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ABSTRACT. During the period from 1985 to 1990, radio collars were attached to 61 arctic foxes (Alopex lagopus) in the coastal region of the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta in western Alaska. Radio tracking using hand-held receivers from aircraft and from fixed towers was conducted to determine daily and seasonal movements of foxes. Intensive radio tracking of 18 foxes from May through July indicated that males used larger areas (x = 10.22 +/- 6.18 km"Symbol not transcribed") than females (x = 4.57 +/- 1.94 km"Symbol not transcribed") regardless of breeding status. Generally foxes were relocated near (x = 3.4 +/- 2.4 km) their summer home ranges during other seasons of the year. There were no complex social groups of foxes among the marked population. Foxes did not have a definitive preference for any plant community, probably because of the even distribution and abundance of prey throughout all communities. Thirty foxes were relocated repeatedly during a period of at least 10 months, which included the denning season of one year and the breeding season of the next. Of 24 confirmed deaths of collared foxes, 16 were caused by shooting or trapping by local residents and 8 had unidentified causes. Maximum distance moved between relocations was 48.4 km. Males moved farther from initial capture sites in the winter following capture than did females, largely because of greater than 20 km movements by two foxes. There were no seasonal differences in movements between males and females. Key words: Alaska, arctic fox, Alopex lagopus, home range, telemetry INTRODUCTION Throughout much of their range, arctic foxes (Alopex lagopus) are dependent on a limited number of prey species, particularly arvicoline rodents (Macpherson, 1969; Kennedy, 1980; Summers, 1986; Summers and Underhill, 1987; Hersteinsson et al., 1989; Angerbjorn et al., 1995; Frafjord, 1995a). The distribution and group size of arctic foxes and other carnivores are strongly influenced by the distribution and density of prey (Hersteinsson and Macdonald, 1982; Macdonald, 1983; Sandell, 1989). Depending on the habitat that they occupy, arctic foxes have been described as seasonally nomadic and solitary (Shibanoff, 1958; Chesemore, 1968; Northcott, 1975; Wrigley and Hatch, 1976; Eberhardt and Hanson, 1978; Eberhardt et al., 1983a) or as territorial and social (Hersteinsson and Macdonald, 1982; Ovsyannikov, 1988; Frafjord, 1992; Frafjord and Prestrud, 1992). My interest...





