Home – Home – Jornals – Contemporary Problems of Ecology 2010 number 1

The data of the snow track counts and own field observations were used. During the last 40 years the red fox has penetrated into the tundra and this has combined with an increase in its population density in European Russia. There is a general trend of the population growth from the north-east south-westward according to zonаl regularities. The highest indexes of the census are associated to the southern taiga, subtaiga and partly to the Kola Peninsula. The distribution of the red fox as a carnivore depends on the abundance of its prey. Nevertheless, the ratio of the forested to open lands, mosaic and fragmentation of the habitats and the forest structure has the major influence on the species dispersal. The optimal correlation of the area sizes for the species habitat was determined. The red fox is typical for ecotones. The anthropogenic change of the forests provides the inhabit diversity, increases the population density and also positively affects the wide expansion of the species into taiga.