Social Organization and Spacing
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A monogamous pair of arctic foxes.Photo courtesy of Anders Angerbjörn. Visit the
Swedish-Finnish-Norwegian Arctic Fox Project for more information.
Arctic foxes do not maintain complex social groups, likely due to the severe weather conditions which bottleneck resource availability and force dispersal of young at an early age (Eide et al., 2004). Arctic foxes are almost exclusively found in monogamous pairs that can last for life or until one partner dies (Strand et al. 2000). However, some social groups have been found deviate from this, as monogamous pairs have been observed in groups with juveniles returning to their natal territories, and even with extra unrelated females (Strand et al., 2000).
Arctic foxes are organized into home ranges which vary by sex and resource distribution. Males have large home ranges that are approximately twice as large as females', regardless of breeding status (Anthony 1997). No seasonal differences have been observed between the sexes. Home range size is largely determined by spatial dispersion and richness of prey resources, with predictability of resources being slightly less important (Eide et al. 2004). In areas where prey is highly clumped and highly dense, such as coastal areas with birds, home ranges are the smallest. In areas where food availability is generally less predictable, home range sizes are larger (Eide et al. 2004). Home range overlap is observed in areas of highly-clumped, high-density resources; however, overlap is virtually nonexistent in areas with less predictable and less dense resources, suggesting stronger territoriality in the latter areas (Eide et al. 2004).
While there are no studies specifically documenting occurrences of kin altruism, several observed behaviors raise this as a possibility. Arctic foxes can distinguish between barks of members and nonmembers of their social group (if it extends beyond the monogamous pair) (Frommolt, Goltsman, & MacDonald, 2003). There is also significantly more home range overlap in related arctic foxes than unrelated foxes (Strand et al., 2000). Taken together, this data much suggest some limited kin altruism in the arctic fox.
General Information Food & Hunting Habitat & Predators Social Organization & Spacing Mating References Home Page This page was created by Philip Newsom in partial fulfillment of the requirements for Biology 323, Animal Behavior, at Davidson College in the Spring Semester 2007. Please send any comments, questions, or suggestions regarding this web site to Philip or Dr. Verna Case