Altitudinal and temporal differences in the food of foxes (Vulpes vulpes) at alpine and subalpine altitudes in the Snowy Mountains

Abstract

The diet of foxes over three years at alpine and subalpine altitudes in the Snowy Mountains followed a cyclical change determined by seasonal climatic events that were very marked and predictable and did not allow for great variation in timing of prey availability. The diet was dominated by mammals in winter, with a change in the snow-free months to insects, mainly comprising bogong moths, with grasshoppers becoming important later in the season. Mammals preyed upon at both altitudes were mainly broad-toothed rats (Mastacomys fuscus), bush rats (Rattus fuscipes) and dusky antechinus (Antechinus swainsonii). In the alpine zone, foxes were less dependent upon the food chain deriving from in situ primary productivity than were foxes in the subalpine zone and were more reliant on other energy sources, particularly immigrant bogong moths.