ECOLOGICAL AND DEMOGRAPHIC RESPONSE OF SAN JOAQUIN KIT FOXES TO THE PANOCHE VALLEY SOLAR FARM

Tory L Westall; Endangered Species Recovery Program; twestall@esrp.org; Brian Cypher, Erica Kelly, Nicole Deatherage

San Joaquin kit foxes (Vulpes macrotis mutica) are listed as Federally Endangered and California Threatened, primarily due to profound habitat loss throughout their range. The San Joaquin kit fox now persists in a metapopulation consisting of three main “core” populations, one of which is in Panoche Valley California. In spring of 2019, following the completion of the Panoche Valley Solar Farm, a 3-year investigation of ecological and demographic traits of San Joaquin kit foxes within Panoche Valley was initiated to determine how the population is affected by this anthropogenic disturbance. To investigate these effects, kit foxes were monitored on two sites within Panoche Valley. The solar site was located within a 1.5-km buffer of the Panoche Valley Solar Farm arrays and the reference site was located on Silver Creek Ranch in relatively undisturbed habitat. Kit foxes were collared with GPS collars and tracked regularly to dens and resting areas. Over the course of the study, 99 individual foxes were captured and we were able to determine the size and space use of 77 foxes. We also documented similarities and differences in reproduction, survival, mortalities, and diet between the two sites.

Mammals III: Canids (continued)  InPerson Presentation