognev, S. I. 1962. Mammals of eastern Europe and northern Asia. Jerusalem, Israel: Israel Program for Scientific Translations.

Sillero-Zubiri, C., M. Hoffmann, D. W. Macdonald. 2004. Canids: Foxes, Wolves, Jackals, and Dogs. Status Survey and Conservation Action Plan. Gland, Switzerland: IUCN/SSC Canid Specialist Group. 430p.

Stroganov, S. U. 1962. Carnivorous Mammals of Siberia. Jerusalem: Israel Program for Scientific Translations.

Tannerfeldt, M., B. Elmhagen, A. Angerbjorn. 2002. Exclusion by interference competition? The relationship between red and arctic foxes. Oecologia 132:213-220.

UNEP-WCMC. 2004. Checklist of CITES Species: Convention on International Trade of Endangered Species. 339 p.

Wilson, D. E., D. M. Reeder. 1993. Mammal species of the world a taxonomic and geographic reference. Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution Press.