Then, we have Stanish who tells us that grey foxes survived because they could climb trees that red foxes could not with coyotes being the grim reaper. This neglects much of the Western in Central part of the country. Where it's coyoyes and red foxes coexist, quite well, if not exactly harmoniously. Where do you get this garbage? Are you hanging out in bars to learn biology or maybe with Ted's meth head friends that he is always talking about?
Yes, I'm telling you exactly that. I saw this happen here when coyotes moved into this area. I don't know what goes on in the western and central parts of the country, but I do here. Your head is stuffed so full of yourself that you cannot imagine anyone that wasn't taught the same stuff you were being able to understand relationships between animal species. News flash . . . . everything that's known about wildlife interactions didn't come from classroom lectures. When I did longline predator trapping in the late 70's and early 80's I saw the rapid decline in red fox populations as the coyotes moved in.
I've seen greys way up in persimmon trees at night, balancing on a limb like a 'coon. They are more woodland and brush canines than reds, who prefer open areas with little cover. Coyotes can run down a red and kill it much easier than they can a grey, which will duck into dense cover and evade the much larger coyote.
Rather than diss everything I, and others here, say you would do better to read up a little on the interactions between these canines. There is no shortage of data proving the things i saw and know to be true . . . . HERE. How red fox and coyote can co-exist in areas of very open terrain i cannot say. After seeing what i've seen, and reading what i've subsequently read, I have doubts that they do., despite the "learned professor's" claims.
The telling thing about you is your ego. It has shown itself many times here, one notable example being the instance I cited earlier about you claiming to have seen the first coyote that set foot on the 310 sq. mile Savannah River Site. You back up on your original claim now by qualifying it with your latest attempt at regaining credence . . . . "Doubtful that we were the first to actually see one given the number of cars driving by amd something like 23k people turning over at every shift change. And, if course they were known to be in the larger, general region." Before you start ridiculing other's observations you might consider recalling that most of your work at SRS seems to have been on rodents and Bachman's Sparrows. You claimed to prefer to study smaller mammals because . . . "they're just plain cute".Yes, I do know that sparrows aren't mammals, just quoting you and your research.
"Brent J Danielson
Position
Professor Emeritus
The work in my lab roughly concerns the overlap of three fundamental components of any ecological system, Behavior, Interactions between species, and Spatio-temporal Environmental Structure.
The interplay between these factors determine the dynamics, longevity, and diversity of the system. In general, I prefer to focus on small mammals as they are ubiquitous, energetic, and
just plain cute. Their roles in shaping the rest of any ecosystem are likely to be large but poorly understood."
