Abiotic Factors |
Biotic Factors |
There are many abiotic factors when it comes to the life of a red fox in Minnesota, One of the major things being temperature. Even though Red Foxes can survive in almost all of Minnesota's wide range of temperatures, it does effect the way they live, this means changing if the burrow or live in caves.
Another abiotic factor that is huge is the sun, if the sun did not act exactly as it does now the plants that grow in that do currently, this would effect the diet of the fox and oxygen levels, causing extinction. The final abiotic factor I will be talking about is soil. Soil is essential for the female red foxes and her future kits. When giving birth to the newborn kits a mother Red Fox will burrow through the soil to have her kits. If the soil were to be too hard or to soft and grainy the Red Fox mothers would not have a safe enviornment for this. |
Along with the extensive list of abiotic factors there are also many biotic factors. Starting off with Sarcoptic Mange, This is a disease that is not deadly to humans however is extremely deadly to Red Foxes ( Pictured below ) and can kill thousands of Red Foxes each year.
Another biotic factor is the coyotes, they are one of the few predators that the Red Foxes face in Minnesota. If the coyote population is larger they will most likely want more territory and to get this the Coyotes will kill off the Red Foxes. The final biotic factor I will mention here is the wild berries. A large part of a fox's diet is berries. If the berries were to stop growing or another animal were to eat them a main part of the fox's diet would disappear and depending on how reliant that fox was on the berries they could possibly starve. |
Population Constraints
With Red Foxes a main constraint is the amount of land they can use and live on. This is extremely limited due to human expansion and Coyotes constantly fighting for land with the Foxes. Red Foxes take up quite a lot of land, contrary to common belief Red Foxes are quite solitary animals and prefer to be alone than is pacts unlike wolves and their brother species, Coyotes. Coyotes are generally more dangerous than foxes so when a group of Coyotes come upon a single fox and begin a fight for land the winner is almost instantly determined.