Diet,dietary selectivity and density of South American grey fox,Lycalopex griseus,in Central Chile

The South American grey fox Lycalopex griseus is a canid widely distributed in southern South America;however,some aspects of its biology are still poorly known.We studied the diet and density of L.griseus in the Lago Peñuelas Biosphere Reserve,in Central Chile.The trophic niche breadth was B=6.16(B_(sta)=0.47)and prey diversity was H′=2.46(H_(max)′=3.17,J′=0.78).The highest proportions of prey consumed in the diet were Oryctolagus cuniculus(52.21%)and other mammals(32.78%).We compared these results with a latitudinal gradient of diet results for this species in Chile.L.griseus eats mostly mammals(>90%of total prey),consuming the rodent Phyllotis darwini and reptiles in the northern zone;Oryctolagus cuniculus,Octodon degus and Abrocoma bennetti in the central zone;Abrothrix spp.and lagomorphs in the southern zone;and Lepus capensis and Ovis aries in the austral zone.The estimated density of L.griseus in Lago Peñuelas NR was 1.3 foxes/km^(2).