Search Results

The island fox (Urocyon littoralis) is endemic to the California Channel Islands, a continental archipelago located off the coast of the southwestern United States. A descendent of the mainland gray fox (U. cinereo argenteus), it is hypothesized that island foxes first colonized the three northern Channel Islands (Santa Cruz, Santa Rosa, and San Miguel) by chance. Native Americans then transported foxes from these islands to three southern Channel Islands (Santa Catalina, San Clemente, and San Nicolas). Each island's fox population is currently recognized as a distinct subspecies, and both the hypothesized colonization scheme and the current taxonomic classification are supported by morphological and genetic evidence. This chapter discusses the evolution, ecology, and conservation of the island fox.

Separated from the mainland throughout the Quaternary, California's Channel Islands contain a depauperate terrestrial fauna, including a limited number of terrestrial mammals. With a few exceptions, determining when and by what means (human assisted, natural, or combination) many of these animals colonized the islands is unclear. Part of the problem is that few studies have systematically reviewed the fossil and archaeological records of Channel Island mammals. This chapter presents an analysis and synthesis of the origins of Channel Island endemic mammals, concluding these species arrived through a combination of natural and human-assisted dispersals. These data provide context for understanding the structure and function of Channel Island ecosystems and the role of ancient hunter-gatherers in influencing island ecosystems.

This chapter presents the author's field notes from the Santa Cruz Island Reserve. The author was particularly interested in studying island foxes. Lacking natural predators, island foxes tend not to find humans intimidating, indeed appearing tame even though they are technically wild. The island fox is currently on the rebound from endangered status. There were two thousand foxes on Santa Cruz Island in 1994, but canine distemper and golden eagle predation reduced the numbers to under 135 by 2000. The author was also interested in the endangered plants, the red-tailed hawk, the anise swallowtail, and the island scrub-jays. Not only is the island scrub-jay endemic, occurring only on the island, but it is also the only insular land bird in either the United States or Canada. The explanation for this is that scrub-jays seem incapable of crossing significant amounts of water.

This chapter first explains why scientific evidence plays a key role in conservation and management. It then discusses how scientific evidence should be used in decision making and how to handle lack of evidence. It presents examples of wise management involving the island fox (Urocyon littoralis) in Southern California's Channel Islands, the mallard ducks (Anas platyrhynchos) in North America, and the hihi (Notiomystis cincta) in New Zealand.