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Red Foxes and Stone Martens Shared Space but Separated Their Activity More When Both Were Abundant

Stone Marten in Drenthe, Netherlands
Research: Ecology, Behaviour

Red foxes (Vulpes vulpes) and stone martens (Martes foina) often used the same parts of Mediterranean landscapes in central Spain, but separated their activity in time when both species were abundant. Camera-trap data from 24 locations showed that coexistence between these two generalist mesocarnivores was not based on strong spatial separation. Instead, fine-scale differences in when they were active appear to reduce the risk of direct interference.

The researchers studied both cold and warm seasons and analysed the two carnivores together with two important prey groups: small rodents and European rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus). This allowed them to ask whether foxes and martens avoided each other in space, shifted their daily activity, or changed their relationship depending on how common each species and its prey were.

Shared sites were common

The spatial models showed high co-occurrence. Stone marten occupancy was estimated at 0.749 at sites occupied by red foxes, compared with 0.290 at sites where foxes were absent. In other words, martens were not simply avoiding fox-used areas; they were more often associated with the same sites.

The researchers found that this pattern was strongly related to relative abundance. Areas suitable for one adaptable mesocarnivore may also offer food or habitat conditions favourable to the other, creating substantial spatial overlap even though foxes can pose an intraguild risk to the smaller marten.

Daily activity provided more separation than space

The two species separated more clearly in time. Their activity-overlap estimates ranged from 0.744 to 0.807, where a value of 1 would indicate identical daily activity patterns and 0 no overlap. The divergence became greater when both foxes and martens were relatively abundant.

This means coexistence did not require the martens to abandon fox-occupied locations. Instead, the animals could share the same landscape while reducing the probability of direct encounters by using it at somewhat different times of day.

Stone martens also showed high temporal overlap with small rodents, ranging from 0.842 to 0.936. That overlap fell to 0.779 when fox and rodent activity became more synchronized. The prey relationship therefore formed part of the same temporal system: when fox activity coincided more closely with rodent activity, martens were less synchronized with those rodents.

Coexistence operated on two different scales

The study illustrates why spatial co-occurrence does not necessarily mean that two competitors interact strongly at every moment. At the scale of camera-trap locations, foxes and martens frequently occupied the same places. At the finer scale of daily timing, their activity patterns diverged enough to provide another dimension of separation.

The authors identify this temporal segregation as the main mechanism allowing stone martens to coexist with red foxes in the studied landscapes. Rather than a simple pattern of one species excluding the other, the relationship combined shared space, differences in abundance and flexible timing — a form of niche partitioning that becomes visible only when space and time are analysed together.

Sources and image credit

  1. Martin-Garcia, S., Rodríguez-Recio, M., Hernandez-Hernandez, J., & Virgós, E. (2026). Spatio-Temporal Mechanisms of Coexistence Between Two Generalist Mesocarnivores, the Red Fox and the Stone Marten. Journal of Zoology.Primary research article first published 21 September 2026. Camera-trap surveys at 24 locations in the central Iberian Peninsula were used to analyse spatial occupancy and temporal activity of red foxes, stone martens and major prey across cold and warm seasons.

Image: Stone Marten (Martes foina) in Drenthe, the Netherlands, 8 April 2026. Photo: Charles J. Sharp / Wikimedia Commons. Representative image; not a study animal. · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Source

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