Nationality: British
Partner Institute: Inland Norway University of Applied Sciences
Start and end of project: August 2016 – July 2018
e-mail: benmckeown@live.co.uk
Supervisor: Prof. Thomas Willebrand and Zea Walton (both at INN)
Theme: Movement and Population Ecology
Master thesis title: Navigating the Red Fox’s Cognitive Map – How does the Red Fox’s spatial memory of resource locations influence movement patterns and thereby the notion of a home-range?
Link to research group at INN
Description of research project
Navigating the Red Fox’s Cognitive Map – How does the Red Fox’s spatial memory of resource locations influence movement patterns and thereby the notion of a home-range?
Focusing on Red Foxes (Vulpes vulpes), fitted with GPS collars, within a mosaic of human land-use in southern Sweden, I am identifying clusters in recorded locations to investigate the key resources and habitat structure that this generalist predator is utilising. I aim to explore how these may influence the Red Fox’s wider use of space, particularly in human modified landscapes.