J. Elwood Fisher

Effects of Intensive Gray Fox Control on Population Dynamics of Rodents and Sympatric Carnivores

The impact of continuously removing gray foxes (Urocyon cinereoargenteus) from upland Virginia poultry farms was studied over a 25-month period. Primary study areas were two sets offarm woodlots. Foxes were left undisturbed on one fann, and were intensively controlled for a 14-month period on the other. Demographic analysis ofrodent populations and enumeration of sympatric carnivores were penormed on both farms before, during, and after the period offox control. During fox control, weasels(Mustelafrenata) irrupted to significant (P <0.05) levels; numbers of skunks, opossums, and...