Role of Agricultural Areas as Shelters for Carnivores in a Desert Ecosystem in Saudi Arabia
Role of Agricultural Areas as Shelters for Carnivores in a Desert Ecosystem in Saudi Arabia
Abdulaziz S. Alatawi*
Red fox (A), grey wolf (B), and golden jackal (C)detected by camera traps in agricultural areas of Tabuk province in 2022.
UpSet plot (Lex et al., 2014) of the intersection of red fox dataset collected in the field. The presence of stray dogs was only observed from 7:00 pm to 6:59 am, during the observed period of red fox activity (see Fig. 4).
Red fox detection frequency based on camera trap observations across sites in agricultural areas of Tabuk province in 2022.
Threats that carnivores might encounter in agricultural areas. Although hunters with guns mostly target birds, they may hunt wild carnivores if encountered (photo from a camera trap). A fox killed in a collision with a car, observed in an agricultural area (photo by Abdulaziz Alatawi).
The locations of 45 camera traps installed in agricultural areas near Tabuk city in Tabuk Province during the summer and fall of 2022. The image of the study area was obtained using Google Earth, accessed at https://earth.google.com/web/ on December 7, 2022. Map of Saudi Arabia was obtained using World Imagery in ArcGIS software.
