DOI: 10.5061/dryad.n02v6wx5z
title: Data from: How does anthropogenic food influence the trophic ecology of Rocky Mountain Red Fox?

description: Providing novel food subsidies to wildlife can influence behavior,
 resource use, disease dynamics, and food web interactions. Studies
 examining impacts of anthropogenic food have primarily occurred in urban
 landscapes where anthropogenic resources are consistently accessible.
 National parks, however, experience similar issues regarding wildlife
 exploiting anthropogenic food, but access to anthropogenic food is
 contingent on human visitation, which can fluctuate dramatically between
 seasons. We evaluated how fluctuating availability of anthropogenic food
 and demographic factors influenced the isotopic niche of Rocky Mountain
 Red Fox (Vulpes vulpes macroura) at the population and individual level in
 Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming. From 2016 – 2021, we collected 55
 whisker samples and 52 hair samples from 40 unique individuals and
 analyzed them using stable isotope analysis (δ13C and δ15N) for diet
 exploration. We discovered that Rocky Mountain red foxes have a broad
 isotopic niche, with seasonal differences in their consumption of
 anthropogenic food. Contrary to our expectations, foxes demonstrated
 increased reliance on anthropogenic food (higher δ13C values) during
 winter months, whereas natural food consumption or dietary mixing was more
 prominent in summer months. Natural food scarcity could be driving foxes
 to seek out more anthropogenic food in the winter, whereas the increased
 abundance of natural food items in the summer could result in a lower need
 for foxes to supplement their diet with anthropogenic food. Adults had
 consistently higher δ13C values relative to juveniles, indicating either
 intraspecific variation in boldness or dominance leading to increased
 exploitation of anthropogenic food, which could be a learned behavior
 coinciding with habituation. Finally, we observed that increasing
 densities of human features within the home range of a fox was a strong
 predictor of anthropogenic food reliance at the individual-level. Our work
 provided a deeper understanding of the trophic ecology of Rocky Mountain
 Red Fox in relation to human activity in a nature preserve, and equipped
 managers with insight into potential patterns associated with
 food-conditioned foxes.
description: ## How does anthropogenic food influence the trophic ecology of Rocky
 Mountain Red Fox?
 [https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.n02v6wx5z](https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.n02v6wx5z) ## Description of the data and file structure We investigated how human food influenced the trophic ecology of the Rocky Mountain Red Fox within Grand Teton National Park. From 2016 – 2021, we collected 55 whisker samples and 52 hair samples from 40 unique individuals and analyzed them using stable isotope analysis (δ13C and δ15N) for diet exploration. ### Files and variables #### File: JMAMM-2022-220.csv **Description:** Stable isotope data of Rocky Mountain red fox in Grand Teton National Park from 2016 - 2022  ##### Variables * AID: Animal ID * Sex: Sex of animal * Age: Age of animal  * Collar.data: Did we have GPS data for the animal * Tissue.Type: Whisker or guard hair * d15N: Uncorrected Nitrogen values * d13C: Uncorrected Carbon values * Date.Collected: Date sample was collected * Section: Hair and whiskers were cut into segments "A", "B", "C", "D', or "E" * Corresponding.Season: Season isotope sample represents * Corresponding.Year: Year isotope sample represents * area.summer.km2: size of individual home range; "NA" indicates missing data and was used for individual animals that did not have GPS collar data and therefore we did not have information on home range size or habitat characteristics within the home range * riparian.prop.summer: Proportion of riparian within a fox home range in the summer; "NA"  indicates missing data and was used for individual animals that did not have GPS collar data and therefore we did not have information on home range size or habitat characteristics within the home range * shrubland.prop.summer: Proportion of shrubland within a fox home range in the summer; "NA" indicates missing data and was used for individual animals that did not have GPS collar data and therefore we did not have information on home range size or habitat characteristics within the home range * area.winter.km2: size of individual home range; "NA" indicates missing data and was used for individual animals that did not have GPS collar data and therefore we did not have information on home range size or habitat characteristics within the home range * riparian.prop.winter: Proportion of riparian within a fox home range in the winter; "NA" indicates missing data and was used for individual animals that did not have GPS collar data and therefore we did not have information on home range size or habitat characteristics within the home range * shrubland.prop.winter: Proportion of shrubland within a fox home range in the winter; "NA" indicates missing data and was used for individual animals that did not have GPS collar data and therefore we did not have information on home range size or habitat characteristics within the home range * HF.density.summer.km2: Density of human features per km2 within a foxes home range; "NA" indicates missing data and was used for individual animals that did not have GPS collar data and therefore we did not have information on home range size or habitat characteristics within the home range * HF.density.winter.km2: Density of human features per km2 within a foxes home range; "NA" indicates missing data and was used for individual animals that did not have GPS collar data and therefore we did not have information on home range size or habitat characteristics within the home range ## Code/software Program R version 4.1.1 was used for all statistical analyses. R packages "rKIN", "lme4", "bootMer", "dplyr", and "car" for analyses. All methods can be found within the published manuscript "**How does anthropogenic food influence the trophic ecology of Rocky Mountain Red Fox?"