Factors Influencing Swift Fox Reintroduction Success to Fort Belknap Reservation, Montana
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| Publicado en: | ProQuest Dissertations and Theses (2025) |
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| 100 | 1 | |a Nelson, Dana Lynn | |
| 245 | 1 | |a Factors Influencing Swift Fox Reintroduction Success to Fort Belknap Reservation, Montana | |
| 260 | |b ProQuest Dissertations & Theses |c 2025 | ||
| 513 | |a Dissertation/Thesis | ||
| 520 | 3 | |a Reintroductions are an important conservation tool for reestablishing wildlife populations, and studying the factors influencing reintroduction outcomes is important to improving success rates over time. Swift fox are a small canid native to the short- and mixed grass prairies of western North America that have experienced severe population declines due to habitat loss and poisoning in the late 1800s. While swift fox now occupy approximately 40% of their historic range, reintroduction to northern Montana may promote the species’ long-term persistence, encourage connectivity in an existing range gap, and return species to areas where it is culturally significant. We studied the translocation of swift foxes from four locations in Colorado and Wyoming to the Fort Belknap Reservation, which is a sovereign nation and homelands to the Aaniiih and Nakoda tribes in Montana. Using GPS collars fitted to each translocated fox, we found that most foxes (76%) settled into a stable home range, and the habitats where they settled were similar among all foxes. Specifically, they selected flat areas dominated by grass with soil suitable for burrowing, and areas that were also suitable for black-tailed prairie dogs. We also studied the reintroduced population of swift foxes by placing a large array of baited camera stations where we recorded images and collected their scats, which allowed for genetic analysis of their diet and population size. I found that while swift fox diets were largely similar to coyotes and between groups that had been translocated. However, swift fox born at Fort Belknap had a more distinct diet relative to their coyote competitors. We estimated population size from DNA in swift fox scat, and found that the overall population density was similar to what has been estimated in other parts of swift fox range and that reproduction had taken place. Our results showing that foxes from different source locations did not vary in their post-release habitat selection or diet enforce the message of the final chapter, in which models of swift fox future distribution show the potential for range expansion and swift foxes’ ability to tolerate a range of habitat conditions. Altogether, this research demonstrates that swift fox are an adaptable canid for which reintroduction efforts can be successful. Importantly, we attribute the apparent success of this conservation effort to the stewardship of tribal lands on the Fort Belknap Reservation and to the science-based release protocols established by past research on swift fox reintroductions. | |
| 653 | |a Ecology | ||
| 653 | |a Native peoples | ||
| 653 | |a Management decisions | ||
| 653 | |a Environmental conditions | ||
| 653 | |a Success | ||
| 653 | |a Buffalo | ||
| 653 | |a Prairie dogs | ||
| 653 | |a Population density | ||
| 653 | |a Diet | ||
| 653 | |a Community | ||
| 653 | |a Grasslands | ||
| 653 | |a Habitats | ||
| 653 | |a Health inspections | ||
| 653 | |a Predation | ||
| 653 | |a Environmental science | ||
| 653 | |a Native studies | ||
| 653 | |a Management | ||
| 773 | 0 | |t ProQuest Dissertations and Theses |g (2025) | |
| 786 | 0 | |d ProQuest |t ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global | |
| 856 | 4 | 1 | |3 Citation/Abstract |u https://www.proquest.com/docview/3266812264/abstract/embedded/7BTGNMKEMPT1V9Z2?source=fedsrch |
| 856 | 4 | 0 | |3 Full Text - PDF |u https://www.proquest.com/docview/3266812264/fulltextPDF/embedded/7BTGNMKEMPT1V9Z2?source=fedsrch |