Genetic mating system and territory inheritance in the Sacramento Valley red fox

Thesis (M.S., Biological Sciences (Ecology, Evolution, and Conservation))--California State University, Sacramento, 2012.The Sacramento Valley red fox is a recently discovered native subspecies of red fox residing in the northern Central Valley of California. This subspecies differs in ecology and morphology from its closest relatives, the Sierra Nevada red fox, and other members of the Montane clade of red foxes native to the mountains of western North America. It is of value to the conservation of this subspecies to determine aspects of its life history. This study used 33 microsatellite loci, collected using non-invasive methods, to examine the mating behavior, relatedness, and territory inheritance in the Sacramento Valley red fox, which displayed patterns of mating, relatedness, and territory inheritance consistent with those being examined using genetics in other red fox populations. Genetic mating in this population consisted of monogamy, polyandry, polygyny, and polygynandry, leading to family groups that were much less well-related than would be expected under a strictly monogamous system, although it appeared that adult females were more closely related within den groups than were the adult males. The high degree of polygamy also led to territory inheritance by individuals that were less related to their predecessors than would be expected under a monogamous system.Biological Sciences (Ecology, Evolution and Conservation