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Scat genotyping has not been routinely used to measure fox (Vulpes vulpes) abundance and our study sought to provide a benchmark for further technique development and assessment of field methods.

This study sought to provide a comparative assessment of some common methods used to determine fox density and contrast their success with scat DNA genotyping.

DNA recovered from fox scats was used to genotype individual red foxes and determine their abundance at four transects. Population indices were also developed from bait take, scat counts and sand plot tracks using index-manipulation-index (IMI) procedures on the same transects. Known samples of foxes were taken from two treatment transects using cyanide delivered in the M-44 ejector to manipulate the population and to recover foxes at the end of the trial.

Replicated counts on a 41-km-spotlight transect at the …